Lithogeochemistry of silty-pelitic bottom sediments of the south-western Kara Sea

The lithogeochemical characteristics of pelitic and silty-pelitic bottom sediments from a number of areas in the south-western Kara Sea (Baydaratskaya Bay, Pukhuchanskaya Depression, West Kara Step and Novaya Zemlya Depression), samples of which were taken on the 89th cruise of the R/V “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” (September 2022). It has been established that the silts contain a significant proportion of the lithogenic component. This is in good agreement with the localization of silt data points on various discriminant diagrams near the reference points of average Paleozoic greywackes and PAAS. The sources of such a component could be either a thin-grained particulated matter of the Ob River, or sedimentary rocks and loose formations of Yamal and Yugra Peninsulars, Vaigach, and Novaya Zemlya. Taking into account the information about the presence in the upper layer of bottom sediments of the south-western Kara Sea of a noticeable amount of fragments of the basic igneous rocks of Novaya Zemlya, the contribution of their erosion products to the composition of the silts could be quite noticeable, but the parameters of the REE spectra in the silts normalized to chondrite are not consistent with such assumption.