FEATURES OF SEDIMENTATION AFTER THE LITTLE ICE AGE IN THE INLETS OF THE EUROPEAN ARCTIC UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ATLANTIC WATERS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE WATER AREAS OF THE SVALBARD ARCHIPELAGO AND THE KOLA PENINSULA

Meshcheriakov, N. I., Namyatov, A. A., Usyagina, I. S., Ivanova, N. S., Matishov, G. G.

Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Murmansk, Russian Federation)

The article was received on June 16, 2025

Bibliographic description: Meshcheryakov N. I., Namyatov A. A., Usyagina I. S., Ivanova N. S., Matishov G. G. Features of sedimentation after the Little Ice Age in the inlets of the European Arctic under the influence of Atlantic waters: a comparative analysis of the water areas of the Svalbard archipelago and the Kola Peninsula. Arctic: Ecology and Economy, 2026, vol. 16, no. 1.

Abstract:  The paper presents a comparative analysis of the sedimentation rates and patterns in the basins of the Spitsbergen archipelago and the Kola Peninsula, directly affected by Atlantic waters penetrating with the Norwegian Current (Nordcap Current) and West Spitsbergen Current. Sedimentation rates on the Spitsbergen archipelago were estimated in Isfjorden Bay and its arms — Grenfjorden, Kolesbukht, Adventfjorden and Billefjorden, and on the Kola Peninsula — in Kola and Motovsky Bays, as well as on the coast of Eastern Murman — Yarnyshnaya Bay and Oscar Bay. The researchers described the pattern and rates of current sedimentation in the basins, based on which they reconstructed similar processes during the Little Ice Age (LIA). The research results showed that the sedimentation rate in the basins of the Spitsbergen archipelago underwent significant changes after the LIA, while on the Kola Peninsula these changes were less significant. The main reasons for the existing sedimentation patterns on the Spitsbergen archipelago and the Kola Peninsula are the presence or absence of glaciation in the catchment areas of the basins. The sedimentation zones most resistant to climate fluctuations in the European Arctic turned out to be river estuaries.

Keywords: sedimentation, Spitsbergen Archipelago, Kola Peninsula, Little Ice Age, climate change

Funding:  The analysis of sedimentation geochronology on the Spitsbergen archipelago was carried out within the framework of topic 188-25-02. (1.6.19) “The state of marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Spitsbergen archipelago under current climatic and anthropogenic variability conditions”. State registration no. 125012900989-8 (29.01.2025), State assignment no. FMEE-2025-0003. The reconstruction of sedimentation dynamics was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant (no. 22-17-00243) “Radiation Oceanology and Geoecology of the coastal shelf of the Barents and White Seas. Biaxial interactions in the system: sediments — water — macroalgae — microorganisms, their role in remediation of the marine coastal ecosystem under radiation and chemical pollution in the Arctic”.

DOWNLOAD (in Russian)