• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.575-587
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• 1996

The purpose of this study is to develop geostatistical methods for selection of prospective areas of polymetallic nodule deposits in KODOS (Korea Deep Ocean Study) area of the North-East Pacific Ocean. In this study $110{\times}165$ grid system was used, and each node represents the center of an estimated block of $1km{\times}1km$. The ordinary kriging was applied to SeaBeam2000 data in order to evaluate the bathymetry. A structural analysis (variogram) of the bathymetry data was carried out for constructing digital terrain model (DTM) and the maximum slopes of the bathymetry were calculated by DTM data. The above method can be used to solve the problem that is resulted from the lack of theory of a change of support model for the maximum slope of the bathymetry. The ordinary kriging and the indicator kriging were used to evaluate the nodule abundance, and the different two kriging methods were compared to evaluate the accuracy for the estimation of the nodule abundance. It has been shown that indicator kriging was better estimation tool than the ordinary kriging. The overlay map is presented for the selection of potentially minable sites by combining the two indicator maps of the nodule abundance and the maximum slope of bathymetry. This overlay map could be utilized to establish follow-up survey and to investigate the potentially minable sites in the KODOS area.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.529-543
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• 2003

Deep-sea surface sediments, acquired from 1997 to 2002 in the Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone of the northeast equatorial Pacific, were analyzed for index and geotechnical properties to provide background information for the design of manganese nodule minor. The sediments were classified into 16 types based on the measured properties and evaluated in terms of miner maneuverabillity and potential environmental impacts arising from mining activities. It was found that the middle part of the study area covered with coarse siliceous sediments is more favorable to the commercial production than the northern part of pelagic red clay. In particular, Area B2 in the middle part is considered the best mining site since it shows the highest abundance as well as it consists mostly of normally to over consolidated (types B, C, D) coarse siliceous sediments that are appropriate for effective minor movement and accompany weak environmental impacts. Taking account of all the analyzed core logs, the average shear-strength values are proposed as a practical guideline fur movements of a manganese nodule miner: 6.0 kPa at 10cm and 7.0kPa at 40cm below the seabed.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.173-182
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• 2007

It is well known that manganese nodules enriched with valuable metals are abundantly distributed in the abyssal plain area in the Clarion-Clipperton (C-C) fracture zone of the northeast Pacific. Previous studies using deep-sea camera (DSC) system reported different observations about the relation of seafloor topographic change and nodule abundance, and they were sometimes contradictory. Moreover, proper foundation on the estimation of DSC underwater position, was not introduced clearly. The variability of the mining condition of manganese nodule according to seafloor topography was examined in the Korea Deep Ocean Study (KODOS) area, located in the C-C zone. In this paper, it is suggested that the utilization of deep towing system such as DSC is very useful approach to whom are interested in analysing the distributional characteristics of manganese nodule filed and in selecting promising minable area. To this purpose, nodule abundance and detailed bathymetry were acquired using deep-sea camera system and multi-beam echo sounder, respectively on the seamount free abyssal hill area of southern part ($132^{\circ}10'W$, $9^{\circ}45'N$) in KODOS regime. Some reasonable assumptions were introduced to enhance the accuracy of estimated DSC sampling position. The accuracy in the result of estimated underwater position was verified indirectly through the comparison of measured abundances on the crossing point of neighboring DSC tracks. From the recorded seafloor images, not only nodules and sediments but cracks and cliffs could be also found frequently. The positions of these probable unminable area were calculated by use of the recorded time being encountered with them from the seafloor images of DSC. The results suggest that the unminable areas are mostly distributed on the slope sides and hill tops, where nodule collector can not travel over.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.210-227
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• 1992

KODOS-89 area, the northwestern part of Clarion-Clarion-Clipperton fracture zones in the Northeast Pacific, was surveyed in order to study the occurrence and distribution of manganese nodules. Variations in the nodule characteristics are related mainly to seafloor topography. Nodules from abyssal plain have high Mn/Fe ratio and high Mn, Cu, Ni and Zn concentrations, whereas those from seamount are characterized by low Mn/Fe ratio and high Fe and Co concentrations. These compositional characteristics are attributed to toxic diagnosis and hydrogenesis, respectively. Nodules of the early diegenetic origin tend to accurate crystalline Mn-oxides uniformly within the topmost sediment layers and maintain a regular spheroidal, ellipsoidal to discoidal shape with rough surface textures. On the other hand, those of hydrogenetic origin are characterized by polynucleation, irregualr shape, and smooth surface textures. Nodule abundance is high (avg. 13.4 kg/m$^2$) in seamount area, resulting from ample supply of nucleating materials by auto-fragmentation of older nodules. Nodule abundance in abyssal plain is relatively low (avg. 3.9 kg/m$^2$) and tends to increase southward. This phenomenon results from facilitation of taking seed materials from adjacent seamount and enhancement of the early diagenesis by sufficient supply of organic materials. Nodule abundance is considered to be controlled primarily by seeding effects and secondly by supplies of organic materials.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.257-267
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• 2003

