Mineral and chemical alterations of basalts were studied in the upper part of the ocean crust using data of deep-sea drilling from D/S Glomar Challenger in the main structures of the Pacific floor. Extraction of majority of chemical elements (including heavy metals) from basalts results mainly from their interaction with heated sea water. As a result mineralized hydrothermal solutions are formed. On entering the ocean they influence greatly on ocean sedimentation and ore formation.

Supplement to: Kurnosov, Victor B (1986): Gidrotermal'nye izmeneniya basal'tov v Tikhom okeane i metallonosnye otlozheniya: po materialam glubokovodnogo bureniya (Hydrothermal alterations of basalts in the Pacific Ocean and metalliferous deposits: deep-sea drilling data). Moscow, Nauka Publ., 253 pp.