Biological and Geological Observations on the First Photographs of the Arctic Ocean Deep‐sea Floor1

Hunkins, Kenneth; Ewing, Maurice; Heezen, Bruce C.; Menzies, Robert J.

doi:10.4319/lo.1960.5.2.0154

Cited by 26 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The senior author has observed similar depressions occurring in chains on the floor of the Arctic Alpha Cordillera, indicative of a potential biogenic origin. Yet Hunkins et al (1960) report experimentally producing such depressions by dropping pebbles onto sediment and suggest ice-rafting as the possible mechanism. These depressions belong in Ewing and Davis's group IVA5.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abyssal traces and megafauna: comparison of productivity, diversity and density in the Arctic and Antarctic

Kitchell

Johnson

et al. 1978

Paleobiology

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The megafauna and associated behavioral traces of two deep-sea benthic environments, the central Arctic and Antarctic, with a surface primary productivity differential of 104 were compared to assess the role of food availability in foraging strategy and community structure. Bottom photographs, analyzed for megafauna and trace density and diversity at comparable depths in the Arctic Canada Basin and the Antarctic Bellingshausen Basin, indicated that trace frequency was inversely proportional to organism density but that trace diversity directly reflected organism diversity. Those traces identified in the fossil record to represent efficient foraging strategies, i.e., the Nereites facies, were conspicuously absent at all depths in the Arctic and present at all depths in the Antarctic, in contradiction of the paradigm of increasing behavioral complexity and sediment exploitation as food availability decreases. Presence or absence of surface-grazing organisms seems to exert a greater influence on trace diversity than depth or nutrient supply. Trace density, however, may reflect episodic sedimentation events which intermittently influence the deep-sea trophic regime.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abyssal traces and megafauna: comparison of productivity, diversity and density in the Arctic and Antarctic

Kitchell

Johnson

et al. 1978

Paleobiology

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“…The drift rates are l-2cm s-1 to the west at stations #2, 5, and 8, and l-2cm s-1 to the south at station #4 . Hunkins et al (1960) observed flows of less than lcm s-1 from the Alpha station, while Hall ( 1979) working in the same region, reported a near bed flow of lcm s-1 • Hunkins et al (1969), in a similar fashion, measured bottom currents of 4--6cm s-1 • Successive trip weight impact prints were seen from image to image of the bottom photographs. The distance between impacts shows an ice drift rate of approximately 20cm min-1 or less.…”

Section: °mentioning

confidence: 83%

Bottom photography and sediment analyses on CESAR

Amos¹

1985

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“…1) is predominantly between the 1,500-2,000 m isobaths along the flanks of the Lomonosov Ridge, the Mendeleev Ridge and along the Chukchi Rise (Woodgate et al 2007). Observed bottom current velocities are \1 cm/s in water depths below 3,000 m and 4-6 cm/s in the 2,000-3,000 m depth range on the south slope of the Mendeleev Ridge (Hunkins et al 1960(Hunkins et al , 1969. Water masses in the Eurasia Basin are renewed from the Norwegian-Greenland seas through the Fram Strait gateway, as well as by cold, salty water from the Barents Shelf formed by brine rejection during the formation of sea ice (Aagaard et al 1985).…”

Section: Ocean Circulationmentioning

confidence: 92%

Hemipelagic deposits on the Mendeleev and northwestern Alpha submarine Ridges in the Arctic Ocean: acoustic stratigraphy, depositional environment and an inter-ridge correlation calibrated by the ACEX results

et al. 2010

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The first high resolution multichannel seismic data from the Mendeleev and Alpha Ridges in the Arctic Ocean have been used to investigate the depositional history, and compare acoustic stratigraphies of the three main sub-marine ridges (Mendeleev, Alpha and Lomonosov) in the polar ocean. Acoustic basement on the Mendeleev Ridge is covered by a *0.6-0.8 s thick sediment drape over highs and up to 1.8 s within grabens. A pronounced angular discordance at 0.18-0.23 s below the seafloor along the middle to upper slopes divides the succession into an upper, undisturbed, uniformly thick, hemipelagic drape (Unit M1) and a partially truncated lower unit (Unit M2) characterized by strong reflection bands. Unit M2 is thicker in intra-ridge grabens and includes three sub-units with abundant debris flows in the uppermost subunit (M2a). The discordance between Units M1 and M2 most likely relates to instability along the middle to upper slopes and mass wasting, triggered by tectonic activity. The scars were further smoothed by bottom current erosion. We observe comparable acoustic stratigraphy and discordant relationships on the investigated northwestern part of Alpha Ridge. Similarly, on the central Lomonosov Ridge, Paleocene and younger sediments sampled by scientific drilling include an uppermost *0.2 s thick drape overlying, highly reflective deposits with an angular unconformity confined to the upper slope on both sides of the ridge. Sediment instability on the three main ridges was most likely generated by a brief phase of tectonic activity (*14.5-22 Ma), coinciding with enhanced bottom circulation. These events are coeval with the initial opening of the Fram Strait. The age of the oldest sediments above acoustic basement on the Mendeleev-and west-central Alpha Ridges is estimated to be 70-75 Ma.

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Biological and Geological Observations on the First Photographs of the Arctic Ocean Deep‐sea Floor1

Abstract: The first series of Arctic bottom photographs give the following indications regarding conditions on the Arctic sea floor:Bottom life appears to be less abundant than in the Atlantic Ocean at similar depths.

Cited by 26 publications

References 2 publications

Abyssal traces and megafauna: comparison of productivity, diversity and density in the Arctic and Antarctic

Abyssal traces and megafauna: comparison of productivity, diversity and density in the Arctic and Antarctic

Bottom photography and sediment analyses on CESAR

Hemipelagic deposits on the Mendeleev and northwestern Alpha submarine Ridges in the Arctic Ocean: acoustic stratigraphy, depositional environment and an inter-ridge correlation calibrated by the ACEX results

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