Clay Minerals in Sediments of the Arctic Seas

The distribution of clay minerals in recent sediments on the Arctic shelf off the Eurasian and North American continents is considered. Prominence is given to the East Siberian and Laptev seas. The illite belt established on the basis of the composition of clay minerals in seven Arctic seas stretches from the Beaufort Sea to the White Sea and reveals a mineralogical zonality. The belt can be devided into smectite and chlorite provinces. Factors governing the formation of the Arctic illite belt and features of the distribution of individual clay minerals are discussed. The identification of the illite belt in sediments on the Arctic shelf complements the system of planetary latitudinal zones of clay minerals formulated by previous researchers.     

Alkane and PAH biomarkers as tracers of terrigenous organic carbon in Arctic Ocean sediments

We present the first sedimentary biomarker study encompassing the entire Arctic Ocean. A large data set of organic markers for terrigenous, petroleum and combustion inputs [alkanes, hopanes and steranes, parent and alkyl polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)] is examined for patterns in space and time using principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS). Biomarker patterns reveal the central Arctic Ocean basin sediments to be compositionally distinct from those of the Mackenzie River/Beaufort Sea and Barents Sea, but similar to those of the Laptev Sea. PAH distributions reflected in PAH ratios and PCA projections demonstrate that Arctic Ocean sediment is dominated by natural inputs to the extent that anthropogenic combustion PAHs are not significant. We find only modest changes between the glacial and post-glacial sediments for atmospherically transported hydrocarbon biomarkers, while particle associated biomarkers were captured strongly at basin edges during the glacial period, and much more evenly transported across basins during the post-glacial period. The orders of magnitude decreases in particle associated petrogenic alkanes and PAHs in central basins during glacial times, coupled with the uniformity of most petrogenic biomarker parameters for most basin and shelf locations, reflect a massive reduction in ice transport that makes the margins the most likely source of petrogenic material for the Pleistocene/Holocene central Arctic basins. The proximity of large coal deposits of various maturity levels along the Lena River, the overlap in PAH and biomarker composition of the Laptev Sea and surficial sediments from the central Arctic Ocean and the location of the Laptev Sea at the origin of the main Transpolar Drift all point to eroded coals from the Lena River/Laptev Sea as the likely source of petrogenic hydrocarbons to the central Arctic Ocean. The ubiquitous presence of allochthonous coal in Arctic Ocean surface sediments provides a major constraint on the use of petrogenic biomarkers to infer the presence of subsurface petroleum reserves.     

白令海与西北冰洋表层沉积物中四醚膜类脂物研究及其生态和环境指示意义

通过对中国第3次和第4次北极考察在白令海和西北冰洋采集的65个表层样沉积物中生物标记物四醚膜类脂物(GDGTs)的研究,发现西北冰洋表层沉积物中类异戊二烯和支链GDGTs的浓度分布大致以楚科奇海和波弗特海的陆坡为界线,呈现南高北低的特征,这一特征主要与水体生产力和陆源有机质的输入量有关.基于GDGTs的陆源输入指数BIT显示,从楚科奇海北部到高纬度区的阿尔法脊,陆源有机质的相对比例明显增加,与有机碳稳定同位素等结果一致,表明BIT可以用来指示北极陆源有机质输入量的变化.应用前人TEXL86-SST方程估算的研究区表面海水温度SST与现代年均SST和夏季平均SST的相关性较差,原因可能与陆源输入的类异戊二烯GDGTs干扰以及低的古菌生产力有关.从季节性海冰覆盖区到永久性海冰覆盖区,基于支链GDGTs的环化指数CBT明显升高,可能反映了CBT对海冰覆盖状况的响应,但其响应机制还不清楚.基于支链GDGTs的环化指数CBT和甲基化指数MBT估算的北极陆地年均大气温度和土壤pH差异较大,可能是由表层沉积物的来源复杂以及混合作用造成的.     

