Characteristics and sedimentation rates at the shallow Laptev Sea

• Main Author: Han, Pai
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Laptev Sea; Ice; laptev; lena river; permafrost
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/36906/; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.44788

The sedimentation pattern in the shallow Laptev Sea is largely influenced by the sediment input from the Lena River, and the thawing of the permafrost in the northern Siberian continent. A research cruise funded by Alfred-Wegener-Institute was conducted in August 2013, during which surface samples and short gravity cores offshore the Lena River delta were collected. Bulk surface parameters such as TOC, δ13C, Δ14C and grain size from 17 stations were analyzed. At four of these stations, 210Pb radioactivity in samples from the gravity core was used to date and calculate the sedimentation rate. Along with the river hydrology and seafloor bathymetry, the parameters suggest that 1) the organic carbon input to the shallow Laptev Sea is mainly controlled by the terrestrial material; 2) the offshore sedimentation is influenced by the thawing of the Ice Complex Deposit; 3) channel discharge leads to different offshore sedimentation patterns. This study provides a further understanding of the sedimentation mechanisms in the shallow Laptev Sea.