Geochemistry of suspended matter and sinking material in the eastern Norwegian Sea

This paper reports the results of a geochemical study of suspended particulate matter and particle fluxes in the Norwegian Sea above the Bear Island slope. The concentrations of suspended particles and the main components of suspended matter were determined in the euphotic, intermediate (“clean water”), and bottom nepheloid layers. It was shown that biogenic components are predominant in the water above the nepheloid layer, whereas the suspended matter of the nepheloid layer is formed by the resuspension of the lithogenic components of bottom sediments. The chemical compositions of suspended matter and material collected in sediment traps are identical.