A. A. Klyuvitkin

Dispersed organic matter and its fluxes in oceans and seas from the example of the White Sea: Results of a 12-year study

Annual and long-term quantitative estimations of the vertical fluxes of sedimentary matter in the White Sea are the basis for direct calculations of the gain of chemical components and minerals and diverse pollution of the surface layer of the bottom sediments. The White Sea, one of six Russian Arctic seas, may be considered as a megapolygon for further modern study using the new mechanisms of Arctic sedimentogenesis discovered. This work is directed at elaboration of new technologies of complex study of seas using submarine sedimentation and regular vessel observatories. The first priority task is year-round monitoring along the Northern Sea route.

Resumption of hydrogen sulfide contamination of the water column of deep basins in the Caspian Sea

ISSN 1028334X, Doklady Earth Sciences, 2013, Vol. 453, Part 1, pp. 1094–1099.

Studying the biogenic and abiogenic parts of suspended particulate matter in the Volga delta during spring flood of May 2008

Multidisciplinary studies of the dispersed sedimentary matter (suspended particulate matter) were carried out in the Volga delta during spring flood in two areas of the Astrakhan State Biosphere Reserve (Obzhorovskii and Damchikskii), allowing the authors to reveal some regularities in sedimentation conditions. Considerable differences were found to exist in the supply of sedimentary material into the sea through the branches and arms of the eastern and western parts of the river delta. Typical of the eastern part are appreciably higher concentrations of suspended particulate matter, biogenic components, and phytopigments, as well as greater phytoplankton abundance and biomass, and sedimentary material fluxes. A relationship was found to exist between the concentration of suspended particulate matter and the phytopigments under consideration. In May, almost entire chlorophyll “a” in suspended particulate matter was concentrated in the cells of small diatom algae, where it was distributed in proportion to diatom biomass. Overall, the suspended matter of the delta is mostly represented by mineral detrital particles (quartz and carbonates) with a relatively small share of clay materials against the background of a huge amount of diatom cells and biogenic detritus.

Atmospheric aerosols and sedimentation in arid zones of the Atlantic Ocean

The study of atmospheric aerosols over oceans is one of the new priority fields in the investigation of sedimentation in the oceans. Atmospheric transport of sedimentary particles suspended in the air is a link between the sources of matter transport from land, the ocean surface (substance mobilization zone), and bottom sediments [1‐3 and others]. Aeolian transport is especially important as a source of sedimentary matter in arid zones, where river discharge is minimal, especially in the ocean regions located far from the continents. Deserts, semideserts, and savannas in Africa are the main sources of aerosols in the Atlantic. A large number of publications is dedicated to the study of the main regions of outflow and pathways of transport of the African dust to the ocean observed by means of satellite images, calculation of inverse trajectories, identification of minerals and tracer elements, and so on [1‐5 and others]. However, publications estimating the specific contribution of aerosols to the composition of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the ocean are quite rare. Most such works are dedicated to comparison of aerosol and matter fluxes collected by sedimentation traps in the water column [5 and others]. However, we did not find any publications devoted to comparison of the atmospheric aerosol and oceanic SPM samples taken simultaneously and processed using the same methods.

Comparative Study of Vertical Suspension Fluxes from the Water Column, Rates of Sedimentation, and Absolute Masses of the Bottom Sediments in the White Sea Basin of the Arctic Ocean

A new approach using dispersed organic matter of the water column in sedimentation traps in comparison with the surface layer of the bottom sediments is applied for the study of marine sedimentation. This approach provides the opportunity for an in situ (by fluxes of sedimentary matter in the water column) study of modern sedimentation in the surface layers of the bottom sediments and tracing the changes in the environment and climate at a new technological level. This also allows us to choose the reverse task: to reconstruct the fluxes of the matter and chemical elements in ancient seas by the rates (or absolute masses) of sedimentation.