Distribution and transport of hydrocarbons in surface sediments of the alaskan outer continental shelf

Surface sediments from the Outer Continental Shelf of Alaska were analyzed for hydrocarbons as part of an environmental survey sponsored by NOAA/BLM. Sediments were collected from the proposed oil lease areas of Beaufort Sea, southeastern Bering Sea, Norton Sound, Navarin Basin, Gulf of Alaska, Kodiak Shelf and lower Cook Inlet. Data on normal and branched alkanes and di- and triterpenoids from capillary gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/ MS) indicate that the area displays little evidence of petroleum hydrocarbons (i.e., seeps) except at a few isolated stations. Beaufort Sea sediments have the highest hydrocarbon budget, whereas Kodiak Shelf sediments have the lowest. The molecular markers of the hydrocarbons are of a mixed marine autochthonous and terrestrial allochthonous origin. Norton Sound and Cook Inlet sediments contain the highest levels of terrigenous lipids and Kodiak Shelf the lowest. The abundance of alkenes implies that relatively low oxidizing conditions exist in some of the depositional areas studied, suggesting that extraneous petroleum hydrocarbons introduced into these sediments would be expected to have a relatively long residence time. The distribution of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is complex and shows a pyrolytic origin. The data on perylene strongly favor the hypothesis that it is “performed” from terrigenous precursors and transported into the marine environment with no apparent in situ generation. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons of diagenetic origin are probably dominant in Gulf of Alaska and Kodiak Shelf sediments.Two stations, north of Kalgin Island, in lower Cook Inlet and one in southeastern Bering Sea show typical weathered petroleum distribution of n-alkanes and triterpenoids. Probable pathways of transport and fate of petroleum hydrocarbons in case of an oil spill are also briefly discussed.     

Modern river discharge and pathways of supplied material in the Eurasian Arctic Ocean: evidence from mineral assemblages and major and minor element distribution

Clay-mineral, heavy-mineral, and elemental distributions in sediments from the Arctic Ocean and the adjacent Laptev and Kara seas can be attributed to the geology of the hinterland and the transport of terrigenous material by rivers onto the shelves. Kara Sea sediments are characterized by increased contents of smectite and elevated Ni/Al-, Ti/Al-, and Cr/Al ratios. In the western Laptev Sea sediments are enriched in smectite and clinopyroxene and increased in Ti/Al-, Cr/Al-, and Ca/Al ratios. The composition of the sediments reflects suspended matter input from the large trap basalt of the Putoran Mountains. The eastern Laptev Sea sediments display increased illite and amphibole contents as well as a chemical composition similar to average shale. This composition is due to the discharge from the Lena and Yana rivers, which drain a large catchment area consisting of sedimentary Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks. Material from the eastern Laptev Sea is transported by ocean currents and sediment-laden sea ice along the Transpolar Drift into the central Arctic Ocean. This is indicated by similar values of Ti/Al-, Cr/Al-, Rb/Al-, and K/Al ratios as well as increased concentrations of amphibole and illite, determined in sediments from the Lomonosov Ridge. A minor input from the Beaufort Sea into the central Arctic Ocean is suggested from increased Ca/Al ratios and increased contents of opaque minerals.     

Distribution of clay minerals in surface sediments from the eastern Barents and south-western Kara seas

Surface samples from the eastern Barents and south-western Kara seas have been analysed for clay mineralogy. Transport paths, the role of regional sources and local bedrock outcrops and the influence of hydrodynamic and glacigenous processes for clay distribution on the shelves are discussed in relation to central Arctic Ocean deep sea and sea ice sediments. Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya show significantly different clay mineral associations. Although smectite concentrations are fairly high, Franz Josef Land can be excluded as a source for central Arctic sea ice sediments, which are relatively rich in smectite. In the Kara Sea, smectite concentrations in coastal sediments surpass even the Franz Josef Land concentrations. The large cyclonic gyre in the eastern Barents Sea between Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, which serves as a mixing zone between Arctic and North Atlantic water, is apparently reflected within the smectite distribution pattern. With the exception of Franz Josef Land, the area of investigation is typically low in kaolinite. In particular, coastal areas and areas north of Novaya Zemlya, influenced by the inflow of Arctic waters, show the lowest kaolinite concentrations. A high kaolinite occurrence within the Nansen Basin is most probably related to Franz Josef Land and emphasizes the importance of long-range downslope transport of sediments across the continental slope. The surface water circulation pattern in close interaction with local outcrops onshore Novaya Zemlya and locally restricted occurrences within the eastern Barents Sea significantly alter the illite dispersal pattern. Illite concentrations are lowest around Franz Josef Land. Chlorite is generally low in the area of investigation. Submarine outcrops and important chlorite occurrences onshore Novaya Zemlya bias its distribution pattern.     

