NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea
41
Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea inferred
from clay mineral assemblages in surface sediments
Christoph Vogt & Jochen Knies
Vogt, C. & Knies, J.; Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea inferred from clay mineral assemblages in surface sediments. Norwegian Journal
of Geology vol. 89, pp 41-55. Trondheim 2009, ISSN 029-196X.
A new surface sediment sample set gained in the western Barents Sea by the MAREANO program has been analysed for basic clay mineral assemblages. Distribution maps including additional samples from earlier German research cruises to and off Svalbard are compiled. Some trends in
the clay mineral assemblages are related to the sub-Barents Sea geology because the Quaternary sediment cover is rather thin. Additionally, land
masses like Svalbard and northern Scandinavia dominate the clay mineral signal with their erosional products. Dense bottom water, very often of
brine origin, that flows within deep troughs, such as the Storfjorden or Bear Island Trough, transport the clay mineral signal from their origin to the
Norwegian-Greenland Sea.
Christoph Vogt, Central Laboratory for Crystallography and Applied Material Sciences (ZEKAM), Geosciences, University of Bremen, D-28359
Bremen, Germany ([email protected]), Jochen Knies, Geological Survey of Norway, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway ([email protected]).
Introduction
The expansive industrial activities in the Barents Sea
region require a proper knowledge of the present environmental setting in order to forecast future dispersion,
accumulation and distribution of possible pollutants
from for example, oil and gas exploration/exploitation
and transport, power plants and fisheries. This includes
a wider understanding of the processes that govern the
distribution of the sediments and benthic communities
in the study area. Mapping the content of various clay
minerals in surface sediments may help to advance the
knowledge of the modern sedimentation processes in the
Barents Sea region, including identification of the main
accumulation and erosion areas, sediment transport
pathways and physical and geochemical sediment properties and their implications for marine habitats (Berner,
& Wefer, 1994, Vogt 1997; Wahsner et al. 1999; Vogt &
Knies 2008).
Here, we present spatial maps of various clay mineral
groups, smectite, kaolinite, illite and chlorite, deduced
from sediment surface samples from the western/ central Barents Sea region including Svalbard (Fig. 1). The
aims of this study are to identify major sediment provinces and to decipher how theses provinces are affected
by the modern physiogeographic setting in the Barents
Sea region. The latter includes particularly the redistribution of sediments by surface and bottom water masses
and sea ice. Most of the Barents Sea topographic highs
and in particular the northwestern regions are covered
by only a very few meters of Quaternary (mainly Holo-
cene to deglacial) sediments, which are local tills overlain by a thin drape of Holocene marine sediments (0-10
m). In the Barents Sea depressions and in the western
and northern trough mouth fans deglacial and Holocene
sedimentation rates can increase by more than a meter
per 1000 years (e.g. Polyak et al., 1995; Rasmussen et al.,
2007).
Regional Setting
The North Atlantic Drift (NAD) carries warm and saline
Atlantic water (AW) northwards (Fig. 2). On its way
towards the Arctic Ocean it becomes strongly modified
and splits into several branches flowing along separate
routes. Outside the Lofoten Islands the NAD bifurcates.
One of its main branches referred to as the North Cape
Current (NCC), flows eastward into the Barents Sea via
the Bjørnøya Trough and reaches the Arctic Ocean via
the St. Anna Trough (Fig. 2). Another main branch continues northwards along the slope west of the Barents Sea
shelf. This branch is referred to as the West Spitsbergen
Current (WSC). Both the AW of the WSC and the NCC
are defined by temperatures >2ºC and salinities >34.9
psu (Schlichtholz & Goszczko 2006).
Arctic water (ArW) mainly enters the Barents Sea from
the east through the strait between Franz Joseph Land
and Novaja Zemlja via the Persey Current (Loeng 1991)
(Fig. 2). ArW crosses the entire northern Barents Sea
including the Great Bank and flows in the direction of
42
C. Vogt & J. Knies
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Fig. 1: Research area and location of sample stations. See Table 1 for more details of each station
the Spitsbergen Bank, where it joins a part of the East
Spitsbergen Current (ESC). The two currents, collectively
referred to as the Bjørnøya Current (BC), follow the bottom topography around the Spitsbergen Bank. The ESC
flows southward along the coast of Nordaustlandet, Barentsøya and Edgeøya and transports cold water from the
Arctic Ocean, which mixes with ambient water including
fresh water outflow from fjords as it continues northward
along the shelf off Spitsbergen (Skogseth et al. 2004).
The shelf west of Spitsbergen is a region where waters of
different origins converge, mix and are exchanged (Saloranta & Haugan 2004). A density barrier separates the
warm, saline AW from the relatively cold, fresh ArW on
the shelf. This frontal region prevents intrusions of warm
AW onto the shelf and into fjords during winter. The
intermediate waters of the AW are refreshed by brines
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea
43
Fig. 2: Surface ocean currents and the outline of the winter ice edge in the Barents Sea (adapted from Sakshaug & Skjoldal,
1989).
passing from the shallow Barents Sea through the deep
Storfjorden Trough in the south of Spitsbergen (Schauer
& Fahrbach, 1999; Rudels et al. 2004).
