Metal content in bottom sediments of the central part of the Pechora Sea in the current period

• Published in: Vestnik MGTU
• Main Authors: Novikov M. A., Titov O. V.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Murmansk State Technical University 2019
• Subjects: Pechora Sea; bottom sediments; geochemistry; elemental composition; General Works; A; Chukchi Sea; White Sea; Chukchi; Pechora
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.21443/1560-9278-2019-22-1-188-198; https://doaj.org/article/93660f99e41148b98db483d6bab113d1

Based on the data from the marine researches of Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO) carried out in the period of 2010–2015, the content of some metals in bottom sediments of the central part of the Pechora Sea has been analyzed at 99 stations. The particle size distribution and pH of the surface layer of sediments have been investigated. No interannual changes in the studied parameters have been revealed. According to the studies conducted, the predominant form of bottom sediments is fine sand, occasionally sandy loam has been found. Comparison of the average relative content of the number of studied trace elements in the Pechora Sea bottom sediments with those ones of the White Sea and the Upper Continental Crust (UCC) standard has not revealed any fundamental differences. It has been shown that Pb and Cd content is the most variable in the bottom sediments. The median values of the concentration factors of all the studied trace elements in the Pechora Sea sediments, normalized by UCC, are noticeably less than 1. The diagrams of the position of the relative content points of the studied elements pairs in the Pechora Sea sediments have been graphed and analyzed. These diagrams have been compared with those ones for the corresponding pairs of elements in the sediments of the Chukchi and East-Siberian Seas and certain differences have been revealed that are most noticeable with respect to the Pechora and East-Siberian Seas. The relative similarity of the composition of the Pechora Sea to the Chukchi Sea bottom sediments has been found. The data on statistical processing of the average contents of all the studied metals in the bottom sediments are given. No noticeable differences from the results of previous studies in the Pechora Sea have been found. Correlation analysis of the content of trace elements has been performed. Analysis of the data presented has not revealed anthropogenic contamination in the bottom sediments of the Pechora Sea with heavy metals; as a result, ...