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Seafloor massive sulfide deposits or SMS deposits, are modern equivalents of ancient volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits or VMS deposits. The term has been coined by mineral explorers to differentiate the modern deposit from the ancient. Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits or VMS are a type of metal sulfide ore deposit, mainly Cu-Zn, associated with certain types of volcanism. ...
SMS deposits were first recognised during the exploration of the deep oceans and the mid ocean ridge spreading centers in the early 1960's. Deep ocean bathyspheres and remote operated vehicles have visited and taken samples of black smoker chimneys, and it has been long recognised that such chimneys contain appreciable grades of Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au and other trace metals. A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an uplifting of the ocean floor that occurs when convection currents beneath the ocean bed force magma up where two tectonic plates meet at a divergent boundary. ...
A bathysphere is a spherical deep-sea diving submersible which is lowered into bodies of water with a cable. ...
A black smoker in the Atlantic Ocean Black smokers are a type of hydrothermal vent found on the ocean floor. ...
SMS deposits are currently forming in the deep ocean around submarine volcanic arcs, where hydrothermal vents exhale sulfide-rich mineralising fluids into the ocean. A hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planets surface from which geothermally heated water issues. ...
SMS deposits are laterally extensive and are comprised of a central vent mound around the area where the hydrothermal circulation exits, with a wide apron of unconsolidated sulfide silt or ooze which precipitates upon the seafloor.
Economic importance
Economic extraction of SMS deposits is in he theoretical stage, the biggest complication being the extreme water depths at which these deposits are forming. However, apparent vast areas of the peripheral areas of these black smoker zones contain a sulfide ooze which could, theoretically, be vacuumed up off the seafloor.
Known SMS deposits Deep ocean drilling, seismic bathymetry surveys and mineral exploration deep sea drilling has delineated several areas worldwide with potentially economically viable SMS deposits; Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to topography. ...
- Kermadec Volcanic Arc
- Colville Ridge
See also Hydrothermal circulation in the oceans is the passage of the water through mid-ocean Ridge (MOR) systems. ...
A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an uplifting of the ocean floor that occurs when convection currents beneath the ocean bed force magma up where two tectonic plates meet at a divergent boundary. ...
The various theories of ore genesis explain how the various types of mineral deposits form within the Earths crust. ...
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