210Pb as a tracer of shelf-basin transport and sediment focusing in the Chukchi Sea

Full text: Activities of dissolved, particulate, and sedimentary 210Pb were measured in the shelf slope region of the Chukchi Sea. Samples were collected as part of the Shelf-Basin Interactions (SBI) Phase II process study (6 May - 15 June, 2002) along three shelf-basin transects identified as West Hanna Shoal, East Hanna Shoal, and Barrow Canyon. Distributions of 210Pb and suspended particulate matter indicate efficient removal of 210Pb over the shelf by particle scavenging. Low 210Pb activities measured throughout the halocline of the Canada Basin are attributed to shelf scavenging and subsequent advective transport into the interior basin. Additionally, 210Pb inventories were used to construct a water column-sediment budget of 210Pb and determine regions of particle export and deposition on the continental shelf and slope. Sediment focusing calculated with this 210Pb budget was observed throughout the shelf-slope region, particularly in shallow (∼ 100 m) shelf waters at Barrow Canyon. Despite elevated concentrations of suspended particulate matter in Barrow Canyon, the 210Pb budget does not indicate that sediment transport occurred from the West and East Hanna Shoals into Barrow Canyon. The implication is that particles and associated organic matter produced in the Chukchi Sea are retained in shelf sediments on a decadal timescale. (author)