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Iron-cemented sediment on lower continental slope off Cape Hatteras

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Abstract

The textural, mineralogical, compositional and paleontological characteristics of an iron-cemented allochthonous sediment slab recovered from a zone of slumping between water depths of 2,100 and 2,350 m on the lower continental slope off Cape Hatteras are summarized. Results support interpretation of the sediment slab as the oxidized equivalent of pyrite-cemented Pleistocene to Recent sediment, an uncommon form of lithification in deep sea sediments. We propose that exposure of such slumped sediment slabs to seawater has produced an alteration sequence from pyrite-cement to iron oxide-cement. These observations extend the range of pyrite-cemented sediment initially reported from water depths between 4,770 and 4,950 m on the lower continental rise off Cape Hatteras.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway, 33149, Miami, FL

    Peter A. Rona

  2. Department of Geology, University of Stockholm, S-113 86, Stockholm, Sweden

    Kurt Boström

  3. Division of Sedimentology, Smithsonian Institution, 20560, Washington, DC

    Daniel Jean Stanley

Authors
  1. Peter A. Rona
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  2. Kurt Boström
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  3. Daniel Jean Stanley
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Rona, P.A., Boström, K. & Stanley, D.J. Iron-cemented sediment on lower continental slope off Cape Hatteras. Geo-Marine Letters 2, 89–94 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02462806

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02462806

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