Mineral-laden water emerging from a hydrothermal vent on the Niua underwater volcano in the Lau Basin, southwest Pacific Ocean. As the water cools, minerals precipitate to form tower-like “chimneys.” Image taken during 2016 cruise “Virtual Vents.”
Amy Gartman, PhD
I lead the USGS Global Marine Minerals project, which you can learn more about here. My work focuses on the geochemistry of marine minerals including all aspects of water-rock interactions such as precipitation, alteration, and the role of nanoparticles in mineral accumulation.
Science and Products
Global Marine Mineral Resources
Prospective regions for marine minerals on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf
Computed tomography (CT) scans, photographs, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scans, geochemistry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and gamma-ray bulk density data of push cores from Loki's Castle and Favne vent fields, Mohns Ridge
Marine mineral geochemical data - Part One: Pacific Ocean USGS-affiliated historical data
Measurements of zinc, oxygen, and pH, from sphalerite and ZnS oxidation in seawater
Mineral-laden water emerging from a hydrothermal vent on the Niua underwater volcano in the Lau Basin, southwest Pacific Ocean. As the water cools, minerals precipitate to form tower-like “chimneys.” Image taken during 2016 cruise “Virtual Vents.”
Hydrothermal plume fallout, mass wasting, and volcanic eruptions contribute to sediments at Loki’s Castle vent field, Mohns Ridge
Marine minerals in Alaska — A review of coastal and deep-ocean regions
Minerals occurring in marine environments span the globe and encompass a broad range of mineral categories, forming within varied geologic and oceanographic settings. They occur in coastal regions, either from the continuation or mechanical reworking of terrestrial mineralization, as well as in the deep ocean, from diagenetic, hydrogenetic, and hydrothermal processes. The oceans cover most of the
Estimates of metals contained in abyssal manganese nodules and ferromanganese crusts in the global ocean based on regional variations and genetic types of nodules
Extent of impact of deep-sea nodule mining midwater plumes is influenced by sediment loading, turbulence and thresholds
Carbonate-hosted microbial communities are prolific and pervasive methane oxidizers at geologically diverse marine methane seep sites
Sphalerite oxidation in seawater with covellite: Implications for seafloor massive sulfide deposits and mine waste
Research is needed to inform environmental management of hydrothermally inactive and extinct polymetallic sulfide (PMS) deposits
Impacts of hydrothermal plume processes on oceanic metal cycles and transport
Defining active, inactive, and extinct seafloor massive sulfide deposits
Mapping metabolic activity at single cell resolution in intact volcanic fumarole soil
The role of nanoparticles in mediating element deposition and transport at hydrothermal vents
Science and Products
- Science
Global Marine Mineral Resources
Researching seafloor mineral resources that occur within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and areas beyond national jurisdictions. - Data
Prospective regions for marine minerals on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf
This shapefile is of prospective regional outlines of where marine minerals may occur on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Polygons were hand digitized based on a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data review that considers the state of knowledge regarding marine mineral occurrences within the Alaska OCS. This data release is a companion to the USGS Professional Paper, Gartman and others, 2022Computed tomography (CT) scans, photographs, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scans, geochemistry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and gamma-ray bulk density data of push cores from Loki's Castle and Favne vent fields, Mohns Ridge
This data release contains computed tomography (CT) scans, photographs, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scans, geochemical data, X-ray diffractograms (XRD), and gamma-ray bulk density of push cores and sediment subsamples from those cores collected in 2018 and 2019 from Loki’s and Favne Vent Fields, Mohns Ridge, part of the Arctic Mid-Atlantic Ridge. For the geochemical section of the release, data incluMarine mineral geochemical data - Part One: Pacific Ocean USGS-affiliated historical data
This data release compiles element composition data for more than 600 deep-ocean mineral samples from more than 25 research cruises in the Pacific Ocean since 1979 that involved USGS researchers. Deep-ocean mineral sample types encompassed in this data release include ferromanganese crusts, manganese nodules, phosphorites, and hydrothermal minerals. This data release is comprised of both unpublishMeasurements of zinc, oxygen, and pH, from sphalerite and ZnS oxidation in seawater
This data release presents the concentration of zinc, oxygen, pH, temperature, and the time point at which measurements were taken for experimental oxidation work regarding zinc and copper sulfide minerals. These data accompany the following publication: Gartman, A., Whisman, S.P., and Hein, J.R., 2020, Interactive oxidation of sphalerite and covellite in seawater: implications for seafloor - Multimedia
Mineral-laden water emerging from a hydrothermal ventMineral-laden water emerging from a hydrothermal vent
Mineral-laden water emerging from a hydrothermal vent on the Niua underwater volcano in the Lau Basin, southwest Pacific Ocean. As the water cools, minerals precipitate to form tower-like “chimneys.” Image taken during 2016 cruise “Virtual Vents.”
