Shallow-Water Contourite Drift Formation in the Kara Sea

Abstract— The bottom sediments of the upper part of the contourite drift located in a narrow linear depression belonging to the central Kara Sea shelf were studied for the first time. According to the grain size distribution of the sediments, the drift belongs to the muddy contourites. Three main sedimentation horizons were identified in three sediment cores up to 7 m long. The previously dated magnetic susceptibility peak at the base of the sediment cores indicates that the formation of the drift began in the postglacial period, more than 10 ka. Local sedimentation conditions during the Holocene were influenced by recurring increases in river runoff, as indicated by the presence of desalination-tolerant species in the benthic foraminiferal assemblages. The increase in thickness of sediment core layers and drift deposits in general from south to north indirectly indicates a general submeridional bottom current direction in the Holocene.