Hydrothermal manganese oxide deposits from Baby Bare seamount in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

Manganese oxide crusts were recovered from Baby Bare seamount in order to investigate the history of off-axis hydrothermal venting. Baby Bare is a small basement high protruding from a regional sediment cover on the eastern flank of the Juan de Fuca Ridge that acts as a focus for discharging crustal fluids. Stratabound Mn-oxide crusts were collected where warm venting has been observed near the seamount summit. Mn-oxide crusts are composed primarily of 10 Å manganate ± pyrolusite, with minor nontronite, saponite, and/or barite. These assemblage and chemical characteristics such as high Mn/Fe ratios and low trace metal and REE concentrations are indicative of a hydrothermal origin. Minimum ages for these deposits, calculated using growth rates (324 to ∼ 1800 mm/Ma) and estimated thicknesses of manganese outcrops, show that Baby Bare has been hydrothermally active for at least 0.5 Myr, and possibly since its formation (1.7-2.7 Ma). Hydrothermal manganese oxide crusts such as these from Baby Bare record interactions between the hydrothermal fluids and seawater and are important tools for estimating the longevity of off-axis hydrothermal activity.