Large Quantity of Manganese Nodules on the Atlantic's Seafloor

If you want to be happy, think of something to be grateful about.

— Saying of the Benedictine monks

I had a deja vu moment this week. Yahoo had an article on how a large amount of manganese nodules have been found on the Atlantic Ocean's seafloor (Figure 1). Back in the 1970s, I remember reading about Howard Hughes building the Glomar Explorer to mine manganese nodules from the bottom of the ocean. It turned out this story was a CIA cover story for Project Azorian, but that is another tale.

Figure 1: Manganese Nodules on the Atlantic's Seafloor.

Figure 1: Manganese Nodules on the Atlantic's Seafloor.

While these nodules exist in all the world's oceans, the bulk have been found in the Pacific Ocean.

Figure 2 gives you an idea of the size of these nodules.

Figure 2: Nodule Cross-Section.

Figure 2: Nodule Cross-Section.

This entry was posted in Geology. Bookmark the permalink.