During winter (January-March) the ice edge in the Barents Sea achieves its maximum southward extent. This
zone, where the ice edge is also frequently located during
spring, is referred to as the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) (Fig
2). Several other terms, e.g. the Arctic Front (AF) and the
Polar Front (PF), have been used for this zone, where AW
and ArW meet and mix. Because the MIZ is topographically constrained, its location during maximum sea-ice
extent is fairly constant, near the 250 m isobaths north
of the Bjørnøya and Hopen troughs (Loeng 1991) (Fig.
2). The MIZ is an important zone where water masses
are modified by melting of ice and convective processes.
44
C. Vogt & J. Knies
According to Haarpaintner et al. (2001) the Polar Front
Water, which forms by mixing of ArW and AW in the
MIZ, has temperatures between –0,5ºC and 2ºC and
salinities of 34,8-35,0 psu.
Geologically, the Barents Sea region is a complex mosaic
of basins and platforms, which underwent episodic intracontinental sedimentation from about 240 to 60 Ma ago
and bordered the developing Atlantic and Arctic oceans
afterwards (Doré, 1995). However, sediments of marine
origin are by far the dominant outcropping rocks from
the late Paleozoic to the present (Heafford 1988, Doré
1995, Gee et al. 2008, Nøttvedt et al. 2008, Rasmussen et
al. 2008, Wohlfarth et al. 2008). Apart from the specific
tectonic setting, the marine depositional environment
was strongly influenced by paleoclimatic factors. The Barents Sea region drifted northwards from a paleolatitude
of 20˚N in the Carboniferous to 55˚N in the Triassic, and
then progressively to its present position at about 75˚N
(Worsley & Aga, 1986; Heafford, 1988). Thus, carbonate deposition (with some important evaporite intervals)
prevailed over wide areas of the shelf in Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian times; from the Triassic onwards,
however, clastic (sand-shale) deposition under more temperate conditions was dominant. Seafloor spreading in
the Norwegian Sea, between Norway and Greenland, is
thought to have commenced in the Early Cenozoic about
60 Ma (Sigmundsson & Sæmundsson 2008, Gee et al.
2008, Nøttvedt et al. 2008, Rasmussen et al. 2008).
Material and Methods
During two cruises in 2003 and 2004 with R/Vs "Johan
Hjort" and “Håkon Mosby”, 73 sediment cores from
the Barents Sea shelf and continental margin (Fig. 1)
were taken with Multicorers with an inner diameter of
100 mm. The sample locations are given in Table 1. A
single core from each sampling station was sliced every
centimetre and frozen onboard for sedimentological
analyses. Winkelmann (2003) investigated a set of 49
surface sediment samples collected with RV “Heincke”
from the fjords and western shelf of Svalbard. All these
samples were processed following standard techniques
for grain size separation and clay mineral analysis at
Geological Survey of Norway (NGU, see details below
and in Winkelmann 2003; Winkelmann & Knies 2005).
To complement the data set to the north and east of
Svalbard we integrate clay mineral assemblage data
of Stein et al. (1994) and Wahsner et al. (1999). These
samples were collected in 1991 with RV “Polarstern”
(Cruises ARK-VIII/2 and /3, Fütterer 1992). Standard
techniques for grain size separation and X-ray diffraction data collection and interpretation at the Alfred
Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
(AWI) were applied to analyse these samples (see
Ehrmann et al., 1992, Stein et al., 1994, Petschick et al.,
1996, Wahsner et al., 1999).
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Clay mineral assemblages
For clay mineral assemblage determination (<2 μm size
fraction), the >63 μm fraction was first removed by wet
sieving and the <2 μm fraction obtained from the <63
μm fraction by a Stoke’s law settling method. The clay
fraction was then transferred onto ceramic tile filters and
oriented aggregates were produced through passive drying and settling. Initially, the <6 µm fraction was used for
the RV “Heinke” samples at NGU (Winkelmann 2003).
As we wanted to compare the data with the AWI data
sets we started a laboratory intercomparison test and a
new set of samples was processed. This time the <2 µm
fraction was separated, measured at the NGU and then
also prepared with the active sucking-on-filter method
at the AWI. The well-oriented specimens were finally
measured with the same Philips PW 1820 diffractometer
with CoKα-radiation and automatic divergence slit with
which all the AWI data were collected (see Wahsner et
al. 1999 for measurement details). Comparison of the
original (NGU) measurements and from the newly prepared filter cakes at the AWI produced only minor differences in the clay mineral assemblages, well inside the
known analytical errors of a semiquantitative clay mineral assemblage determination (see Moore & Reynolds
1997 for details).
The clay fraction measurements at NGU were carried
out on a Philips X’pert MPD diffractometer with an
automatic divergence slit using CuKα radiation (40 kV, 50
mA) and a receiving slit of 0.2. Clay minerals were identified from XRD-patterns of ethylene glycol (EG)-treated
samples at 10 Å for illite, 17 Å for smectite and 7 Å for
kaolinite and chlorite. To differentiate kaolinite and chlorite we used intensity ratios of the 3.58Å -kaolinite peak
and the 3.54Å-chlorite peak from a second “slow scan”,
(Biscaye, 1964; see also Elverhøi & Rønningsland, 1978).
