Specifics of Marginal Filter Formation in the Tidal Estuaries of Small Rivers of the Arctic Seas

Abstract—Studies have been conducted to assess the functioning of the marginal filter in tidal estuaries of small rivers of the Arctic seas. For this, we used observational data in the White and Barents seas. When extensive tidal drains and thickets of halophytes exist in the mouths of small rivers, biogeochemical processes can differ markedly from the conditions described by the classical marginal filter theory. This is because it was developed based on the example of mouths of large rivers and does not take into account the specifics of ecosystems in the mouths of small rivers. They may change the spatial pattern of alternating turbid, chemical, and biological “traffic jams.” Attention is drawn to marginal filters in the lagoon estuaries of Arctic rivers where aquatic macrophytes are present, which can impede the transport of insoluble matter released into the sea during the melting of permafrost and glaciers.