Distribution and composition of suspended particulate matter in the Atlantic Ocean: Direct measurements and satellite data

The main purpose of this work is to study the real distribution and spatial–temporal variations of suspended particulate matter and its main components in surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean on the basis of direct and satellite measurements for development of new and perfection of available algorithms for converting satellite data. The distribution fields of suspended particulate matter were calculated and plotted for the entire Atlantic Ocean. It is established that its distribution in the open ocean is subordinate to the latitudinal climatic zonality. The areas with maximum concentrations form latitudinal belts corresponding to high-productivity eutrophic and mesotrophic waters of the northern and southern temperate humid belts and with the equatorial humid zone. Phytoplankton, the productivity of which depends primarily on the climatic zonality, is the main producer of suspended particulate matter in the surface water layer.

Seasonal variation of fluxes of dispersed sedimentary matter in the White Sea (Arctic ocean basin)

The monthly and seasonal quantity estimates of vertical fluxes of sedimentary matter from the White Sea performed during studies are the basis for the direct calculations of incoming chemical components, minerals, and various pollutants to the surface layer of bottom sediments. The White Sea, one of six Russian Arctic seas, may be considered as a megapolygon for further modern research using the new regularities of arctic sedimentogenesis established. This study focuses on the development of new technologies for complex studies of marine water areas using underwater sedimentation observatories, regular observations onboard vessels, and satellite oceanological data. The first priority task is year-round monitoring along the Northern Sea Route.

Multidisciplinary experiment on studying short-period variability of the sedimentary process in the northeastern part of the Black Sea

The principal aim of this work is to reveal the regularities of short-period synoptic variability of vertical flows and the composition of settling sedimentary material, to obtain information on the quantitative characteristics of the processes that influence sound-scattering layers in the water layer above the continental slope behind the shelf edge in the northeastern part of the Black Sea. The results were obtained due to improvement of the equipment and the procedures for performing sea experiments on studying physicogeological, biological, and hydrophysical processes in the upper illuminated layer of phytoplankton development.

Chlorophyll a in suspended particulate matter of the Caspian Sea as an indicator of biogenic sedimentation conditions

The conditions of biogenic sedimentation (concentration of chlorophyll a (chl a), particulate organic carbon (POC), and its isotope composition (δ13СPOC)), as well as the quantitative characteristics of phytoplankton, and the total concentration of suspended particulate matter have been studied in the Caspian Sea in May and June 2012. The vertical (from the surface layer to bottom) distribution and precipitation of the biogenic component of suspended particulate matter have been determined. It was found that only 5% of the particulate matter and around 3% of POC reached the Middle Caspian after passing through a marginal filter (Volga River delta–Northern Caspian). The subsurface chl a maximum layer (around 20–60 m) with a cold-water phytoplankton community was revealed in the Middle and Southern Caspian. The subsurface region of accumulation of chl a and phytoplankton in the subthermocline layer has been extended from the southern periphery of the Derbent Depression to the Absheron Sill.

Rare-earth element distribution and 87Sr/86Sr systematics in modern bottom sediments of the Caspian Sea

1418 The processes of accumulation of modern sedi ments in the Caspian Sea have been studied by N.I. Andrusov, A.D. Arkhangel’skii, N. M. Strakhov, M.V. Klenova, S.V. Bruevich, V.P. Baturin, E.K. Ko pylova, N.M. Arutyunova, V.F. Solov’ev, A.S. Pakho mova, T.I. Gorshkova, I.A. Aleksina, L.I. Lebedev, L.S. Kulakova, E.G. Maev, P.N. Kuprin, S.A. Brusi lovskii, Yu.N. Gurski, D.S. Turovskii, O.K. Bor dovskii, D.E. Gershanovich, Yu.P. Khrustalev, and many others. Currently interest in study of the Cas pian Sea is growing again due to the beginning of the systematic works aimed at developing a 4D model ini tiated by Academician A.P. Lisitzin.