Seasonal variations of particle fluxes in the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

Abstract

Particle fluxes were measured by using time-series sediment traps in the Bransfield Strait from December 27th, 1999 to December 26th, 2000. Total mass fluxes showed distinct seasonal variations with high fluxes in the austral summer and low fluxes in the austral winter at a 678 m water depth in the eastern Bransfield Strait, while they were high only in January and fairly low in other months at a 960 m water depth in the central Bransfield Strait. The reason that total mass fluxes occured only in January at a 960 m water depth in the central Bransfield Strait seems to be the strong current in the surface waters, which leads to a substantial amount of terrestrial materials and locally produced organic matter being advected away from the mooring site. Total mass fluxes were very high from January to October at a 1678 m water depth in the eastern Bransfield Strait, while they were high only in January and February at a 1860 m water depth in the central Bransfield Strait. The fact that total mass fluxes were higher at the deep water in the both sites than at the intermediate water depth may reflect that a substantial amount of terrestrial and organic materials are laterally transported by strong tidal current from the shallow environments to the deep basins.