For the evaluation of illite group and chlorite chemistry we follow Petschick et al. (1996) and Vogt (1997) by
using the 10 Å peak half high width and the 10/5 Å and
3.54/4.72 Å peak intensity ratios, respectively. The EGtreated measurement was run from 2-35° 2θ with a scan
speed of 0.02° 2θ/2sec. The “slow scan” was run from
23.8-26 2θ with a speed of 0.005° 2θ/2sec.
The integrated peak areas of the clay mineral groups were
determined graphically with the freeware MacDiff 4.2.5.
(Petschick et al., 1996), calculated and transformed into
relative clay mineral percentages by means of Biscaye´s
factors (1965) using the assumption that the clay fraction
consists only of clay minerals. All original measurements
of Stein et. al. (1994), Wahsner et al. (1999), Winkelmann
(2003), and Winkelmann & Knies (2005) were reinvestigated to secure the highest comparability in terms of
peak area determination and weighted percent calculation.
The used automatic divergence slits lead to a reduction in
smectite and kaolinite vs. illite and chlorite percentages if
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea
45
Table 1.Sample locations and clay mineral data
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Longitude
N
22,00
20,92
19,85
18,77
17,70
16,62
15,52
14,73
14,62
12,94
14,09
15,23
16,38
17,54
18,82
19,86
20,95
22,01
18,02
17,00
Latitude
N
72,00
72,02
72,03
72,02
72,03
72,02
72,02
72,01
72,01
73,17
73,17
73,17
73,17
73,17
73,17
73,17
73,17
73,17
74,82
74,82
Smectite
(rel. %)
23,4
23,9
24,4
20,3
18,5
20,2
21,2
22,0
16,0
19,6
19,9
21,8
21,5
24,6
21,2
13,3
20,2
24,1
19,6
19,0
Illite
(rel. %)
50,0
50,0
48,2
51,1
52,7
52,9
47,2
42,3
54,2
47,4
52,2
48,9
45,9
43,9
43,6
48,3
45,8
43,9
36,4
42,3
Chlorite
(rel. %)
11,4
12,7
13,5
12,5
12,9
12,5
15,6
18,6
14,1
15,5
13,6
14,0
14,6
15,7
15,5
17,5
16,5
16,1
23,6
19,1
Kaolinite
(rel. %)
15,2
13,4
14,0
16,1
15,9
14,4
16,0
17,2
15,7
19,6
14,3
15,3
18,1
15,9
19,6
20,9
17,5
15,9
20,3
19,6
21
16,03
74,82
356
22
14,79
74,82
1507
St. 22
21,8
39,8
21,2
17,2
St. 23
21,1
49,7
14,5
14,7
23
12,92
75,64
24
13,84
75,75
1500
St. 24
28,2
43,0
15,2
13,6
807
St. 25
20,5
46,8
16,7
25
14,77
16,0
75,83
370
St. 26
18,2
40,9
22,3
18,7
26
27
15,72
75,95
369
St. 27
3,9
49,6
25,5
21,0
16,67
76,05
328
St. 28
22,1
38,8
20,7
18,3
28
17,62
76,16
309
St. 29
14,5
40,0
23,6
21,9
29
18,58
76,22
257
St. 30
16,9
44,6
21,2
17,2
30
19,57
76,31
258
St.31
12,4
41,6
23,1
22,9
31
20,58
76,38
228
St. 32
15,4
39,5
26,9
18,1
32
21,60
76,47
262
St. 33
10,9
44,8
26,0
18,3
33
22,00
71,75
356
St. 34
17,3
52,9
17,8
11,9
34
21,07
71,62
319
St. 35
23,5
47,8
15,4
13,3
35
20,86
71,60
320
St. 36
20,3
46,2
16,7
16,8
36
21,19
71,60
335
St. 37
20,5
50,6
16,0
12,9
37
20,82
71,49
310
St. 38
17,5
49,9
18,0
14,5
38
20,19
71,34
234
St. 39
20,4
54,4
14,7
10,5
39
19,56
71,18
225
St. 40
16,8
55,4
15,0
12,7
40
18,95
71,03
199
St. 41
20,5
55,2
15,1
9,3
41
18,34
70,87
173
St. 42
21,1
53,7
13,8
11,3
Id.
Water Depth
m
367
371
324
315
296
362
767
1260
1317
1499
1030
485
475
460
423
441
463
444
296
280
Station
Nr.
