BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2014, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 473-480

Diatom distribution in the surface sediments of the Eastern Arctic seas of Russia

© 2014 M. S. Obrezkova¹, A. N. Kolesnik¹, I. P. Semiletov^1,2

¹V.I. Ilyichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041;
²National Research Polytechnic University of Tomsk, Tomsk 634050

E-mail:

The distribution features of diatoms in the surface sediments of the Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi seas were studied. The sediment diatom content (measured per gram of dry sediment) varied widely, being lowest in the East Siberian Sea and highest in the Chukchi Sea. The cluster analysis revealed several diatom assemblages in the surface sediments of the studied region, their distribution depended on the hydrological conditions. Benthic Amphora libyca, freshwater Aulacoseira subarctica, and brackish-water Thalassiosira hyperborea assemblages were identified in the Laptev Sea. A cold-water Th. antarctica assemblage was distinguished in the eastern part of the East Siberian Sea and in the northern Chukchi Sea; a highly productive Chaetoceros assemblage, in the Herald Canyon area; a sublittoral Odontella aurita assemblage, in sandy sediments of the Herald Shoal; a Paralia sulcata assemblage, an indicator of low salinity waters, in the eastern Chukchi Sea near Alaska; and "sea-ice" Th. nordenskioeldii and Fragillariopsis oceanica assemblages, in the southern Chukchi Sea.

Key words: diatoms, surface sediments, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea, cluster analysis.