Flux of ice-rafted detritus in the Fram Strait ...

• Main Author: Hebbeln, Dierk
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2000
• Subjects: Barents Sea; Fram Strait; Greenland; Nordic Seas; Sea ice; Svalbard
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.787477; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.787477

A three-year particle flux record from the eastern Fram Strait, between Greenland and Svalbard, revealed a rather untypical seasonal flux pattern compared to other particle flux studies from the Nordic Seas. In the eastern Fram Strait this pattern is characterised by a sudden four- to six-fold increase of the particle flux in January, when no daylight is available to support any biological productivity. Comparison with sea-ice distribution maps led to the conclusion that the sudden increase in the flux is due to ice-rafted detritus released from sea ice, which originated from the Svalbard archipelago and from the northern Barents Sea. Detailed grain size analyses of the silt fraction indicated the >10 µm fraction of the lithogenic matter to be clearly enriched due to IRD input. Even more important is the observation that lithogenic material >40 µm occurs exclusively during the ice-rafting event and, therefore, appears to be a suitable indicator for IRD transported on sea ice. Thus, in addition to ... : Supplement to: Hebbeln, Dierk (2000): Flux of ice-rafted detritus from sea ice in the Fram Strait. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 47(9-11), 1773-1790 ...