Deep-sea bottom photographs acquired in the Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone of the northeast equatorial Pacific were analyzed to reveal the controlling processes for the spatial variation of manganese nodule. The results show that regional-scale occurrence variations of manganese nodule are mainly controlled by primary productivity of surface water, sedimentation rate, and water depth (or carbonate compensation depth). As a result, the diagenetic accretion on nodules increases toward southwest while hydrogenetic accretion increases toward northeast. Considering the northwestward movement of Pacific Plate, this regional-scale variation of manganese nodule occurrence seems to be affected by oceanic environment during the active growth period (Oligocene-Miocene) of Pacific Plate.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.477-486
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• 2012

High-resolution bathymetry and physico-chemical properties of manganese nodules were explored to identify the relationship between morphological features and nodule occurrences in the KR1, one of the Korean contract nodule fields located in the NE Pacific. The high-resolution seabed mapping showed that the southwestern sector of the KR1 (KR1-1) was relatively deeper than the northeastern sector (KR1-2) which is occupied by small-scale seamounts. In terms of nodule occurrence, manganese nodules in the KR1-1 were comparatively larger (2-4 cm) with rough surface (t-type) and discoidal shapes (D-type), while those in the KR1-2 were generally small (<2 cm) with smooth surface (s-type) and irregular shapes (I-type). In addition, the nodules in the KR1-1 had higher contents of Cu, Mn and Ni. Such connections of water depths to nodule appearances and metal contents are commonly observed in the Pacific nodule fields. On the other hand, the nodules in the KR1-2 tend to be controled by morphological features. The seamounts in the KR1-2 might continuously provide rock fragments as new nuclei of manganese nodules. As a result, the nodules could not grow over than 2 cm and showed the shapes of a newbie (i.e., smooth surface and irregular shapes). As a result, our observations indicate that occurrence features of manganese nodules could be subjected to water depths and seabed morphology simultaneously.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.475-483
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• 2011

Quantitative estimate of manganese nodules based on the operation of a free fall grab (FFG) needs to be corrected because of its less retrieval ability. Previously, the correction parameter of the nodule abundance collected by FFG was calculated based on the image analysis of the photos of bottom sediment in the northern sector of the nodule exploration area of Korea in the NE equatorial Pacific. However, nodules in the southern sector are commonly covered by sediment, which may prevent the use of the correction parameter estimated by photographic techniques. In this study, we attempted dual nodule sampling at the same location by different equipments (i.e. box corer (BC) and FFG) to examine the previous correction parameter of nodule abundance for FFG operation. During the exploration cruises in 2007 to 2009, Mn-nodules were collected from 40 stations both by BC and FFG in the southern sector. The correlation analysis between BC and FFG operations revealed that the BC collected nodules 1.43 times larger than FFG. Our result suggests that the correction parameter of 1.43 can be applied for collection of FFG data to estimate Mn-nodule distribution in the southern sector. The obtained parameter is similar to the previous parameter (1.42~1.45) calculated by the image analysis method, indicating an usefulness of new correction parameter suggested by this study.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.557-567
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• 1998

In order to utilize the data obtained during the deep-sea resources exploration program, the analysis of data structure and database were conducted to develop an appropriate data operating system called Deep-sea Database System. The Relation Data Base Management System, RDBMS, was chosen as a data managing system and the MS Access$^{TM}$ as a DB engine, and the MapInfo$^{TM}$ software as GIS tools. Problems in networking and security were detected and solved during the operation test. Accordingly, development of standardized operative procedure was proposed in obtaining raw data. This proposal will also be reflected in the subsequent phase of the deep-sea program. The Deep-sea Database System could be applied to the selection of potential mining sites and the estimation of economical efficiency over th KODOS (Korea Deep Ocean Study) region. It is also expected that this system might improve the efficiency of detail survey and help in the relinquishment process as a fulfillment of the obligation as a pioneer investor.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.467-473
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• 2006

The EM 120, a newly installed multibeam echo sounder on RM Onnuri, has several advantages over the previously installed SeaBeam 2000 in performance and thus data quality. The EM 120 system provides a bottom topographic map with high resolution by (1) increasing the number of beams, (2) increasing the across track swath range, (3) measuring the more accurate sound velocity within the water column, and (4) improving stabilization for pitching, rolling, and yawing of the ship. This study compares EM 120 and SeaBeam 2000 echo sounders in terms of the data quality from the same survey area in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, NE Pacific. Our result shows that the EM 120 provides more precise topographic data than the SeaBeam 2000. Although overall trends of data, such as topographic direction and relief, are similar for both echo sounders, the water depths measured by the EM 120 are shallower than that of SeaBeam 2000 by 80 to 90 meters.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.493-498
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to develop geostatistical model for evaluating the abundance of deep-sea manganese nodule. The abundance data used in this study were obtained from the KODOS (Korea Deep Ocean Study) area. The variation of nodule abundance was very high within short distance, while sampling methods was very limited. As the distribution of nodule abundance showed non-gaussian, indicator simulation method was used instead of conditional simulation method and/or ordinary kriging. The abundance data were encoded into a series of indicators with 6 cutoff values. They were used to estimate the conditional probability distribution function (cpdf) of the nodule abundance at any unsampled location. The standardized indicator variogram models were obtained according to variogram analysis. This SIS method had the advantage over other traditional techniques such as the turning bands method and ordinary kriging. The estimating values by indicator conditional simulation near high abundance area were more detailed than by ordinary kriging and indicator kriging. They also showed better spatial characteristics of distribution of nodule abundance.