Reconstruction of the conditions of Late Holocene sedimentation by integrated analysis of a core of the bottom sediments from the Chukchi Sea

Abstract

Integrated studies were performed on bottom sediments collected in the Chukchi Sea in the northern part of the Gerald Canyon 150 km northeast from Wrangel Island. The recent sedimentation rate amounted to 0.9 mm/year by ²¹⁰Pb at the sampling site. The concentrations of biogenic components (SiO_2bio, С_org, N_tot, and Br) were minimum at the lower part of the core, where an increase of Thalassiosira antarctica antarctica, probably results from low biological productivity during the Maunder Minimum. The increased concentrations of biogenic components, as well as the decreased values of magnetic susceptibility and X-ray density, in the upper part of the core (1–2 cm) correspond to the last decade of recent of global warming.