Chinese Scientists Discover New Mechanism for Deep-Sea Rare Earth Element Cycling and Enrichment

A team led by Deng Yinan from the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey of the China Geological Survey recently published research findings online in the international journal "Geology," revealing a new mechanism for deep-sea rare earth element cycling and enrichment. This discovery holds scientific significance for deepening the understanding of the formation patterns of deep-sea rare earth resources.

Previously, academic research on the cycling patterns of deep-sea rare earth elements mainly focused on the "top-down" phase, where iron-manganese oxides scavenge rare earth elements from seawater during sedimentation, cycling them from surface seawater to deep seawater and sediments. Through systematic geochemical analysis of seawater, pore water, and biogenic apatite from a deep-sea basin in the southeastern Pacific Ocean significantly influenced by hydrothermal activity, Deng Yinan's team discovered that deep-sea rare earth elements also follow a "bottom-up" cycling pattern. This involves the release of rare earth elements from iron-manganese oxides during early diagenesis at the seawater-sediment interface, which then diffuse upward into the seawater.