Variations of suspended particulate matter concentrations of the Mackenzie River plume (Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean) over the last two decades

• Published in: Marine Pollution Bulletin
• Main Authors: Tarasenko, Anastasia, Doxaran, David, Gentili, Bernard
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ArcticFlux TOSCA (CNES)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: suspended particulate matter; ocean optics; Arctic Ocean; Mackenzie; satellite data; in situ measurements; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Arctic; Arctic Red River; Mackenzie River; Beaufort Sea; Mackenzie river
• Online Access: https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-04249683; https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-04249683/document; https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-04249683/file/MPB-D-23-01850_R1-1.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115619

International audience This work addresses the last 20 years' evolution of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations in the Beaufort Sea (Canadian Arctic Ocean) directly influenced by the Mackenzie River discharge. The SPM variations in the coastal zone are highlighted and related to the freshwater and solid discharges of the river measured in situ at the Arctic Red River station (150 km upstream of the river delta). The correlation between the variations of the river discharge and SPM concentration within the surface layer of the coastal waters is obvious. Rather unexpectedly, both have been slightly but significantly decreasing from 2003 to 2018-2019 and started to increase very recently (2019-2022). This change of regime could be explained by changing patterns of precipitation (especially in winter), groundwater distribution and wind_induced mixing in the coastal area.