Map 1

Map 3

Map 2

Figure 3.1. Exploration areas for polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the Northwest Pacific. The boxes show the areas detailed in the
maps in Figure 3.2. Abbreviations for contractors are detailed in Table 3.1.
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Map 1
Map 2
(Caiwei )

(Weijia)

Figure 3.2a Figure 3.2b

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 Map 3

Figure 3.2c

Figures 3.2 a-c. Detailed maps of the distribution of seamounts and contract areas in selected areas (areas inside the boxes in Figure 3.1).

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4 Geology of the Northwest Pacific Ocean
4.1 Overview
The geographic extent examined in this chapter includes the vast area east of the Mariana Trench, west of the
Central Pacific Seamounts, and north of the Caroline Seamounts (Figure 4.1). The complex geography of the
Northwest Pacific is a result of tectonic and magmatic activity during the Mesozoic. Seamount chains and inter-
mountain basins that formed at different times are distributed irregularly, and include three major seamount
chains (i.e., the Marcus–Wake, Magellan, and Marshall Island chains), and deep ocean basins including the
Nadezhda, Kartagraf, Pigafetta, East Mariana, and Nauru basins (Figure 4.1). This region includes the Magellan
Mountains and the Markus Wake Rise, where the contract areas of Japan, China, Russia, and Republic of Korea
are located.

Figure 4.1. Geological map of the study area in the Northwest Pacific. Isochronal age data for the Pacific Ocean crust are
from Müller et al. (2016); age data for intraplate seamounts are from Clouard and Bonneville (2005); fracture-zone data are
from Nakanishi et al. (1993). Credit Huaiming Li and Zhenggang Li.

The Northwest Pacific preserves the oldest oceanic crust and intraplate seamounts on earth. The region has
broad topographic relief, with a maximum depth in the Mariana Trench of ~11,000 m and some islands reaching
2,000 m above sea level. Studies have shown that the bathymetry and topography of the Magellan seamounts
and the Markus-Wake Rise are complex and diverse in terms of geological and morphological characteristics.
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Seamounts can be classified into different types based on their tectonic position and formation mechanisms,
slope variation and other geomorphological features. Studies in other regions suggest that flatness and height
are the two key factors determining seamount shape. The geomorphological features of several guyots and
seamounts in this region have been studied in detail.
The patterns of cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust (CFC) occurrences on the seamounts are primarily determined
by the common features of their relief. In general, CFC occurrences are confined to single structures – a guyot or
a needle. As a consequence, the expansion of CFC is concentric-zonal. The zone center is the vertex surface.
Cobalt-bearing manganese crusts are distributed mainly on the top surfaces and slopes of mountain structures.
On the slopes there is an alternation of zones with different thickness of mineralization, confined to bathymetric
intervals of 1,500—3,000 m and the specific geomorphological situation. The main factor controlling the
distribution of crust mineralization along the seamount slopes is the slope inclination. The maximum thickness
of crusts — 10 to 15 cm or even more – are found on gentle surfaces devoid of loose sediments along the
periphery of vertex plateaus, and on weakly inclined surfaces of stepped slopes. On steep slopes (inclination of
35—40°), the thickness of crusts decreases considerably to few millimeters in thickness.
In the oligotrophic Northwest Pacific Ocean, seamount biological communities are largely dependent on sinking
organic matter. Based on sediment trap observations around three seamounts (Lamont, Maloney, and Xufu) in
the Northwest Pacific, sinking particles mainly consist of biogenic carbonate, and total mass fluxes are very low,
consistent with the characteristics of oligotrophic areas in the ocean (Yamaoka et al., 2020). Total mass fluxes
showed seasonality with a sharp peak in late summer, although satellite data indicated the lowest primary
production in summer season. Yamaoka et al. (2020) suggest that this discrepancy could be explained by short-
lived or subsurface blooms induced by passing typhoons. During the vertical transport of particles from depths
of 1,000 to 4,700 m, half of the organic matter was decomposed, suggesting less food is available for the benthic
habitats in deeper abyssal plains compared to seamounts. Based on the elemental analyses of sinking particles,
more than 85% of total Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb fluxes were attributable to scavenging (biogenic uptake)
processes. Such scavenging-dominant metal flux seems to be ubiquitous in the oligotrophic open ocean.

4.2 Tectonics and magmatism

The Northwest Pacific preserves the oldest oceanic crust and intraplate seamounts on Earth. According to the
global plate-motion model of Seton et al. (2012), the Pacific Plate formed at ~15°S, in the middle of the Pan-
Pacific Ocean, 190 million years ago (Ma). Seafloor spreading at the ancient ridge-ridge-ridge triple junction
formed the Farallon, Izanagi, and Phoenix plates. At about 43 Ma, the Pacific Plate underwent an abrupt rotation
of ~60°, from a NNW orientation to WNW, indicated by bends in the seamount chains, such as the Hawaii–
Emperor and Louisville bends (Koppers and Staudigel, 2005). Since 20 Ma, the tectonic environment of the Pacific
Plate has remained relatively stable, maintaining the pattern of old crust in the west and new crust in the east.
The oldest oceanic crust in the Northwest Pacific occurred beneath the Marshall seamounts (Müller et al., 2016),
and the age of the crust decreases gradually from the triangular centre of the Pacific Plate to its periphery (Figure
4.1). Results of the Oceanic Drilling Project (ODP) indicated that the age of the oceanic crust near the Izu–Bonin–
Mariana Trench is 127.0 ± 1.5 Ma and younger than that of the Pigafetta Basin (167.4 ± 1.4 Ma: Koppers et al.,
2003), confirming that the oldest region of the Pacific Plate does not occur close to the subduction zone.
Abyssal seamounts and plateaus of the Northwest Pacific, including the Central Pacific, Marshall, Magellan, and
Marcus–Wake seamount chains, as well as the Ontong Java Plateau and Shatsky Rise, formed mainly during

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