St. 1
St. 2
St. 3
St. 4
St. 5
St. 6
St. 7
St. 8
St. 9
St. 11
St. 12
St. 13
St. 14
St. 15
St. 16
St. 17
St. 18
St. 19
St. 20
St. 21
42
17,75
70,72
273
St. 43
16,9
50,9
16,8
15,4
43
17,14
70,55
706
St. 44
15,9
56,5
12,2
15,5
44
16,75
70,44
1500
St. 45
20,7
48,8
14,8
15,7
45
21,76
71,72
360
625
16,5
51,3
11,3
20,9
46
24,06
72,32
264
627
20,3
51,1
10,9
17,8
47
24,25
73,01
404
629
19,2
42,0
13,9
24,8
48
24,47
73,67
451
631
22,9
46,2
15,7
15,2
49
24,69
74,34
373
633
14,9
43,2
18,6
23,2
50
24,94
75,00
182
635
14,2
41,2
18,3
26,2
51
27,90
75,57
263
639
15,7
42,4
15,8
26,1
52
29,91
76,49
291
643
18,6
41,1
14,2
26,1
53
29,46
75,86
296
645
17,5
40,3
15,7
26,6
54
29,01
75,20
343
647
18,2
44,3
13,4
24,0
46
C. Vogt & J. Knies
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
55
Longitude
N
28,58
Latitude
N
74,54
Water Depth
m
394
Smectite
(rel. %)
25,0
Illite
(rel. %)
38,8
Chlorite
(rel. %)
12,8
Kaolinite
(rel. %)
23,4
56
26,08
74,64
317
57
25,81
73,97
441
651
12,8
44,1
15,7
27,4
653
25,3
41,0
16,2
58
25,54
73,31
17,4
412
655
25,6
28,8
20,6
24,9
59
25,27
60
25,06
72,64
268
657
27,1
38,0
13,1
21,8
71,98
256
659
20,2
53,1
15,4
61
11,4
22,76
71,37
408
661
17,4
54,3
15,5
12,8
62
25,99
71,61
291
663
20,6
48,9
18,8
11,7
63
28,41
72,17
289
665
26,2
46,7
10,5
16,7
64
28,76
72,84
305
667
30,8
37,0
16,5
15,7
65
29,15
73,50
414
669
22,7
41,9
17,8
17,5
66
29,55
74,15
366
671
21,2
44,6
17,1
17,2
67
32,49
74,67
165
673
19,6
31,8
19,9
28,7
68
33,07
75,33
209
675
19,3
35,6
19,7
25,4
69
33,73
75,97
276
677
14,3
38,4
19,9
27,4
70
34,45
76,62
193
679
16,7
36,0
18,2
29,1
71
37,17
76,43
249
681
20,7
36,4
17,5
25,5
72
30,96
71,02
283
690
18,1
51,3
17,6
13,0
73
31,72
70,62
252
692
14,1
53,5
18,5
13,9
74
34,88
76,64
205
PS2111-2
10,9
40,0
19,4
29,8
75
34,90
76,00
260
PS2113-1
15,5
38,7
20,4
25,4
76
19,09
77,57
178
PS2114-1
2,7
49,1
29,9
18,2
77
18,33
77,20
101
PS2115-1
2,7
54,0
26,9
16,5
78
17,17
75,99
331
PS2116-1
8,4
47,2
23,0
21,4
79
5,99
79,01
2021
PS2117-1
13,1
50,4
19,6
16,9
80
8,16
79,00
902
PS2119-2
7,5
52,4
23,0
17,1
81
8,59
79,03
175
PS2120-1
2,5
66,4
23,5
7,6
82
10,74
79,02
337
PS2121-1
2,7
68,2
22,3
6,8
83
7,54
80,39
702
PS2122-1
12,5
50,1
23,2
14,3
84
9,86
80,17
565
PS2123-3
11,8
53,1
22,4
12,7
85
11,20
79,97
172
PS2124-1
2,3
70,3
21,0
6,4
86
12,24
80,05
94
PS2125-2
2,6
66,7
23,1
7,6
87
18,46
81,02
195
PS2127-1
5,6
61,8
22,7
9,9
88
16,71
81,51
2528
PS2128-1
8,6
55,8
22,5
13,1
89
17,47
81,37
888
PS2129-2
9,3
55,4
22,7
12,6
90
18,62
81,29
555
PS2130-2
8,0
54,8
26,1
11,1
91
27,10
80,98
106
PS2131-1
9,4
61,0
20,0
9,6
92
31,49
81,44
292
PS2132-3
5,6
63,7
21,2
9,6
93
30,78
81,43
399
PS2133-1
6,9
61,3
21,1
10,6
94
29,80
81,68
2440
PS2134-1
9,4
56,0
20,7
13,9
95
30,55
81,53
1960
PS2136-3
13,0
49,4
24,0
13,6
96
30,78
81,58
1417
PS2137-4
8,6
54,1
23,6
13,7
97
30,59
81,54
862
PS2138-2
8,0
56,7
23,3
11,9
98
30,64
80,85
116
PS2142-3
4,3
55,8
15,9
24,0
99
30,12
80,81
197
PS2143-1
8,2
55,5
17,6
18,7
100
29,47
80,75
505
PS2144-3
5,2
61,6
21,9
11,3
101
29,14
80,34
380
PS2147-3
8,7
58,6
20,3
12,4
102
29,60
80,01
339
PS2148-1
7,6
59,1
17,8
15,4
103
31,73
73,18
77
PS2149-1
4,6
38,3
17,1
40,0
104
32,13
78,67
283
PS2150-1
6,2
52,8
15,7
25,4
105
32,94
77,99
143
PS2151-1
8,3
43,2
18,0
30,4
106
34,81
76,61
187
PS2153-1
11,1
42,6
20,2
26,1
Id.
Station
Nr.
649
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea
47
108
Longitude
N
22,92
Latitude
N
73,65
Water Depth
m
459
Station
Nr.
