The Distribution of Chlorophyll a in the Bottom Sediments of Aniva Bay (Sea of Okhotsk)

Abstract

This paper reports the first data on the content of plant pigments in the upper bottom sediment layer of Aniva Bay (Sea of Okhotsk) located in the temperate-monsoon climatic zone. A positive relationship was found between the concentration of sedimentary chlorophyll a and its total content in the water column, which reflects a prevalent role of phytoplankton in the formation of the sedimentary pigment complex. A significant variability of the spatial distribution of the pigments in the bay is shown to be caused by the hydrological–hydrochemical parameters and characteristics of the bottom sediments. The contents of chlorophyll a and phaeopigments in sediments showed values of the oligotrophic category and averaged 6.5 ± 0.7 μg/g of dry sediment or 0.47 ± 0.06 mg/g of organic matter.