Distribution of Diatoms in the Surface Sediments of the Seas of Eastern Siberia and the Arctic Ocean

Abstract

The present study quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed the diatoms in samples of the surface sediments collected from the seas of Eastern Siberia and the Arctic Ocean (AO) in 2016 and 2018. Compared with the end of the last century, there were significant changes in species composition and quantitative ratio of the diatom assemblages in the sediments from the Arctic Ocean and the Laptev and East Siberian Seas (ESS). In contrast, the diatom assemblages in the sediments from the Chukchi Sea had not significantly changed in terms of species composition or quantitative ratio over the same three decades. The observed transformations in the diatom assemblages of the surface sediments were associated with substantial alterations in water temperature, current flow, salinity, admixture, ice melting, and prolonged ice-free periods associated with global warming in the Northern Hemisphere in recent decades. The foregoing processes have clearly had strong impacts on the environment and the biota of the Arctic region.