PS2439-1
Smectite
(rel. %)
23,5
Illite
(rel. %)
44,3
Chlorite
(rel. %)
15,6
Kaolinite
(rel. %)
16,6
109
8,21
80,47
897
PS2213-1
11,9
52,7
23,0
12,4
110
6,63
80,27
552
PS2214-1
9,7
54,3
21,8
14,2
112
30,62
81,22
199
PS2440-5
12,7
54,9
18,5
13,9
113
30,89
81,47
560
PS2441-1
7,6
61,2
21,2
10,1
114
42,05
82,17
1025
PS2447-5
8,5
55,1
22,9
13,5
116
42,56
82,12
511
PS2448-1
22,8
40,6
16,6
20,0
117
43,58
82,02
286
PS2449-3
43,6
25,5
11,9
19,0
118
20,83
74,46
178
1239
7,7
43,3
27,6
21,3
119
19,18
74,81
94
1240
3,1
53,4
24,7
18,8
121
17,58
74,82
297
1241
5,1
41,9
28,1
25,0
122
13,33
75,50
1297
1242
8,0
50,5
22,0
19,5
123
16,59
76,00
333
1243
6,2
42,7
26,2
24,9
125
19,17
77,95
96
1244
3,9
47,9
26,7
21,4
126
19,13
77,50
180
1245
3,8
41,0
32,3
22,9
127
19,44
76,94
153
1246
3,9
45,6
31,9
18,6
129
15,25
76,95
156
1249
2,8
49,9
32,7
14,5
130
15,76
76,98
228
1250
4,0
53,2
35,6
7,3
131
14,92
77,75
115
1251
3,5
53,6
31,7
11,2
132
16,59
77,83
76
1254
4,0
45,8
31,1
19,1
134
15,19
77,72
83
1255
3,8
57,2
28,0
11,0
135
15,69
77,83
43
1258
2,2
49,1
32,5
16,2
136
14,21
77,63
162
1260
4,9
56,5
30,3
8,3
138
10,60
77,39
1291
1261
7,0
47,3
25,3
20,4
139
11,27
77,36
603
1262
7,5
41,4
27,5
23,6
140
12,93
77,20
196
1263
4,6
47,6
32,1
15,8
142
12,60
77,54
103
1264
2,4
50,0
35,8
11,8
143
16,37
78,37
87
1265
6,7
51,3
18,6
23,5
144
15,26
78,36
256
1266
5,3
51,6
25,5
17,6
145
13,83
78,15
416
1267
2,5
53,3
30,0
14,2
147
11,64
78,62
102
1268
2,3
62,3
33,3
2,1
148
12,30
78,37
169
1269
3,2
57,0
24,4
15,5
149
12,30
78,08
259
1270
6,2
52,3
31,7
9,9
151
8,82
78,25
1400
1272
14,5
45,5
22,0
18,0
152
9,32
78,25
600
1273
8,7
44,6
26,8
19,9
153
9,39
78,25
430
1274
6,0
48,9
30,0
15,2
155
10,21
78,25
297
1275
4,3
51,6
32,4
11,8
156
10,34
78,57
131
1276
3,3
55,4
33,1
8,2
158
9,03
78,58
601
1278
5,9
45,7
29,2
19,2
160
7,82
78,61
1203
1279
9,6
44,3
25,8
20,2
161
8,70
78,61
787
1280
6,3
43,7
27,7
22,2
164
6,82
78,95
1400
1282
7,9
48,1
24,6
19,4
165
8,31
78,95
812
1283
7,3
46,7
27,3
18,7
166
8,44
78,95
604
1284
4,4
50,7
29,5
15,3
Id.
168
9,62
78,82
91
1285
3,5
56,9
28,2
11,4
169
11,33
78,87
159
1286
2,7
60,3
28,6
8,4
170
11,77
79,17
364
1287
2,3
74,9
18,0
4,9
171
11,82
78,98
308
1288
2,6
61,7
24,2
11,6
173
174
175
10,84
9,62
9,33
79,03
78,95
79,06
319
250
80
1289
1290
1292
5,4
2,8
59,8
54,3
23,2
35,1
11,6
7,8
48
C. Vogt & J. Knies
compared to samples measured with a fixed divergence
slit as Biscaye (1965) used in his original work (see Rossak et al. 1999, Krylov et al. 2008 for comparison). This is
important for any comparison of percentages with those
given in other studies (e.g. Wright, 1974a,b and references therein, Eisma & van der Gaast 1983, Kuhlemann
et al. 1993, Hebbeln & Berner 1993, Berner & Wefer
1994, Gurevich 1995, Krupskaja et al. 2002, 2004). MacDiff 4.2.5 allows recalculating the XRD measurements
from automatic to fixed divergence by an empirical algorithm. However, we did not change our measurements
because both XRD machines used were equipped with
an automatic divergence slit and a large set of neighboring surface samples was also run at the AWI (Stein et al.,
1994, Nürnberg et al. 1995, Wahsner et al., 1999, Matthiessen & Vogt 2003, Vogt, 2003, Mildner et al. 2007).
Results and Discussion
The smectite group
The smectite percentages (%) of the 158 samples range
between 2 and 44 % (Fig. 3A). An average of 13 % for
all samples shows that smectite is a minor component
of western Barents Sea surface sediments. Values are in
particularly low in the Svalbard area. A major source of
smectites, montmorillonites and mixed layer clays are
products of hydrolysis and submarine weathering and/or
diagenetic alteration of volcanogenic material. Therefore,
the young mid oceanic ridges like the basaltic Greenland Faroe Ridge including Iceland are primary sources.