History of Sedimentation on the Yermak Plateau during the Recent 190 ka: Communication 2. Paleoceanographic Interpretation

Provenances for the lithogenic part of the sandy fraction of sediments on the Yermak Plateau are located in northern Eurasia. Based on the study of heavy minerals, new indicators are proposed for the ice-rafted material and main systems of surficial water circulation (gyres of the Beaufort Sea and Polar and Siberian currents of the Transpolar drift). Interpretation of the grain size distribution of sediments of warm and cold stages is based on difference in mechanisms of sedimentary material introduction into sea ice. Episodes of the influx of Atlantic warm and saline waters via the Fram Strait into the Arctic Ocean are reconstructed based on CaCO₃ content. The relationship between sedimentary materials transported by icebergs and sea ice during the last 190 ka is given. Hypotheses of the history of surficial circulation in the Arctic Ocean and discharges of Siberian rivers during this period are presented.     

Trace metals in sediments near offshore oil exploration and production sites in the Alaskan Arctic

Increased offshore development in the Alaskan Arctic has stimulated interest in assessing potential impacts to the environment before the onset of any adverse effects. Concentrations of trace metals in sediments are used in this paper to provide one sensitive indicator of anthropogenic inputs from offshore activity over the past several decades. Sediments in coastal waters of the western Beaufort Sea are patchy with respect to sediment granulometry, organic carbon content, and concentrations of trace metals. However, results for surface sediments and age-dated cores show that nearly all samples contain natural concentrations of Ag, Ba, Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl, V and Zn, with metal/Al ratios that have been constant for many decades. Metal concentrations for incoming river-suspended matter compare well with sediment metal values and, along with vertical distributions in sediments, show no discernible diagenetic impacts that distort the sedimentary record for metals, except for Mn, As and possibly Cd. Slightly elevated concentrations of Ba, Hg, Ag, Sb and Zn were observed in a total of eight instances or in only 0.7% of the 1,222 data points for metals in surface sediments.     

Clay-mineral distribution in surface sediments of the Eurasian Arctic Ocean and continental margin as indicator for source areas and transport pathways — a synthesis

Clay-mineral distributions in the Arctic Ocean and the adjacent Eurasian shelf areas are discussed to identify source areas and transport pathways of terrigenous material in the Arctic Ocean. The main clay minerals in Eurasian Arctic Ocean sediments are illite and chlorite. Smectite and kaolinite occur in minor amounts in these sediments, but show strong variations in the shelf areas. These two minerals are therefore reliable in reconstructions of source areas of sediments from the Eurasian Arctic. The Kara Sea and the western part of the Laptev Sea are enriched in smectite, with highest values of up to 70% in the deltas of the Ob and Yenisey rivers. Illite is the dominant clay mineral in all the investigated sediments except for parts of the Kara Sea. The highest concentrations with more than 70% illite occur in the East Siberian Sea and around Svalbard. Chlorite represents the clay mineral with lowest concentration changes in the Eastern Arctic, ranging between 10 and 25%. The main source areas for kaolinite in the Eurasian Arctic are Mesozoic sedimentary rocks on Franz-Josef Land islands. Based on clay-mineral data, transport of the clay fraction via sea ice is of minor importance for the modern sedimentary budget in the Arctic basins.     

Freshwater chlorophycean algae in recent marine sediments of the Beaufort, Laptev and Kara Seas (Arctic Ocean) as indicators of river runoff

Freshwater chlorophycean algae are characteristic organic-walled microfossils in recent coastal and shelf sediments from the Beaufort, Laptev and Kara seas (Arctic Ocean). The persistent occurrence of the chlorophycean algae Pediastrum spp. and Botryococcus cf. braunii in marine palynomorph assemblages is related to the discharge of freshwater and suspended matter from the large Siberian and North American rivers into the Arctic shelf seas. The distribution patterns of these algae in the marine environments reflect the predominant deposition of riverine sediments and organic matter along the salinity gradient from the outer estuaries and prodeltas to the shelf break. Sedimentary processes overprint the primary distribution of these algae. Resuspension of sediments by waves and bottom currents may transport sediments in the bottom nepheloid layer along the submarine channels to the shelf break. Bottom sediments and microfossils may be incorporated into sea ice during freeze-up in autumn and winter leading to an export from the shelves into the deep sea. The presence of these freshwater algae in sea-ice and bottom sediments in the central Arctic Ocean confirm that transport in sea ice is an important process which leads to a redistribution of shallow water microfossils.     

