Abstract
A comparative analysis of the content and composition of organic matter (OM) in samples of bottom sediments and subaqueous permafrost rocks by the concentration of organic carbon (OC), C/N ratio, and isotopic composition of OC (δ13C) was carried out for three boreholes drilled in Buor-Khaya Bay in 2014–2015. The intervals of OC, C/N and δ13C values measured in 105 samples ranged from 0.04 to 23.1% (avg. 2.08%), from 1.00 to 41.7 (avg. 11.8) and from –29.1 to –19.6% (avg. –24.9%), respectively. The highest OC concentrations were found at horizons enriched with plant detritus. Based on the aggregate data obtained, it is shown that the studied sediments and permafrost rocks contain plant, lacustrine, and marine OM. In most samples, it is mixed, but enriched with of continental-vegetation and lacustrine components. According to the isotopic and elemental composition of the OM, it was found that sediments of the Yedoma Suite and Ice Complex are present in the studied strata, and to a lesser extent, deposits of thermokarst lakes and basins flooded by the sea. At a relative distance from the continent, isotopic heaviness of OC was recorded, associated with an increased share of aquatic components in OM, which is confirmed by data on the molecular composition of n-alkanes. There is no correlation between the grain size of sediments and measured organic geochemical parameters, which is a distinctive feature of the studied alluvial strata.
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Funding
Analyses of stable carbon isotopes were supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 19-77-10 044). The results were generalized within the framework of the state task of IO RAS (topic no. 0128-2021-0005).
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Ulyantsev, A.S., Bratskaya, S.Y., Dudarev, O.V. et al. Concentration and Isotopic and Elemental Composition of Organic Matter in Subsea Thawed and Permafrost Deposits of Buor-Khaya Bay. Oceanology 62, 487–499 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437022030158
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437022030158