Nishimura, Akira (1992) Sedimentation and Hiatuses in the Central Pacific Basin: Their Relationship to Manganese Nodule Formation. In: Geology and Offshore Mineral Resources of the Central Pacific Basin. , ed. by Keating, Barbara H.. Earth Science Series, 14 . Springer, New York, pp. 179-203. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4612-2896-7_10.

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Abstract

Sediment cores from the Central Pacific Basin were studied to determine (a) stratigraphic hiatuses, (b) sedimentation rates, and (c) their relationship to topography and the occurrence of deep-sea manganese nodules. The results of core studies and of detailed examination of two selected areas in the Central Pacific Basin led to the following conclusions.

(1) Hiatuses of Neogene through Quaternary age occur widely in the Central Pacific Basin. A close relationship exists between the distribution pattern of the hiatuses and areas of low sedimentation rate, indicating the strong influence of a bottom current on sedimentation processes.

(2) The hiatuses within the cores are dated as late Miocene, late Pliocene, and latest Pliocene to early Pleistocene.

(3) The areas where the hiatuses are most common, and where sedimentation rate varies locally, are divided into two types: topographic highs in flat basin plains (“abyssal hill type”), and narrow, elongated topographic lows (“valley type”). They show different styles of sedimentation and hiatus formation related to the intensity of bottom current.

(4) Local variation in the style of occurrence of manganese nodules depends on the relative importance of the bottom current. The differences in the manganese nodule types (r- and s-types) reflect the chemical environment where nodules have been formed. The r- and s-type nodules are related to poorly oxygenated and well oxygenated environments, respectively. Sedimentation rate is the main control on the chemical environment and nodule characteristics, determining the positions of nodule growth in the vicinity of the water-sediment interface; sedimentation rate varies inversely with the support strength of the surface sediments.

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