Mineral-laden water emerging from a hydrothermal vent on the Niua underwater volcano in the Lau Basin, southwest Pacific Ocean. As the water cools, minerals precipitate to form tower-like “chimneys.” Image taken during 2016 cruise “Virtual Vents.”
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 17
Hydrothermal plume fallout, mass wasting, and volcanic eruptions contribute to sediments at Loki’s Castle vent field, Mohns Ridge
Sediments surrounding hydrothermal vents are important transition spaces between hydrothermal and pelagic environments. These sediments accumulate through diverse processes that include water column plume fallout, volcanic ash deposition, and mass wasting of hydrothermal chimneys and mounds superimposed upon background sedimentation which may originate from pelagic, terrestrial, and volcanic sourcAuthorsAmy Gartman, Denise M Payan, Manda Viola Au, Eoghan P. Reeves, John Jamieson, Caroline Gini, Desiree RoerdinkMarine minerals in Alaska — A review of coastal and deep-ocean regions
Minerals occurring in marine environments span the globe and encompass a broad range of mineral categories, forming within varied geologic and oceanographic settings. They occur in coastal regions, either from the continuation or mechanical reworking of terrestrial mineralization, as well as in the deep ocean, from diagenetic, hydrogenetic, and hydrothermal processes. The oceans cover most of the
AuthorsAmy Gartman, Kira Mizell, Douglas C. KreinerEstimates of metals contained in abyssal manganese nodules and ferromanganese crusts in the global ocean based on regional variations and genetic types of nodules
Deep-ocean ferromanganese crusts and manganese nodules are important marine repositories for global metals. Interest in these minerals as potential resources has led to detailed sampling in many regions of the global ocean, allowing for updated estimates of their global extent. Here, we present global estimates of total tonnage as well as contained metal concentrations and tonnages for ferromanganAuthorsKira Mizell, James R. Hein, Manda Viola Au, Amy GartmanExtent of impact of deep-sea nodule mining midwater plumes is influenced by sediment loading, turbulence and thresholds
Deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining research activity has substantially increased in recent years, but the expected level of environmental impact is still being established. One environmental concern is the discharge of a sediment plume into the midwater column. We performed a dedicated field study using sediment from the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone. The plume was monitored and tracked usingAuthorsCarlos Munoz-Royo, Thomas Peacock, Matthew Alford, Jerome Smith, Arnaud Le Boyer, Chinmay Kulkarni, Pierre Lermusiaux, Patrick Haley, C Mirabito, Dayang Wang, Eric Adams, Raphael Ouillon, Alexander Breugem, Boudewijn Decrop, Thijs Lanckreit, Rohit Supekar, Andrew Rzeznik, Amy Gartman, Se-Jong JuCarbonate-hosted microbial communities are prolific and pervasive methane oxidizers at geologically diverse marine methane seep sites
At marine methane seeps, vast quantities of methane move through the shallow subseafloor, where it is largely consumed by microbial communities. This process plays an important role in global methane dynamics, but we have yet to identify all of the methane sinks in the deep sea. Here, we conducted a continental-scale survey of seven geologically diverse seafloor seeps and found that carbonate rockAuthorsJeffrey J. Marlow, Daniel Hoer, Sean Jungbluth, Linda Reynard, Amy Gartman, Marko S. Chavez, Mohamed Y. El-Naggar, Noreen Tuross, Victoria Orphan, Peter R. GirguisSphalerite oxidation in seawater with covellite: Implications for seafloor massive sulfide deposits and mine waste
