Towards an improved organic carbon budget for the Barents Sea shelf, marginal Arctic Ocean

Abstract

There is generally a lack of knowledge on how marine organic carbon accumulation is linked to vertical export and primary productivity patterns. In this study, a multi-proxy geochemical and organic-sedimentological approach is coupled with organic facies modelling focusing on regional calculations of carbon cycling and carbon burial on the western Barents shelf between northern Scandinavia and Svalbard. OF-Mod 3D, an organic facies modelling software tool, is used to reconstruct the marine and terrestrial organic carbon fractions and to make inferences about marine primary productivity in this region. The model is calibrated with an extensive sample dataset and reproduces the present-day regional distribution of the organic carbon fractions well. Based on this new organic facies model, we present regional carbon mass accumulation rate calculations for the western Barents Sea

Benthic macrofaunal bioturbation activities from shelf to deep basin in spring to summer transition in the Arctic Ocean

“…It is a very productive area of the Barents Sea, and its productivity is correlated with the duration of the seasonal sea cover (Winkelmann and Knies, 2005). In Storfjorden the production of marine organic carbon may exceed 300 mg C cm -2 kyr -1 , while the production of total organic carbon (TOC) may exceed 500 mg C cm -2 kyr -1 (Pathirana et al, 2013;Rasmussen and Thomsen, 2014).…”

Brine formation in relation to climate changes and ice retreat during the last 15,000 years in Storfjorden, Svalbard, 76–78°N

“…Polynyas are generally areas of high organic productivity [e.g., Arrigo et al, 2008], and Storfjorden is very productive compared to other areas of the Barents Sea. In Storfjorden the production of marine organic carbon may exceed 300 mgC cm À2 kyr À1 , while the production of total organic carbon (TOC) may exceed 500 mgC cm À2 kyr À1 [Pathirana et al, 2013].…”

“…In the Nordic seas and in the Arctic Ocean, high productivity occurs characteristically at the sea ice edge and near the Arctic Front [Johannessen, 1987;Smith et al, 1985;van Aken et al, 1991;Wollenburg and Kuhnt, 2000;Wassmann et al, 2006;Wollenburg et al, 2007;Reigstad et al, 2011]. In Storfjorden the production of marine organic carbon is very high and correlated with the duration of the seasonal sea cover [Winkelmann and Knies, 2005;Pathirana et al, 2013]. Polynyal activity may further increase the primary productivity [e.g., Arrigo et al, 2008] accentuating the acidity of the bottom water.…”