Assessing the importance of terrestrial organic carbon in the CHUKCHI and Beaufort seas

An evaluation of the inputs of organic matter to the western Arctic sediment was accomplished using δ13C and δ15N values with the novel technique of a Bayesian analysis multi-source mixing model. This model was used to estimate proportional contributions of sea ice algae, water column phytoplankton and terrestrial organic matter. We conclude that water column productivity is the source of between 50 and 70% of the organic carbon buried in this portion of the western Arctic. The remaining 25-35% of carbon is mainly supplied by sea ice algal productivity, with at most 15% of sedimentary carbon derived from terrestrial inputs.