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195
REVIEWS
ed and standard texts referred to. With more space, this section could have
incorporated or expanded on more of the specialized procedures such as enzymatic localization and wall studies. Some of the more unique chapters in the
section are those dealing with such specialities as cytochemical measurement of
DNA, immunochemical and steriological procedures.
This volume, as with the previous two of the series, will introduce the reader
to a wide variety of procedures and in most chapters refer the reader to more
detailed publications. It is therefore a useful book to have available as my students
and I have noted. Dr. Gantt is to be commended in her editing of a text that
covers such a large area of topics.-Clinton 1. Dawes, Dept. Biology, University
of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620.
BULLETIN
OF MARINE SCIENCE, 31(1): 195-196, 1981
MANGANESE
NODULES:
RESEARCH
DATA
AND
METHODS
OF INVESTIGATION.
Ronald K. Sorem and Ronald H. Fewkes. Plenum Press, New York. /979. 723
pp. $95.
MARINE GEOLOGY
PROVINCE. James
AND OCEANOGRAPHY
OF THE PACIFIC
MANGANESE
NODULE
L. Bischoff and David Z. Piper. Plenum Press, New York.
1979. 842 pp. plus 6 microfiche cards. $49.50.
Two complementary additions to the growing literature on manganese nodules
treat laboratory methods of investigation and the environment of occurrence of
these potential mineral resources of ocean basins. Commercial recovery of manganese nodules primarily for their contents of nickel, copper and cobalt is not
anticipated before 1990. However, the economic potential of the nodules has
made them the model of a deep seabed mineral resource for deliberations of the
ongoing United Nations Law of the Sea Conference and has stimulated support
for their scientific investigation.
"Manganese Nodules: Research Data and Methods of Investigation," by Sorem and Pewkes serves a double function as a laboratory manual of techniques
for analyses of individual nodules and as an atlas of sectioned nodules. Manganese
nodules are concretions formed by concentric layers primarily offerromanganese
oxides precipitated around a nucleus of rock or bone, involving complex interaction of chemical, physical, and biological processes. The laboratory techniques
described, including preparation of polished sections, ore microscopy, x-ray diffraction, electron and x-ray microprobe, have revealed complex layer-by-layer
variations in metal content and other properties of the nodules. The balance of
580 pages of this 723 page volume is devoted to an atlas of 285 full-page high
quality black and white photographs of sectioned nodules with pertinent data on
the facing pages. The sectioned nodules reveal a remarkable variation of internal
structure and constitute a reference collection at Washington State University
(Pullman, Washington), available to other workers. This volume constitutes a
reference essential to those working on manganese nodules.
Manganese nodules not only exhibit variation in their internal composition and
structure, but also vary in size, abundance and composition over wide areas of
the seafloor in all the major ocean basins. The northeastern equatorial Pacific
southeast of Hawaii between latitudes 5° and 20° north and longitudes 110° and
196
BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE.
VOL. 31. NO. I. 1981
160 west constitutes the province with the greatest commercial prospects by
virtue of relatively high metal contents (combined nickel-copper content of 1.8%
or more) and abundance (average 12 kglm2) of manganese nodules. "Marine Geology and Oceanography of the Pacific Manganese Province," by Bischoff and
Piper is a collection of papers describing the environment of occurrence of manganese nodules in this province. Thirteen of the 27 papers in the volume were
undertaken by U.S. government and academic scientists as part of the DOMES
project (Deep Ocean Mining Environmental Study) of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide environmental baseline information on three representative mining sites in the northeastern equatorial Pacific
manganese nodule province prior to mining. The balance of the papers were
written by other U.S., French, Soviet, Japanese, New Zealand, and German
scientists with similar interests in this Pacific province. The papers treat physical
oceanography (studies of solar radiation and ocean currents), biological oceanography (phytoplankton and benthic fauna), chemical oceanography (nutrient
chemistry and suspended matter), and marine geology (sediment, stratigraphy,
0
and nodules). Six microfiche cards in a pocket on the inside of the back cover
provide the data base for certain of the DOMES studies. The absence of any
synthesis relating the various aspects of the environment reported to the occurrence of the nodules in the Pacific province is indicative of the present status of
research on manganese nodules, which is still at the stage of describing variations
rather than defining unifying concepts. The book as a whole presents a "state of
the art" report of the international scientific effort in the manganese nodule province that is most likely to be mined first and should be of interest to all concerned
with marine mineral resources, or deriving research support therefrom.-Peter
A. Rona. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 15 Rickenbacker Causeway: Miami,
Florida 33149.
ERRATUM:
In Volume 30(4), page 923, Dates of Publication, correct date to
read, No.4, October ... published January 14, 1981.