Studies of particle fluxes of sedimentary matter along multiyear transoceanic section in northern Atlantic and Arctic interaction area

Abstract

New data on the particle fluxes of sedimentary matter and its main components at the meridional section along 59°30' N in the North Atlantic under the influence of multidirectional transfer of water masses are given. The material for the study was collected for two years from July 2015 to July 2017 using sediment traps installed as part of four automatic deep-water sedimentary observatories. In the subsurface layer, the annual variation of the fluxes and the change in the composition of the sinking matter are determined by the primary production. Near-bottom fluxes of sedimentary matter on the slopes of the Reykjanes ridge are formed under conditions of water masses and, respectively, suspended particulate matter transfer in a south-westerly direction along the ridge from the Iceland-Faeroe and Greenland-Iceland rises. There is a reverse directional transfer of matter at the foot of the European continental slope. The composition of the sinking matter is dominated by the biogenic component, the proportion of which decreases with depth due to dissolution, and in winter due to the weakening of the biological activity of the upper active layer. The role of lithogenic matter is maximal in the bottom layer, including due to the supply of material from the bottom.