Sea-ice transport of riverine particles from the Laptev Sea to Fram Strait based on clay mineral studies

The aim of this study was to identify pathways and processes of modern sediment transport from the Siberian hinterland to the Laptev Sea and further to the Arctic Ocean. Clay mineral analyses were performed on riverine suspended particulate material (SPM), surface sediments of the Laptev Sea shelf, and sea-ice sediments (SIS). Material collected during seven expeditions was included in this study. Clay mineral assemblages are used to decipher the distribution of riverine sediments on the shallow Laptev Sea shelf, the entrainment of fine particles into newly forming ice, and the transport of SIS from the Laptev Sea towards the ablation areas. A cluster analysis of our data set shows that the clay mineral assemblages of Laptev Sea shelf sediments and SIS are controlled mainly by the input of riverine SPM supplied by the Khatanga, Lena, and Yana Rivers. Whereas the western shelf clay-mineral province is characterized by enhanced smectite concentrations supplied by the Khatanga River, the eastern Laptev Sea is dominated by illite discharged through the Lena and Yana Rivers. The SIS smectite concentration serves as an indicator for sediment source areas on the circum-Arctic shelves. Subsequently, the Transpolar Drift can be distinguished into a Siberian Branch fed from the eastern Kara Sea and the western Laptev Sea, and a Polar Branch originating from the eastern Laptev Sea.     

Natural Disturbance Shapes Benthic Intertidal Macroinvertebrate Communities of High Latitude River Deltas

Unlike lower latitude coastlines, the estuarine nearshore zones of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea are icebound and frozen up to 9 months annually. This annual freezing event represents a dramatic physical disturbance to fauna living within intertidal sediments. The main objectives of this study were to describe the benthic communities of Beaufort Sea deltas, including temporal changes and trophic structure. Understanding benthic invertebrate communities provided a baseline for concurrent research on shorebird foraging ecology at these sites. We found that despite continuous year-to-year episodes of annual freezing, these estuarine deltas are populated by a range of invertebrates that represent both marine and freshwater assemblages. Freshwater organisms like Diptera and Oligochaeta not only survive this extreme event, but a marine invasion of infaunal organisms such as Amphipoda and Polychaeta rapidly recolonizes the delta mudflats following ice ablation. These delta sediments of sand, silt, and clay are fine in structure compared to sediments of other Beaufort Sea coastal intertidal habitats. The relatively depauperate invertebrate community that ultimately develops is composed of marine and freshwater benthic invertebrates. The composition of the infauna also reflects two strategies that make life on Beaufort Sea deltas possible: a migration of marine organisms from deeper lagoons to the intertidal and freshwater biota that survive the 9-month ice-covered period in frozen sediments. Stable isotopic analyses reveal that both infaunal assemblages assimilate marine and terrestrial sources of organic carbon. These results provide some of the first quantitative information on the infaunal food resources of shallow arctic estuarine systems and the long-term persistence of these invertebrate assemblages. Our data help explain the presence of large numbers of shorebirds in these habitats during the brief summer open-water period and their trophic importance to migrating waterfowl and nearshore populations of estuarine fishes that are the basis of subsistence lifestyles by native inhabitants of the Beaufort Sea coast.     

Origin of friable sediments of the Barents Sea shelf

The origin of friable sediments blanketing the Barents Sea shelf is considered. It is shown that their characteristic seismoacoustic record patterns reflect low degree of diagenetic transformations and indicates continuous sedimentation. According to traditional views, this single sedimentary complex also includes diamicton, and the section is interpreted as a three-unit structure: diamicton, which is considered a till; the overlying friable sediments accumulated under different conditions of deglaciation in glaciomarine settings; and the postglacial marine sediments. It is demonstrated that such views are inconsistent with geomorphologic features (datings by physical methods included) indicating a prolonged hiatus that separates epochs of the diamicton accumulation and formation of friable sediments. The analysis revealed that the composition, vertical succession, and lateral distribution of different lithological types of friable sediments are related to the regular spatiotemporal replacements of different facies settings in the transgressing Arctic sea rather than by the glacial process. This inference is confirmed by the composition of foraminiferal assemblages.     

