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Exploring Seafloor Sediments: Patterns, Origins & Economic Value

Dive into seafloor sediments to uncover lithogenous, biogenous, hydrogenous, and cosmogenous origins, their distribution patterns, and economic value. Discover the secrets hidden beneath the ocean's surface and learn why certain sediments are more abundant near continents than at ocean ridges.

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Exploring Seafloor Sediments: Patterns, Origins & Economic Value

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  1. SEAFLOOR SEDIMENTS Lithogenous Biogenous Hydrogenous Cosmogenous

  2. General patterns • Review shape of typical ocean floor • Lots of sediments near continents • Few sediments at ocean ridges – Why?

  3. Lithogenous (1) • From weathering and erosion of continents • Some relatively close to continental mass • Beach sediments • River sediments • Glacial debris • Graded bedding from turbidity currents

  4. Turbidity currents and graded bedding

  5. Lithogenous (2) • Some found on abyssal plain • Wind-blown debris • Red clays

  6. Biogenous sediments (1) • Remains of formerly living organisms (shells and reef material) • Silica rich: radiolarians, diatoms • Calcium carbonate rich: • forams, coccolithophores, reefs • carbonate compensation depth

  7. RADIOLARIAN

  8. DIATOMS

  9. FORAMS

  10. COCCOLITHS

  11. Biogenous (2) • Difficult to accumulate biogenous oozes • Productivity of that area of the ocean • Destruction as “shells” fall to seafloor Additional CCD for carbonate sediments • Dilution by other sediments

  12. Hydrogenous sediments • Evaporites • Manganese nodules • Phosphorite nodules • Metal sulfides

  13. Manganese Nodules

  14. Cosmosgenous sediments TEKTITES • Meteorites • Tektites • Random distribution and relatively insignificant

  15. MAP OF SEDIMENTS IN OCEAN • Student version

  16. Resources from the seafloor • What is accessible? • What is owned by whom? • What is economically valuable?

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