Smectites are also related to soil production under warm
and –more important- wet weathering conditions (Griffin et al. 1968, Tucker 1988). However, large amounts
of smectite in Arctic surface sediments are also known
from weathering products of inland basaltic rocks – the
Putorana flood basalts and tuffs - as exemplified in the
inner Kara Sea (e.g. Wahsner et al. 1999). Chemical
weathering of soils under warm and wet climatic conditions are unlikely to have occurred on Svalbard since the
Middle Miocene Climate Optimum (e.g. Winkler et al.
2002, Knies and Gaina 2008) and most of the outcropping rocks are not basaltic rocks (Elvevold et al. 2007).
The northern Svalbard regions include crystalline basement (Hekla Hoek), clastic (old red) Devonian and carbonatic Permo-Carbonian rocks (Hjelle 1993, Dallmann
et al. 2002, Elvevold et al. 2007). None of these rocks is
likely to produce significant amounts of smectites and
montmorillonites or to produce them during weathering.
Some of the Mesozoic rocks of southern Svalbard and
off SE Svalbard have undergone intensive diagenetic
overprinting (Andersen et al., 1996). This has led to the
destruction of any smectite minerals and the formation
of mixed layer clay minerals (Elverhøi et al., 1995). The
Tertiary in the south of Svalbard contains mainly erosional material from the older rock sequences, a product
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
of the latest orogeny on Svalbard (Dallmann et al. 2002,
Elvevold et al. 2007, Nøttvedt et al., 2008). None of the
rocks and detritus from these rocks yield large smectite
amounts.
Significantly higher smectite values occur in the western
and central southern Barents Sea. As northern Norway
consists mainly of highly crystalline metamorphic rocks,
these higher values cannot be explained by direct input
from the adjacent land. In the southern Barents Sea, east
of 30°E, Wright (1974a,b) found a region with very high
contents of illite and chlorite (80-95%) and extremely
low smectite contents. Nürnberg et al. (1995) and Gurevich (1995) also reported the dominance of illite and chlorite contents in the southeastern Barents Sea.
Eisma & van der Gaast (1983), Kuhlemann et al. (1993)
and Berner & Wefer (1994) investigated the distribution
of clay minerals in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea up to
the Fram Strait. They reported that smectite contents
decrease from very high values in the southeast near the
origin – the basaltic Greenland Faroe Ridge including
Iceland - along the Norwegian Coast towards the north.
However, occurrences of smectite in some of our northernmost samples indicate that tiny and very light smectitic particles can drift very far to the north with the Norwegian Atlantic Current. These water masses form the
intermediate waters in the troughs of the western margin
and feed as intermediate waters also the central Barents
Sea. The warm AW surface waters also keep the southern Barents Sea ice-free during winter (Fig.2). Hence,
we explain the higher smectite contents in the western
troughs and the central Barents Sea as laterally transported smectites originating from young basaltic rocks
of the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge. There is also a
weak relation to the Polar Front system in the Barents
Sea. Samples south of this front tend to possess higher
smecite values.
However, the two largest maxima in the data set off
Franz Josef Land (43%; Site 117: PS2449-3) and at 72° N,
28.8° E (30%, Site 64: St.667) (Fig. 3a) might be explained
by outcrops of smectite-rich rocks. Near Site 117 Cretaceous basalts and Triassic sandstones on and around the
Franz Josef Land Archipelago are reported (see Wahsner
et al., 1999) while Dypvik & Ferrell Jr. (1998) report
from a drillhole near Site 64 an up to 7 m thick double
bed enriched in smectites and smectite-rich random
interstratified smectite-illite-mixed-layer clays. These
developed from seawater-altered impact glass. The Mjølnir structure was probably formed by an extraterrestrial
impact that happened around the Jurassic/ Cretaceous
Boundary. The central impact structure is located at
approx. 73° N, 30° E (Dypvik & Ferrell Jr. 1998), has a
10 km diameter and could well relate to surface samples
with increased smectite contents in that region (Fig. 3a).
It is worth mentioning that our clay mineral determination method assigns any expandable interstratified smectite-illite mixed layer clay to the “smectite group”.
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea
49
Fig. 3: Spatial distribution pattern (in rel. %) of (a) smectite, (b) kaolinite, (c) illite, and (d) chlorite.
One very local feature is the Håkon Mosby mud volcano
(approx. 72° N 14°43´ E) on the lower continental slope
in the Bear island area. Krupskaya et al. (2002, 2004)
have investigated the influence of this feature on the local
clay mineral assemblage. The central part of the mud
vulcano has much higher percentages of smectites and
smectite-illite mixed layer minerals than the surrounding unaltered sediments. Krupskaya et al. (2004) suggest
an authigenic origin for these strongly expandable clays.
Station 8 (Tab. 1) from the central Håkon Mosby volcano
exhibits a local smectite maximum of 22 %.
50
C. Vogt & J. Knies
Kaolinite
The kaolinite percentages range between 2 and 40 % (Fig.
