TY  - JOUR
A1  - Radosavljevic, Boris
A1  - Lantuit, Hugues
A1  - Knoblauch, Christian
A1  - Couture, Nicole
A1  - Herzschuh, Ulrike
A1  - Fritz, Michael
T1  - Arctic nearshore sediment dynamics - an example from Herschel Island - Qikiqtaruk, Canada
JF  - Journal of marine science and engineering
N2  - Increasing arctic coastal erosion rates imply a greater release of sediments and organic matter into the coastal zone. With 213 sediment samples taken around Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk, Canadian Beaufort Sea, we aimed to gain new insights on sediment dynamics and geochemical properties of a shallow arctic nearshore zone. Spatial characteristics of nearshore sediment texture (moderately to poorly sorted silt) are dictated by hydrodynamic processes, but ice-related processes also play a role. We determined organic matter (OM) distribution and inferred the origin and quality of organic carbon by C/N ratios and stable carbon isotopes delta C-13. The carbon content was higher offshore and in sheltered areas (mean: 1.0 wt.%., S.D.: 0.9) and the C/N ratios also showed a similar spatial pattern (mean: 11.1, S.D.: 3.1), while the delta C-13 (mean: -26.4 parts per thousand VPDB, S.D.: 0.4) distribution was more complex. We compared the geochemical parameters of our study with terrestrial and marine samples from other studies using a bootstrap approach. Sediments of the current study contained 6.5 times and 1.8 times less total organic carbon than undisturbed and disturbed terrestrial sediments, respectively. Therefore, degradation of OM and separation of carbon pools take place on land and continue in the nearshore zone, where OM is leached, mineralized, or transported beyond the study area.
KW  - permafrost
KW  - Arctic Ocean
KW  - stable carbon isotopes
KW  - nitrogen
KW  - sediment
KW  - chemistry
KW  - sediment dynamics
KW  - Beaufort Sea
KW  - grain size
Y1  - 2022
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10111589
SN  - 2077-1312
VL  - 10
IS  - 11
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -