Scanning synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence trace element analysis of microlayers of FeMn nodules; new data on ore forming processes in the Ocean

Scanning synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence analysis was used for studying base and trace element distributions in submarine FeMn nodules from the eastern tropical Pacific. The element background contents in surface layers of spherical (hydrogenous) and ellipsoidal (diagenetic) FeMn nodules are measured. The concentration of elements determined to be in internal layers is different from that in surface layers. This suggests changes of the environment in the past.