3b, Tab. 1) with an average value of 17 %. Investigations
of surface marine sediments around and soils on Franz
Josef Land gave clear evidence that the outcropping Triassic rocks, sandstones of mainly fluvial-eolian and semiarid origin (Dypvik et al. 1998a,b), contain large amounts
of kaolinite (up to 80%, Wahsner et al., 1999). Kaolinites
are usually produced in soils under warm conditions and
predominant chemical weathering. Today, kaolinites are
typically enriched in tropical marine sediments (Griffin
et al., 1968).
The distribution map (Fig. 3b) shows a unique maximum
in the central Barents Sea. According to Bjørlykke &
Elverhøi (1975) and Elverhøi et al. (1989) the seafloor in
the Barents Sea is covered by a thin layer of Quaternary
sediments only a few meters thick. This drape usually has
the same mineralogical assemblage as the underlying,
mainly Mesozoic basement rocks (Fig. 4) (Emelyanov et
al. 1971, Wright 1974a,b, Bjørlykke et al., 1978, Elverhøi
et al., 1989,1995, Andersen et al., 1996). Outcrops from
the same type of bedrock are also known from the inner
Isfjorden and Storfjorden area where we find higher
kaolinite values (> 26 %) as well (Fig. 3b). However, the
maximum values occur in a N-S extending stripe along
the 30° E and mainly north of the surface samples with
increased smectite values (Fig. 3a, b). Wright (1974),
Gurevich (1995), Nürnberg et al. (1995) and Wahsner
et al. (1999) all report very small amounts of kaolinite
to the eastern and southeastern Barents Sea. Close to
the sites investigated by Wahsner et al. (1999) but much
nearer to the western coast of Franz Josef Land, Polyak
& Solheim (1994) recorded increased kaolinite combined
with slightly increased smectite contents in two sediment
cores. Local Cretaceous basaltic dikes in the Triassic
rocks and submarine basaltic outcrops produce the additional smectite.
As our distribution map documents restrictions of
kaolinite enriched sediments to a few land and several
sub-marine outcrops, lateral transport of kaolinite by
currents and sea-ice can be ruled out. Therefore, this
map strongly supports the hypothesis that increased
kaolinite contents in the marine sediments are mainly
due to local glacial erosion rather them by currents, sea
ice or polar front variability (Knies et al., 1999, 2002;
Vogt et al., 2001, Knies & Vogt 2003, Juntilla et al., 2008).
Chlorite
Chlorite yields the second largest percentages in the
investigated area. The weighted percentages range from
10 to 36 % with an average of 21 %. Chlorites are a typical constituent of highly crystalline and metamorphic
rocks. These rocks crop out in Northern Scandinavia
and on several highs of the Barents Sea (Wright 1974a,b;
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Elverhøi et al. 1989, 1995, Gurevich 1995). The Mesozoic
sediments of the region are mainly clastic rocks derived
from the erosion of the old continental shield rocks and
also contain high amounts of chlorite. Some of the Mesozoic rocks underwent diagenesis, in particular the upper
Jurassic/lower Cretaceous “Hot Shale”, which crops out
between the inner Storfjorden and van Mjenfjorden,
Svalbard. The diagenetic process tends to increase the
content of chlorite and reduces the smectite or even the
illite contents. Interstratified mixed layer clays with small
amounts of expandable layers emerge during the diagenetic process as well (e.g., Moore & Reynolds, 1997).
A Tertiary foreland basin in the Spitzbergen area, with
coastal plain, shallow marine and deepwater deposits
contains debris from the Mesozoic rocks which where
massively eroded during the orogenic collision of Greenland and Svalbard (Rasmussen et al. 2008 and references
therein). Southern Spitsbergen is the area that supplies
the highest chlorite content in our study area (Fig 3d).
The relatively high chlorite content in the source rocks
and the dominant physical erosion under cold and rather
arid conditions combine to explain the presence of these
high chlorite values in surface sediment samples. From
the southern Svalbard area higher chlorite contents seem
to extend to the central part of the western Svalbard shelf.
The Tertiary basin outcrops extend onto Prins Karls
Foreland (Hjelle 1993). Additionally, the strong northward shelf currents probably transfer the southern Spitzbergen signal to the north (Andruleit et al., 1996, Boulton, 1990). Chlorite contents to the north of Svalbard are
higher than to the east. This is probably also related to
the crystalline, highly metamorphic rocks of northern
Svalbard and the prevailing conditions of physical weathering today. Further to the north Stein et al. (1994) and
Letzig (1995) reported high chlorite and illite contents.
Hebbeln & Berner (1993) showed the massive increase of
chlorite and illite vs. smectite and kaolinite in the central
and western Fram Strait. In both cases, the gravitational
down-slope transportation from Svalbard and Greenland
has been explained as the major transport agent with
additional minor input from sea-ice.
