Holocene siliciclastic and organic carbon fluxes in the Ob and Yenisei estuaries and the adjacent inner Kara Sea: Quantification, variability, and paleoenvironmental implications

AMS-14C dated sediment cores from the Ob and Yenisei estuaries and the adjacent inner Kara Sea were investigated to determine the siliclastic and organic carbon fluxes and their relationship to paleoenvironmental changes. The variability of sediment fluxes during Holocene times is related to the post-glacial sea-level rise and changes in river discharge and coastal erosion input. Whereas during the late/middle Holocene most of the terrigenous sediments were deposited in the estuaries and the areas directly off the estuaries, huge amounts of sediments accumulated on the Kara Sea shelf farther north during the early Holocene before about 9 Cal. kyrs. BP. The maximum accumulation at that time is related to the lowered sea level, increased coastal erosion, and increased river discharge due to the final stage of mountain deglaciation of the Putoran Massif. Increased supply of Yenisei-derived material indicated by peak magnetic susceptibility values probably occurred in climate-related pulses culminating near 11, 10, and 9 Cal. kyrs. BP. As sea level rose, the main Holocene depocenter migrated southward. Based on hydrogen index values and n-alkanes, the organic matter is predominantly of terrigenous origin. Maximum accumulation rates of 1.5 to more than 6 g cm-2 y-1 occurred in the early Holocene sediments, suggesting more humid climatic conditions with an increased vegetation cover in the source area at that time. In general, high organic carbon accumulation rates characterize the estuaries and the inner Kara Sea as important sink for terrigenous organic carbon.

[1]  L. Merklin,et al.  Variations in the influence of riverine discharge on the Kara Sea during the last deglaciation and the Holocene , 2002 .

[2]  R. Stein,et al.  Accumulation of particulate organic carbon at the Eurasian continental margin during late Quaternary times: controlling mechanisms and paleoenvironmental significance , 2001 .

[3]  H. Kassens,et al.  Chronology of the Holocene transgression at the North Siberian margin , 2001 .

[4]  J. Syvitski.  The freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean , 2001 .

[5]  H. Kassens,et al.  Composition and Flux of Holocene Sediments on the Eastern Laptev Sea Shelf, Arctic Siberia , 2001, Quaternary Research.

[6]  R. Stein.  Circum-Arctic river discharge and its geological record: an introduction , 2000 .

[7]  F. Niessen,et al.  Variations of continental discharge pattern in space and time: implications from the Laptev Sea continental margin, Arctic Siberia , 2000 .

[8]  J. Hurrell,et al.  The Arctic Ocean Response to the North Atlantic Oscillation , 2000 .

[9]  R. Stein,et al.  Holocene accumulation of organic carbon at the Laptev Sea continental margin (Arctic Ocean): sources, pathways, and sinks , 2000 .

[10]  V. A. Klimanov,et al.  Quantitative Holocene climatic reconstruction from Arctic Russia , 2000 .

[11]  M. Sicre,et al.  The importance of terrestrial organic carbon inputs on Kara Sea shelves as revealed by n-alkanes, OC and δ13C values , 2000 .

[12]  H. Kassens,et al.  Depositional environment of the Laptev Sea (Arctic Siberia) during the Holocene , 1999 .

[13]  J. Wallace,et al.  The Arctic oscillation signature in the wintertime geopotential height and temperature fields , 1998 .

[14]  S. Forman,et al.  Late Weichselian deglacial history of the Svyataya (Saint) Anna Trough, northern Kara Sea, Arctic Russia , 1997 .

[15]  R. Stein,et al.  Modern organic carbon deposition in the Laptev Sea and the adjacent continental slope: surface water productivity vs. terrigenous input , 1997 .

[16]  M. Melles,et al.  Late- and post-glacial vegetation and climate history of the south-western Taymyr Peninsula, central Siberia, as revealed by pollen analysis of a core from Lake Lama , 1997 .

