| Title | Arctic nearshore sediment dynamics - an example from Herschel Island - Qikiqtaruk, Canada |
| |
| Author | Radosavljevic, B ;
Lantuit, H; Knoblauch, C; Couture, N; Herzschuh, U; Fritz, M |
| Source | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering vol. 10, issue 11, 2022 p. 1-18, https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10111589  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2022 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20220373 |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Province | Yukon |
| NTS | 117D/11; 117D/12 |
| Area | Qikiqtaruk; Herschel Island; Arctic Ocean; Beaufort Sea |
| Lat/Long WENS | -139.3333 -138.8333 69.5833 69.5042 |
| Subjects | Science and Technology; sedimentology; Nature and Environment; permafrost; nitrogen; sedimentation dynamics; sediment geochemistry |
| Illustrations | location maps; diagrams; cross-plots; tables; graphs |
| Program | Climate Change Geoscience |
| Released | 2022 10 27 |
| Abstract | Increasing arctic coastal erosion rates imply a greater release of sediments and organic matter into the coastal zone. With 213 sediment samples taken around Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk, Canadian
Beaufort Sea, we aimed to shed light on sediment dynamics and geochemical proper-ties of a shallow arctic nearshore. Spatial characteristics of nearshore sediment texture (moder-ately to poorly sorted silt) are dictated by hydrodynamic processes, but
ice-related processes al-so play a role. We determined organic matter (OM) distribution and inferred origin and quality of organic carbon by C/N ratios and stable carbon isotopes d13C. Carbon content is higher off-shore and in sheltered areas (mean:
1.0 wt. %., S.D.: 0.9) and C/N also occur in a similar spatial pattern (mean: 11.1, S.D.: 3.1), while the d13C (mean: ?26.4 per mil VPDB, S.D.: 0.4) distribution is more complex. We compared geochemical parameters of our study with terrestrial and
marine sam-ples from other studies using a bootstrap approach. Sediments of the current study contained 6.5 times and 1.8 times less total organic carbon than undisturbed and disturbed terrestrial sedi-ments, respectively. Therefore, degradation of
OM and separation of carbon pools take place on land and continue in the nearshore, where OM is leached, mineralized, or transported beyond the study area. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Increasing arctic coastal erosion rates imply a greater release of sediments and organic matter into the coastal zone. Using sediment samples taken
around Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk, Canadian Beaufort Sea, we aimed to shed light on sediment dynamics and geochemical properties of a shallow arctic nearshore. Results show that hydrodynamic processes are most important in determining sediment
distribution, but that ice-related processes also play a role. We determined the distribution of organic carbon and inferred its origin. Carbon content is higher off-shore and in sheltered areas. Comparison of our results with other studies
demonstrates that degradation of organic matter takes place on land and continues in the nearshore. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 330938 |
|
|