A few samples around 75° N and 30° E show also
increased chlorite values. This increase correlates well
with earlier findings in the eastern Barents Sea (Nürnberg et al., 1995), the southwestern St.Anna Trough
(Wahsner et al., 1996), and the central Barents Sea
(Wright, 1974 a,b). Wright (1974a,b) reported an
increase in chlorites, in particular Fe-rich chlorites, in
the central Barents Sea. He related this to submarine
outcrops of clastic Mesozoic and Paleozoic metamorphic rocks in the eastern Barents Sea. Novaya Zemlya
consists of highly metamorphic rocks of the Ural orogen (e.g. Dolginow & Kropatschjow, 1994) and delivers
most of the detrital material to the eastern Barents Sea
(Nürnberg et al., 1995). Vogt (1997) showed that the content of Fe-rich chlorites is usually rather high in all Eurasian Basin and adjacent shelf sediments by high 4.72/
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Fig. 4: The spatial pattern of kaolinite (rel. %)
superimposed on a simplified geological bedrock
map of the Barents Sea
region
Sediment pathways in the western Barents Sea
51
52
C. Vogt & J. Knies
3.56 Å ratios. Mg-rich chlorites usually stem from pegmatites and similar rocks which can occur in the central
crystalline part of the highly metamorphic rocks of the
continental shields in northern Scandinavia, Svalbard
and Novaja Zemlja (Vogt, 2003). From the latter island
a chlorite end member with reduced Fe- and Mg- contents was described (Alexandrova et al., 1972). Weathering and long-time decomposition of such rocks during
burial tends to increase the Fe-contents in chlorite, and
this process is assumed to have affected all the Mesozoic
and Tertiary sediments.
Illite
Micas and illites are typical products where physical
weathering dominates. The clay mineral group illite is
the major component of the surface samples of the Barents Sea (average 49 %). Values between 50 and 60 % are
recorded in the southernmost two E-W transects and in
samples at intermediate slope depths in the western Barents Sea. The southwestern Barents Sea is influenced by
detrital input from the Scandinavian crystalline shield.
Wright (1974a,b) emphasized the dominantly muscovitic
composition of the illite mineral group (sensu Biscaye,
1965). The same is true for surface sediments of the Svalbard region (Vogt 1997). Central Barents Sea illites in our
surface samples are less muscovitic judged by their intermediate 10 Å peak HHW and 5/10 Å intensity ratios.
Another illite group maximum occurs in samples close
to the Northern Spitsbergen coast. This province consists
of highly crystalline and metamorphic Proterozoic Hekla
Hoek and Devonian Old-Red rocks (max. 75 %). Interestingly, these high values continue to the northeastern
Svalbard slope off Nordaustlandet. This part of the Svalbard archipelogo mainly consists of the crystalline rocks
in the north and Permo-Carboniferous platform carbonates in the south (Fig. 4) (Elvevold et al. 2007). Apparently, there is no influence of the later source rocks to the
north. Towards the central Fram Strait, the central Barents Sea and Franz Josef Land, illites are reduced to intermediate or low values (min. 25.5 %, PS2449-3 near Franz
Josef Land, Tab. 1).
The dominance of the chlorite and illite groups in the
clay fractions indicates not only the typical compositions
of the source rocks, but also the predominant glacial climatic and physical weathering conditions in the Barents
Sea region. Hence, the general climate-based distribution
of clay minerals in the worlds oceans and soils is mirrored in our sample set with exceptions close to submarine outcrops of rocks formed under warmer conditions
(see kaolinite chapter; cf. Griffin et al. 1968, Rateev et al.
2008).
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Conclusions
Clay mineral assemblages in surface sediments from
the Barents Sea show prominent distribution patterns
with some important implications for both modern and
ancient environmental assessments.
1. We can confirm that sediments enriched in kaolinite are predominantly derived from reworking of
older sediments in the central/northern Barents Sea.
The spatial pattern indicates that these sediments are
hardly affected either by surface water currents or
MIZ variability. Higher kaolinite values observed in
paleorecords along the western/northern margins are
thus unequivocally caused by glacial erosion of sediments and local rocks by protruding ice sheets.
2. Sediments enriched in smectite are limited to the
western and south central Barents Sea. The pattern of
high values is clearly defined by the boundary of the
AW inflow. It confirms earlier observations that smectite is laterally transported within the North Atlantic
Current. However, smectite hardly occurs in sediments north of Storfjorden corroborating earlier views
that towards the Fram Strait gateway and into the Arctic Ocean, sediments enriched in smectite are mainly
derived from the inner Kara/western Laptev seas.
3. Samples off the southern and western coast of Svalbard contain the highest chlorite concentrations. Particularly, the Tertiary basins in the southern part of
Svalbard are considered to be the main source of chlorites. The distribution map indicates that the chlorite
signal follows the flow direction of the WSC around
Svalbard. This suggests that chlorite may be an innovative proxy for studying the strength of the Atlantic
water inflow off the Svalbard coast over time.
4. Sediments enriched in illite are limited to the near
coastal areas of Svalbard and northern Scandinavia.
Illite is indicative of highly crystalline source regions.
As physical weathering is dominant, chlorite and illite
are generally the main clay mineral groups in the
marine sediments.
Acknowledgements
The captains and crews of R/Vs ”Johan Hjort” and ”Håkon Mosby” are
greatly acknowledged for their support during the cruises in 2003 and
2004. We acknowledge Jarle Klungsøyr and the Institute for Marine
Research for sharing the samples with us. Monika Wahsner kindly provided raw clay fraction XRD measurements of RV ”Polarstern” cruises.
The comments and advice of the reviewers N. Fagel and C.D. Hillenbrand significantly improved the quality of the manuscript. We thank
the Research Council of Norway and the French Ministry of Foreign
Affairs/Ministry of Education, Research and Technology (AURORA
mobility program) for supporting this research.
NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
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