Recent bottom sediments in Agf ardlikavsa and Qaumarujuk fiords near Marmorilik, West Greenland

Abstract

As part of an environmental background sampling program, carried out prior to the disposal of tailings from the lead-zinc concentration plant at Mlirmorilik into Agfardlikavsli, the recent bottom sediments of the fiord system around the township have been subjected to detailed analysis as to grain size distribution, mineral content and the distribution of certain trace elements. Meltwater streams from the nearby Inland Ice margin and from local glaciers carry finegrained primary mineral detritus into the adjacent fiords, in three different depositional environments. The bottom sediments can be correlated to the surrounding bedrock. The distribution pattern of a number of trace elements in the bottom sediments is partly related to their mineral content, partly to selective sorption processes which take place in the marine environment.