Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
5 years ago

Distribution of diatoms and geochemical features of holocene sediments from the Kuril Basin (Sea of Okhotsk)

Sediments from the Kuril Basin were collected during the Russian-German deep-sea expedition SokhoBio (Sea of Okhotsk Biodiversity Studies). Concentrations of biogenic and trace elements, quantitative content, and species composition of diatom assemblages in surface sediments and core samples were analyzed. Distribution in the surface sediments depending on different environmental conditions as well as changes in the diatom frustule content, the ratio of dominant diatom species, and the ecological structure of diatom assemblages were studied. The collected sediments were silt and clayey silt, with SiO2am and Corg contents ranging from 15.85% to 36.61% and 0.84–1.92%, respectively. The spatial distribution patterns of the elements studied and the diatoms, as well as vertical profiles of the sediment cores, revealed that the contents of biogenic components and trace elements, such as amorphous silica, organic carbon, barium and phosphorus, changed in parallel with the change in the number of diatoms and depended mainly on the biological productivity of the sea. The change in water mass parameters and in the hydrological regime also affected the chemical composition of the bottom sediments over time. A predominance of oceanic species is observed in the sediments at the bottom of the basin, and the mixed oceanic-neritic composition of diatoms is characteristic of slope deposits. Moreover, the assemblages reflect the influence of Pacific Ocean water masses at stations close to the Kuril Straits, as well as in the warm waters of the Sea of Japan at the station in the Soya Current zone. A nearly synchronous increase in the impact of Okhotsk water masses and the entry of the Sakhalin Current waters into the Kuril Basin as one moved deeper into the core at stations with different climatic conditions was observed. The productivity and species diversity of diatoms and the chemical composition of sediments are reflections of the regional features of climatic processes.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S0967064517303053

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