Skip to main content
Log in

Discovery of New Hydrothermal Korallovoe (13°07′ N) and Molodezhnoe Ore Fields (13°09′ N) in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

  • MARINE GEOLOGY
  • Published:
Oceanology Aims and scope

Abstract

During cruise 41 of the R/V Professor Logachev in 2019, two new ore fields were discovered within the Russian exploration area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Korallovoe ore field is located in the middle part of the rift valley ridge and lies on a gentle slope in the depth range of 2800–2850 m. The Molodezhnoe ore field is located approximately 5 km northeast of the Korallovoe field and lies on a less steeper section of the slope at depths of 3500–3550 m. The Korallovoe and Molodezhnoe fields are confined to an outcrop of a gabbro–peridotite massif on the western side of the Mid-Atlantic Rift valley. The total number of discovered ore fields in the Russian exploration area has increased to 14.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.

REFERENCES

  1. V. E. Bel’tenev, L. I. Lazareva, G. A. Cherkashev, et al., New hydrothermal ore fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Yubileinoe (20°09′ N) and Syurpriz (20°45.4′ N), Dokl. Ross. Akad. Nauk 476 (3), 305–310 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  2. I. M. Poroshina and G. A. Cherkashev, “Morphotectonic structure and segmentation of the northern equatorial part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Russian Exploration Region),” in World Ocean, Vol. 3: Solid Minerals and Gas Hydrates in the Ocean, Ed. by L. I. Lobkovskii and G. A. Cherkashev (Nauchnyi Mir, Moscow, 2018), pp. 60–75 [in Russian].

  3. G. A. Cherkashev, T. Stepanova, S. Andreev, et al., “Ore objects within the Russian Exploration Region in the northern equatorial part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,” World Ocean, Vol. 3: Solid Minerals and Gas Hydrates in the Ocean, Ed. by L. I. Lobkovskii and G. A. Cherkashev (Nauchnyi Mir, Moscow, 2018), pp. 90–121 [in Russian].

  4. G. A. Cherkashev, V. N. Ivanov, V. E. Bel’tenev, et al., Massive sulfide ores of the northern equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Oceanology 53 (5), 607–619 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. J. Escartín, D. K. Smith, J. Cann, et al., “Central role of detachment faults in accretion of slow-spreading oceanic lithosphere,” Nature 455 (7214), 790–794 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Y. Fouquet, P. Cambon, J. Etoubleau, et al., “Geodiversity of hydrothermal processes along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and ultramafic hosted mineralization: A new type of oceanic Cu-Zn-Co-Au volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit,” Geophys. Monogr. 188, 297–320 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  7. J. Gage and P. Tyler, Deep-Sea Biology: A Natural History of Organisms at the Deep-Sea Floor (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1991).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  8. C. R. German, S. Petersen, and M. D. Hannington, “Hydrothermal exploration of mid-ocean ridges: Where might the largest sulfide deposits be forming?,” Chem. Geol. 420, 114–126 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. R. C. Searle and B. J. Murton, et al., “Life cycle of oceanic core complexes,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 287, 333–344 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. D. K. Smith, J. Escartín, H. Schouten, et al., “Fault rotation and core complex formation: Significant processes in seafloor formation at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 13°–15° N),” Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst. 9 (3), 1–23 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. D. K. Smith, J. R. Cann, and J. Escartín, “Widespread active detachment faulting and core complex formation near 13°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,” Nature 442 (7101), 440–443 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to V.E. Beltenev and E.A. Popova (VNIIOkeangeologia) for valuable suggestions during preparation of the article.

Funding

Cruise 41 of the R/V Professor Logachev was carried out under the project “Exploration Works in the Vicinity of the Russian Exploration Area for Deep-Sea Polymetallic Sulfides in the Atlantic Ocean within Blocks 75, 78, 81, 84-93, 95-97, 99, and 100 with the Identification of Promising Blocks” (state contract no. 82/2019-YuL).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to A. M. Makoviz or A. E. Musatov.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Makoviz, A.M., Musatov, A.E., Sergeeva, I.A. et al. Discovery of New Hydrothermal Korallovoe (13°07′ N) and Molodezhnoe Ore Fields (13°09′ N) in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Oceanology 63, 109–118 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437023010071

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437023010071

Keywords:

Navigation