Regularities of distribution of particulation types of modern bottom sediments and organic carbon by depth in the western part of the Barents sea

Abstract

In this article, the possibilities of statistical analysis methods were demonstrated on the example of studying modern bottom sediments in the western part of the Barents Sea. As a result of cluster and dispersion analyses, regularities in the distribution of granulometric types of modern bottom sediments and organic carbon dissolved in them with depth within the sublittoral and bathyal zones of the sea were established. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that the size distribution of sediments was due to the mechanical differentiation of sedimentary material as it was transported by sea currents, as well as the distance from the main sources of drift — Novaya Zemlya, the Kola Peninsula and Svalbard. At the same time, the accumulation of organic carbon in bottom sediments was associated with the peculiarities of the distribution of communities of marine organisms within the considered facies zones. The high content of organic carbon in the bathyal zone of the sea was associated with an increase in primary productivity here, as well as with the transfer by sea currents of the accumulated biogenic material of the littoral and sublittoral zones towards the bathyal.