Temporal and spatial variatins of particle fluxes in the western Arctic Ocean

Abstract

We examine the particle fluxes and composition of sinking particle collected at two sites in the western Arctic Ocean: East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea. Time-series sediment traps had been deployed at 320 m water for one year from August 2017 to July 2018. In the Chukchi sea, sinking particle fluxes showed a clear seasonal variation with high values in summer and low values in other seasons. Total mass flux displayed the maximum value (337 mg m-2 day-1) in August 2017. Annual mass flux was estimated to be 36.2 g m-2. Biogenic opal was a major component of sinking particles, comprising 45.7%. Lithogenic material was a second major component, comprising 34.8%. Organic carbon and CaCO3 comprise 7.3% and 2.0%, respectively. In the East Siberian sea, sinking particle fluxes also showed a clear seasonal variation with high values in summer and low values in other seasons, but high particle fluxes were not observed in August 2017. Total mass flux displayed the maximum value (475 mg m-2 day-1) in July 2018. Annual mass flux was estimated to be 30.0 g m-2, which a little lower than that in Chukchi Sea. Lithogenic material was a major component of sinking particles, comprising 58.1%. Biogenic opal was a second major component, comprising 23.0%. Organic carbon and CaCO3 comprise 6.8% and 2.5%, respectively.1