The effect of the Siberian tundra on the environment of the shelf seas and the Arctic Ocean

• The Tundra Ecology -94 expedition investigated inflow of inorganic and organic carbon to the shelf seas by river runoff, and its transformation by biochemical processes in seawater and sediment. In addition, anthropogenic radionuclides, 137Cs, 90Sr, and 239,240Pu, were studied in water and sediments. The distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon indicates that the majority of the Ob and Yenisey discharges flow into the Laptev Sea before entering the central Arctic Ocean. The sediment study shows that there is a marked difference in benthic oxygen uptake, efflux of dissolved inorganic carbon and nutrients between localities. 137Cs activity from the Chernobyl accident is 30% in the Barents, Kara, and Laptev Seas. 137Cs increased from 5-8 Bq m-3 in Barents Sea, 5-13 Bq m-3 in the Kara Sea to 8-15 Bq m-3 in the Laptev Sea, but with locally low concentrations at the river mouths. Corresponding values for 90Sr were 2.5, 3, and 4 Bq m-3, respectively.

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