Published February 26, 1987 | Version v1
Journal article

Anomalous 234U/238U ratios in deep-sea hydrothermal deposits

  • 1. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France). Centre des Faibles Radioactivites

Description

The authors report very high 234U/238U ratios in hydrothermal manganese crusts recovered from the Sanghihe island arc system in the West Pacific. Such ratios, about twice that of normal seawater, confirm a low-temperature hydrothermal supply of uranium, which is best explained by leaching of the underlying rocks by the hydrothermal fluids and deposition together with the manganese oxides before mixing with seawater. This suggests that the 234U/238U in seafloor deposits may be used as a tracer of low-temperature hydrothermal reactions in the ocean crust. (author)

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Nature (London)
Journal Volume
325
Journal Issue
6107
Series
Nature (London).
Journal Page Range
798-800
ISSN
0028-0836
CODEN
NATUA