Metal sulfide minerals exist in several marine environments and are in thermodynamic disequilibrium with oxygenated seawater from the time of their formation. Oxidation is both ubiquitous and heterogeneous, as observational and experimental evidence demonstrates that sulfide minerals may oxidize completely on decadal timescales (hydrothermal plumes) or incompletely in billions of years (mineral deAuthorsAmy Gartman, Samantha P. Whisman, James R. HeinResearch is needed to inform environmental management of hydrothermally inactive and extinct polymetallic sulfide (PMS) deposits
Polymetallic sulfide (PMS) deposits produced at hydrothermal vents in the deep sea are of potential interest to miners. Hydrothermally active sulfide ecosystems are valued for the extraordinary chemosynthetic communities that they support. Many countries, including Canada, Portugal, and the United States, protect vent ecosystems in their Exclusive Economic Zones. When hydrothermal activity ceasesAuthorsCL Van Dover, Ana Colaco, PC Collins, P Croot, Anna Metaxas, BJ Murton, A Swaddling, R Boschen-Rose, J Carlsson, L Cuyvers, Toshio Fukushima, Amy Gartman, R. Kennedy, C Kriete, NC Mestre, T Molodtsova, A Myhrvold, E Pelleter, SO Popoola, P-Y Qian, J Sarrazin, R Sharma, YJ Suh, JB Sylvan, Chunhui Tao, Michal Tomczak, J VermilyeImpacts of hydrothermal plume processes on oceanic metal cycles and transport
Chemical, physical and biological processes in hydrothermal plumes control the flux of elements from hydrothermal vents to the global oceans. The timescales of these processes range from less than a second, as the hydrothermal fluid mixes with seawater at the seafloor, to decades, as the plume disperses over thousands of kilometers. Integrating hydrothermal geochemistry throughout the lifetime ofAuthorsAmy Gartman, Alyssa J. FindlayDefining active, inactive, and extinct seafloor massive sulfide deposits
Hydrothermal activity results in the formation of hydrothermal mineral deposits, including seafloor massive sulfide deposits, at oceanic spreading ridges, arcs, and back-arcs. As hydrothermal systems age, the mineral deposits eventually become severed from the heat source and fluid-flow pathways responsible for their formation and become extinct. The timescales and processes by which this cessatioAuthorsJohn W. Jamieson, Amy GartmanMapping metabolic activity at single cell resolution in intact volcanic fumarole soil
Interactions among microorganisms and their mineralogical substrates govern the structure, function, and emergent properties of microbial communities. These interactions are predicated on spatial relationships, which dictate metabolite exchange and access to key substrates. To quantitatively assess links between spatial relationships and metabolic activity, this study presents a novel approach toAuthorsJeffrey J. Marlow, Isabella Colocci, Sean Jungbluth, Nils Moritz Weber, Amy Gartman, Jens KallmeyerThe role of nanoparticles in mediating element deposition and transport at hydrothermal vents
Precipitation processes in hydrothermal fluids exert a primary control on the eventual distribution of elements, whether that sink is in the subseafloor, hydrothermal chimneys, near-field metalliferous sediments, or more distal in the ocean basin. Recent studies demonstrating abundant nanoparticles in hydrothermal fluids raise questions as to the importance of these nanoparticles relative to macroAuthorsAmy Gartman, Alyssa J. Findlay, Mark D. Hannington, Dieter Garbe-Schönberg, John W. Jamieson, Tom Kwasnitschka - News