Rare Earth Elements in the Bottom Sediments of the East Arctic Seas of Russia as Indicators of Terrigenous Input

The REE distribution was studied in the bottom sediments of the East Arctic shelf of Russia. It is established that sediments of the Laptev and western East Siberian seas are significantly enriched in REEs, the contents of which are much higher than those of other near-continental basins. The main REE sources are runoff of the Lena River, the basin of which comprises ancient crystalline shields and magmatic rocks enriched in LREEs with significant contribution from the coastal erosion of the ice complex from the Laptev Sea and western East Siberian Sea. The terrigenous flux with a specific REE composition is supplied to the Chukchi Sea through the Bering Strait.     

Arsenic and other Trace Metals in Sediments from the Kara Sea and the Ob and Yenisey Estuaries, Russia

Major (Al and Fe), minor (Mn) andtrace (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Vand Zn) metals along with material of grain size<63 m, TOC and TN have been determined insediment grab and core samples from the Kara Sea, andthe Ob and Yenisey estuaries, Russia. Surprisingly,the levels of trace metals, with the exception of As,were much lower than was anticipated from speculativereports of extensive contamination in the Arcticmarine areas adjacent to the Siberian coastline ofRussia. Lithium normalization indicates that theabundance and distribution of the metals, with theexception of As and Mo, are controlled by theaccumulation of their fine grained aluminosilicatehost minerals at sites determined by hydrodynamicconditions in the Kara Sea and in the estuaries. Metallevels in the Kara Sea and the Ob and Yeniseyestuaries, except for some anomalous As, Cu and Nivalues, are close to natural baseline levels of otherEurasian Arctic shelf sediments. High levels of As,however, occur in surface and subsurface sediments.The accumulation of As, as well as Mo, can beattributed to the post-depositional diagenetic effectsof Fe-Mn cycling both at and near the sediment waterinterface. Subsurface As and Fe maxima and minimasuggest alternating oxic and anoxic water conditionsduring post-glacial rises in sea level. In contrast tothe results from the adjacent Pechora Sea, in the KaraSea there is no correlation between the levels of Asand radionuclides in the sediments.     

Quaternary sedimentation of the Alaskan Beaufort shelf: Influence of regional tectonics, fluctuating sea levels, and glacial sediment sources

The offshore stratigraphy of the Quaternary Gubik Formation of Arctic Alaska has been studied on high-resolution seismic profiles with a maximum sub-seafloor penetration of about 100 m. In general, marine transgressive subunits of the Gubik Formation are wedge-shaped on the shelf, thickening slightly seaward to the shelf break, beyond which they are offset by landslides and slumps. Beneath the eastern third of the Alaskan Beaufort shelf, active folding has created two persistent structural depressions, the Eastern and Western Wedge Terranes, in which the wedge morphology is especially well developed. The youngest transgressive marine wedge, which was deposited in such a way as to fill these depressions, leaving a generally flat present-day shelf surface, is inferred to be late Wisconsin or younger in age because it overlies a prominent disconformity interpreted to have been formed during the late Wisconsin glacial sea-level minimum. The thickness of this youngest wedge, Unit A, locally exceeds 40 m on the outer shelf, yet apparently relict gravel deposits collected from its seabed surface indicate that the depositional rate is presently quite low on the middle and outer shelf. Lithologies of the gravels are exotic to Alaska, but similar to suites exposed in the Canadian Arctic Islands. These observations suggest a depositional scenario in which the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet shed sediment-laden icebergs from the Canadian Arctic Islands into the Arctic Ocean following the late Wisconsin glacial maximum. These bergs were then rafted westward by the Beaufort Gyre and grounded on the Alaskan shelf by northeasterly prevailing winds. Especially large numbers of bergs accumulated in the wedge terrane embayments—created as sea level rose—and melted there, filling the embayments with their sedimentary cargo. As glacial retreat slowed, depositional rates on the shelf dwindled.This mode of deposition in the Alaskan Beaufort wedge terranes may be typical of early post-glacial transgressive phases throughout Quaternary time. It has resulted in the preservation of disconformities that apparently formed during glacioeustatic lowstands, and whose seaward termination depths, appropriately corrected, may yield estimates of lowstand magnitudes. Knowledge of global sea-level fluctuations back through the Sangamon Interglacial (oxygen isotope stage 5e) and possible correlations with dated onshore deposits have facilitated a tentative correlation of major disconformities in the Beaufort Sea record with major ¹⁸O enrichment maxima in the oxygen isotope curve back through stage 8. In this tentative scheme, close similarities between the two data sets occur both in magnitudes and in numbers of fluctuations intervening between major correlation points. Further testing of the Quaternary depositional model suggested here and of the resulting sea level curve awaits the collection and dating of core samples from the Beaufort wedge terranes.     

