Electron Microscopic Study of Manganese Minerals in the Polymetallic Nodules from the Central Pacific Ocean

Manganese minerals in the polymetallic nodules from the Central Pacific Ocean were studied using electron microscopy. The principal Mn minerals, being vernadite and todorokite, exhibit different electron diffraction patterns and morphological features. According to its morphological feature, todorokite shows three phases: fibrous, lamellar and lath-shaped. Both vernadite and todorokite are authigenic minerals. While vernadite was mainly precipitated directly from the relevant solution by microbiological oxidation, todorokite was separated from the solution chemically without the help of microbe. Hence, these two minerals show a close genetic relation.