Reply to Boudreau: Morphologic expression of ferromanganese nodules

The statement that nodule formation, especially morphology, can be predicted by the Boudreau diagenetic model led us to state that “diagenetic models that claim to predict nodule growth rate and morphologies from elemental concentrations (1) are not verified by our data” for Second Connecticut Lake (SCL), New Hampshire (2). Comments on metal gradients and elemental concentration of manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) required for accretion and morphologic expression of ferromanganese nodules are in Boudreau's original paper (3). Yet, in his letter (4), Boudreau writes that elemental (metal) concentration is not discussed (1, 3).