Sedimentogenesis in the White Sea: Vertical Fluxes of Suspended Particulate Matter and Absolute Masses of Bottom Sediments

Oceanology - A new approach has been applied to studying marine sedimentation using dispersed sedimentary material in sediment traps compared to the surface layer of bottom sediments. Based on...     

First results on determination of chlorophill <Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis> and its derivatives in the system of trapped sedimentary material–fluffy layer–bottom sediment of the Caspian Sea

The first data were obtained on the vertical chlorin flux in the water column and its accumulation in the upper layer of sediments of the Caspian Sea. Seasonal variability of the chlorine concentration in sedimentary matter was evaluated. The tendency of decrease in the phytoplankton-synthesized (allochtonous) organic matter content was revealed over approximately the past 60 years.     

Diatoms and aquatic palynomorphs in surface sediments of the White Sea bays as indicators of sedimentation in marginal filters of rivers

Diatom algae, aquatic palynomorphs, and the grain-size of surface sediments from bays of the White Sea were investigated in a program dedicated to the study of marginal filters (MF) in the Severnaya Dvina, Onega, and Kem rivers. Three microalgal assemblages are established in surface sediments, which replace each other successively with distance from river mouths and are characterized by a gradual decrease in a share of freshwater species of diatoms and Chlorophyceae algae, significantly varying concentrations of marine diatoms and dinocysts due to changes in water salinity, grain-size composition of sediments, quantitative distribution of suspended particulate matter (SPM), and water productivity at different marginal filter stages.     

Particle Fluxes in Hydrothermal Vent Fields of the Southern Part of the Mohns Ridge

Doklady Earth Sciences - The first results of studies of vertical particle fluxes in a hydrothermal sedimentary system of a subpolar area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge under the influence of...     

On the elemental composition of suspended matter of the Severnaya Dvina River (White Sea region)

New data on the elemental composition of the Severnaya Dvina River, the largest one in the White Sea region, are presented. The elemental composition of the river water in May, the period of the snowmelt flood, is similar to the upper layer of the Earth’s continental crust due to the active erosion of the earth material in the catchment area. In August, the period of the summer low water, the impact of biogenic components increases and elevated concentrations of Cd, Sb, Mn, Zn, Pb, and Cu are observed. At other times, no significant pollution by heavy and rare-earth elements is registered.     

Composition of the suspended particulate matter at the Severnaya Dvina River mouth (White Sea) during the spring flood period

The grain-size and mineral composition of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) of the Severnaya Dvina River mouth is studied, as well as the content of several lithogenic elements in the SPM during the spring flood in May 2004. The data published on the composition of the riverine SPM in the White Sea basin are very poor. The spring flood period when more than half of the annual runoff is supplied from the river to the sea in a short time is understood more poorly. The report considers the comparison results for the grain-size compositions of the SPM and the bottom sediments. The data of laser and hydraulic techniques of the grain-size analysis are compared. The short-period variations of the SPM concentration and composition representing two diurnal peaks of the tide level are studied. It is found that the SPM is mainly transferred during the spring flood as mineral aggregates up to 40 μm diameter. The sandysilty fraction of the riverine SPM settles in the delta branches and channels, and the bulk of the fine pelitic matter is supplied to the sea. The mineral and chemical composition of the Severnaya Dvina River SPM is determined by the supply of substances from the drainage basin. This substance is subjected to intense mechanic separation during the transfer to the sea. The key regularities of the formation of the mineral composition of the SPM during the flood time are revealed. The effect of the grain-size composition of the SPM on the distribution of the minerals and elements studied in the dynamic system of the river mouth are characterized.     

Systematics of REE,Sc, Cr,Zr, and Th in Surface Bottom Sediments of the Nordic Seas

Doklady Earth Sciences - The systematics of REE, Sc, Cr, Zr, and Th in silty-pelitic and pelitic surface bottom sediments sampled during cruises 71, 75, 77, and 80 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav...     

Co,Hf, Ce,Cr, Th,and REE Charateristics of Modern Bottom Sediments of the Barents Sea

Doklady Earth Sciences - The Co, Hf, Ce, Cr, Th, and REE characteristics are analyzed for modern sediments collected by a bottom grab during the 67th and 68th cruises of R/V Akademik Mstislav...