Deep-sea manganese nodules, once an obscure scientific curios ity, have, in the brief span of two decades, become a potential mineral resource of major importance. Nodules that cover the sea floor of the tropical North Pacific may represent a vast ore de posit of manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper. Modern technology has apparently surmounted the incredible problem of recovering nodules in water depths of 5000 meters and the extraction of metals from the complex chemical nodule matrix is a reality. Both the recovery and the extraction appear to be economically feasible. Exploitation of this resource is, however, hindered more by the lack of an international legal structure allowing for recognition of mining sites and exploitation rights, than by any other factor. Often, when a mineral deposit becomes identified as an ex ploitable resource, scientific study burgeons. Interest in the nature and genesis of the deposit increases and much is learned from large scale exploration. The case is self evident for petrol eum and ore deposits on land. The study of manganese nodules is just now entering this phase. What was the esoteric field of a few scientists has become the subject of active exploration and research by most of the industrialized nations. Unfortunately for our general understanding of manganese nodules, exploration results remain largely proprietary. However, scientific study has greatly increased and the results are becoming widely available.

InhaltsangabeI. Domes.- A. Water Column Studies.- The Solar Radiation Environment in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Ocean.- Observations of the Upper Ocean Currents at DOMES Sites A, B, and C in the Tropical Central North Pacific Ocean During 1975 and 1976.- Benthic Current Observations at DOMES Sites A, B, and C in the Tropical North Pacific Ocean.- Nutrient Chemistry in the Tropical North Pacific: DOMES Sites A, B, and C.- Chemical Composition, Size Distribution, and Particle Morphology of Suspended Particulate Matter at DOMES Sites A, B, and C: Relationships with Local Sediment Composition.- B. Biological Studies.- Vertical Distribution of Diverse Phytoplankton Communities in the Central Pacific.- Phytoplankton Standing Crop and Primary Productivity in the Tropical Pacific.- Abyssal Community Structure of the Benthic Infauna of the Eastern Equatorial Pacific: DOMES Sites A, B, and C.- C. Sea-Floor Studies.- Lithic and Acoustic Stratigraphy of the Equatorial North Pacific: DOMES Sites A, B, and C.- Biostratigraphy of the Equatorial North Pacific DOMES Sites A, B, and C.- Mineralogy and Diagenesis of Surface Sediments from DOMES Areas A, B, and C.- Geochemistry of Deep-Sea Sediments from the Pacific Manganese Nodule Province: DOMES Sites A, B, and C.- D. Nodules.- Manganese Nodule and Surface Sediment Compositions: DOMES Sites A, B, and C.- Occurrence and Character of Manganese Nodules in DOMES Sites A, B, and C, Equatorial Pacific Ocean.- II. Other Programs.- A. Sea-Floor Studies.- Geological Investigations of the Equatorial North Pacific Sea-Floor: A Discussion of Sediment Redistribution.- Sedimentation, Hiatuses, and Development of Manganese Nodules: VALDIVIA Site VA-13/2, Northern Central Pacific.- Extractive Chemistry of Equatorial Pacific Pelagic Sediments and Relationship to Nodule Forming Processes.- Influence of Deep Water Circulation and Sea-Floor Morphology on the Abundance and Grade of Central South Pacific Manganese Nodules.- B. Nodule Chemistry.- Minerals, Metal Contents and Mechanism of Formation of Manganese Nodules from the Central Pacific Basin (GH76-1 and GH77-1 Areas).- Regional Distribution of Rare Earth and Minor Elements in Manganese Nodules and Associated Sediments in the Southwest Pacific and Other Localities.- Zonal Regularities in Occurrence, Morphology, and. Chemistry of Manganese Nodules of the Pacific Ocean.- Changes in Chemical Composition of Some Pacific Manganese Nodules During Their Growth.- Manganese Nodule Resources in the Northeastern Equatorial Pacific.- C. Nodule Growth Rates.- Amino Acid Dating of Bone Nuclei in Manganese Nodules from the North Pacific Ocean.- The Distribution of Total Alpha Radioactivity in Selected Manganese Nodules from the North Pacific: Implications for Growth Processes.- Be10 and U-Series Isotopes in Manganese Nodules from the Central North Pacific.- Growth Rates and Possible Age of a North Pacific Manganese Nodule.- III. APPEND.- Appendices for the various reports in this volume appear in order on six microfiche cards in a pocket on the inside of the back cover.- Appendix Table of Contents.