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Pillow and Lobate Lava
A variety of geological surfaces, including polymetallic nodule fields, sedimented seafloor, and polymetallic crusts on seamount slopes were noted during the Deep-Sea Habitats of the Cook Islands expedition on Exploration Vessel Nautilus. Encrusted with iron-manganese (Fe-Mn), the rounded pillows and extended lobate lava flows seen here are evidence of ancient volcanoes. Small manganese nodules lie in the sediment-filled depression between the lava forms.