Warm-Water Planktonic Foraminifera in Kara Sea Sediments

Abstract

The article is devoted to research of warm-water planktonic foraminifera species in the Arctic. The fauna of planktonic and benthic foraminifera in the surface and subsurface layer of Kara Sea sediments were studied. It was found that benthic foraminifera complexes were characteristic of this region. In planktonic foraminifera complexes obtained near Novaya Zemlya, a significant amount of warm-water species from equatorial, tropical, and subtropical regions not native to this region were present. We suggested that these species were brought to the Arctic by waters from low latitudes. The results were compared with published data, demonstrating the presence of warm-water planktonic foraminifera species in sediments around Novaya Zemlya and the Arctic. It was shown that living warm-water planktonic foraminifera were noted in the water column of the Laptev Sea and their tests were observed in modern sediments of its marginal part.