中国海的碎屑矿物组合及其分布模式的探讨

多年来,随着对中国海沉积物的调查研究,笔者对黄海、渤海、东海、南海北部陆架区与北部湾沉积物中的碎屑矿物组合及其分布模式进行了研究。调查范围如图1所示,其跨度为东经106°-129°,北纬17°-41°。作者共分析了760个海底表层沉积物样品,并对黄河、长江、辽河、滦河、六股河等河流沉积物的样品进行了分析,分析样品数为47个。     

Reduction Rates of Sedimentary Mn and Fe Oxides: An Incubation Experiment with Arctic Ocean Sediments

To test the hypothesis that manganese- and iron-reducing bacteria in marine sediments respond rapidly to seasonal pulses of fresh organic carbon settling to the sea floor, we amended wet metal oxide?Crich and metal oxide?Cpoor sediments from the Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic, with organic carbon in the form of shrimp powder and incubated them at room temperature. Neither Mn nor Fe was released to the aqueous phase from unamended metal oxide?Crich sediment during a 41-day incubation, but both elements were released from sediment aliquots amended with organic carbon. Dissolved Mn appeared in the aqueous phase after a lag period of 2 days or less and reached levels as high as 600 ??mol l^?1 before levelling out. The release of dissolved Mn was accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of solid-phase reducible Mn. Dissolved Fe did not appear until 2 weeks into the incubation and only after the concentration of dissolved Mn had levelled out. For low concentrations of amended organic carbon (0.3%), the kinetics of Mn reduction fit a second-order rate law with a rate constant k = 2 × 10^?3 g ??mol^?1 day^?1, but at intermediate and high organic carbon concentrations (0.7 and 1.3%), the reduction kinetics was better described by a pseudo-first-order rate law with a rate constant k?? = 1.6 × 10^?1 day^?1. A pulse of organic carbon settling to the sea floor can trigger reduction of Mn and Fe oxides within a few days in strongly seasonal sedimentary environments, such as in the Arctic.     

Coastal erosion vs riverine sediment discharge in the Arctic Shelf seas

This article presents a comparison of sediment input by rivers and by coastal erosion into both the Laptev Sea and the Canadian Beaufort Sea (CBS). New data on coastal erosion in the Laptev Sea, which are based on field measurements and remote sensing information, and existing data on coastal erosion in the CBS as well as riverine sediment discharge into both the Laptev Sea and the CBS are included. Strong regional differences in the percentages of coastal erosion and riverine sediment supply are observed. The CBS is dominated by the riverine sediment discharge (64.45᎒⁶ t a^-1) mainly of the Mackenzie River, which is the largest single source of sediments in the Arctic. Riverine sediment discharge into the Laptev Sea amounts to 24.10᎒⁶ t a^-1, more than 70% of which are related to the Lena River. In comparison with the CBS, the Laptev Sea coast on average delivers approximately twice as much sediment mass per kilometer, a result of higher erosion rates due to higher cliffs and seasonal ice melting. In the Laptev Sea sediment input by coastal erosion (58.4᎒⁶ t a^-1) is therefore more important than in the CBS and the ratio between riverine and coastal sediment input amounts to 0.4. Coastal erosion supplying 5.6᎒⁶ t a^-1 is less significant for the sediment budget of the CBS where riverine sediment discharge exceeds coastal sediment input by a factor of ca. 10.     

Dispersed organic matter and its fluxes in oceans and seas from the example of the White Sea: Results of a 12-year study

Annual and long-term quantitative estimations of the vertical fluxes of sedimentary matter in the White Sea are the basis for direct calculations of the gain of chemical components and minerals and diverse pollution of the surface layer of the bottom sediments. The White Sea, one of six Russian Arctic seas, may be considered as a megapolygon for further modern study using the new mechanisms of Arctic sedimentogenesis discovered. This work is directed at elaboration of new technologies of complex study of seas using submarine sedimentation and regular vessel observatories. The first priority task is year-round monitoring along the Northern Sea route.