[17]  A. P. Lisitsin,et al.  Radiocarbon of quaternary along shore and bottom deposits of the Lena and the Laptev Sea sediments , 1996 .

[18]  J. M. Martin,et al.  A reassessment of the Eurasian river input of water, sediment, major elements, and nutrients to the Arctic Ocean , 1996 .

[19]  C. Schubert,et al.  Deposition of organic carbon in Arctic Ocean sediments: terrigenous supply vs marine productivity , 1996 .

[20]  J. Hurrell.  Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional Temperatures and Precipitation , 1995, Science.

[21]  R. Macdonald,et al.  Terrestrial and marine biomarkers in a seasonally ice-covered Arctic estuary — integration of multivariate and biomarker approaches , 1995 .

[22]  J. Heinemeier,et al.  The Last Deglaciation Event in the Eastern Central Arctic Ocean , 1994, Science.

[23]  J. Jouzel,et al.  Comparison of oxygen isotope records from the GISP2 and GRIP Greenland ice cores , 1993, Nature.

[24]  R. Macdonald,et al.  Age of Canada Basin Deep Waters: A Way to Estimate Primary Production for the Arctic Ocean , 1991, Science.

[25]  R. Fairbanks.  A 17,000-year glacio-eustatic sea level record: influence of glacial melting rates on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation , 1989, Nature.

[26]  E. Carmack,et al.  The role of sea ice and other fresh water in the Arctic circulation , 1989 .

[27]  P. A. Cross,et al.  Lecture notes in Earth sciences: Vol. 12. S. Turner (Editor), Applied Geodesy VIII, Springer, Berlin, F.R.G., 1987, 393pp, DM78.00, ISBN 3 540 182195 , 1989 .

[28]  D. Welte,et al.  Petroleum Formation and Occurrence , 1989 .

[29]  J. Mangerud,et al.  Apparent Radiocarbon Ages of recent marine shells from Norway, Spitsbergen, and Arctic Canada , 1975, Quaternary Research.

[30]  M. Blumer,et al.  Hydrocarbons of marine phytoplankton , 1971 .

[31]  E. E. Bray,et al.  Distribution of n-paraffins as a clue to recognition of source beds , 1961 .

[32]  W. J. Dyer,et al.  A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification. , 1959, Canadian journal of biochemistry and physiology.

[33]  T. Platt,et al.  Primary production of arctic waters , 2004, Polar Biology.

[34]  F. Niessen,et al.  GeoChirp and ELAC sediment echograph profiling , 2002 .

[35]  H. Hubberten,et al.  The late Quaternary climatic and environmental history of the Taymyr Peninsula, northern Central Siberia with special emphasis on the last 10,000 years , 2001 .

[36]  R. Stein,et al.  Late Quaternary organic matter records from the Laptev Sea continental margin: Evidence for the variability of river discharge during the last 15000 years BP. , 2000 .

[37]  R. Stein,et al.  Biomarkers as organic-carbon-source and environmental indicators in the Late Quaternary Arctic Ocean: problems and perspectives , 1999 .

[38]  Charles Gobeil,et al.  A sediment and organic carbon budget for the Canadian Beaufort Shelf , 1998 .

[39]  F. Niessen,et al.  Log-based physical properties of the CRP-1 core, Ross Sea, Antarctica , 1998 .

[40]  G. Kuhn,et al.  Calibration and application of marine sedimentary physical properties using a multi-sensor core logger , 1997 .

[41]  A. Hollerbach.  Grundlagen der organischen Geochemie , 1985 .

[42]  E. A. Romankevich.  Geochemistry of organic matter in the ocean , 1984 .

[43]  B. Zoeteman,et al.  Aquatic Pollutants: Transformation and Biological Effects , 1978 .

[44]  P. Kolattukudy.  Chemistry and biochemistry of natural waxes , 1976 .

[45]  T. H. Andel,et al.  Cenozoic history and paleoceanography of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean: A regional synthesis of Deep Sea Drilling Project data , 1975 .