he proposed mining of ferromanganese deposits from the deep sea will affect benthic and pelagic environments depending to a great extent on the method of nodule retrieval and separation. Three basic deep-ocean mining systems have been proposed, each of which will effect the removal under varying conditions of water, sediment and nodules from the ocean floor. This report summarizes existing oceanographhic information on potential manganese nodule mining areas at the date of publication and presents the results of field observations in a manganese nodule area of the North Atlantic Ocean surveyed during Cruise 15 of the R/V Robert Conrad.

From 1983 until 1989 NOAA-NCEI compiled the NOAA-MMS Marine Minerals Geochemical Database from journal articles, technical reports and unpublished sources from other institutions. At the time it was the most extended data compilation on ferromanganese deposits world wide. Initially published in a proprietary format incompatible with present day standards it was jointly decided by AWI and NOAA to transcribe this legacy data into PANGAEA. This transfer is augmented by a careful checking of the original sources when available and the encoding of ancillary information (sample description, method of analysis...) not present in the NOAA-MMS database.

Supplement to: Amos, A F; Garside, Christopher; Gerard, Robert D; Levitus, Sydney; Malone, T C; Paul, Allen Z; Roels, Oswald A (1973): Study of the impact of manganese nodule mining on the seabed and water column. In: Phase I Report - Inter-University Program of Research on Ferromanganese Deposits of the Ocean Floor. Seabed Assessment Program, International Decade of Ocean Exploration, National Science Foundation, Washington D.C., USA, 221-264