skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Seabed grain-size data from Harrison Bay (Beaufort Sea continental shelf), Alaska 2021
This file contains grain-size data from seabed shipek grab samples collected from R/V Ukpik in summer 2021 as part of NSF project 1913195 (Arctic Shelf sediment fate – an observational and modeling study of sediment pathways and morphodynamic feedbacks in a changing polar environment). Samples were collected from across Harrison Bay on the Alaskan Beaufort Shelf, north of the Colville River and between Oliktok Point and Cape Halkett. Samples were bagged in the field and returned to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where grain-size analyses were performed using an Escitec Bettersizer S3Plus laser diffraction sensor. Samples were sonicated for two minutes prior to analyses. Samples ranged from well sorted sands (typically medium sand or fine) to poorly sorted bimodal sands and muds to unimodal muds. In the field, samples exhibited diverse textures including mud clasts and very stiff muds.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1913195 2322276
PAR ID:
10446692
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Publisher / Repository:
NSF Arctic Data Center
Date Published:
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
sediment seabed grain size d50 Alaska Beaufort Sea continental shelf Harrison Bay grab sample shipek
Format(s):
Medium: X Other: text/xml
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; (, Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program)
    null (Ed.)
    Grain size distributions of 311 sediment samples from Sites U1450 and U1451 of International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 354 were determined using laser diffraction. Most of the samples were from turbidites, but some hemipelagic beds were also examined. The mean grain size values show that silt-sized particles are the dominant textural class, whereas the grain size values range from clay to coarse-grained sand. An overall upward change in mean grain size value reveals a slight coarsening-upward trend. However, other parameters such as standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis show no systematic relationship with depth in the holes. The analyzed samples cover the age range from recent to early Miocene. Shepard textural classification plots show the sediments are mostly sandy silts, silty sands, and clayey silts with a few silts and sands also present. Frequency curve plots of samples from individual turbidite beds show inversely graded beds are most common at Site U1450, whereas thicker massive beds are dominant at Site U1451. 
    more » « less
  2. (, NSF Arctic Data Center)
    This dataset contains geochemical and grain size measurements of seabed and suspended sediment samples collected from the Bering Shelf and Yukon prodelta in June 2023. These samples were collected during the 6-12 June 2023 Arctic Chief Scientist Training Cruise, which was a short cruise on the R/V Sikuliaq during its transit from Seward, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. The cruise was sponsored by the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee and the National Science Foundation. These data were generated as a pilot data set to understand the fate of terrestrial organic carbon in the Yukon River delta and adjacent Bering Sea. Seabed sediment was collected at three locations (MC04, MC06, and MC08) using a multicorer. One seabed sediment sample was collected using a van veen grab sampler. Suspended sediment samples were collected using a hand-deployed niskin bottle and transferred into a clean 10-liter cubitainer for transport and temporary storage. Suspended sediment was filtered on the ship within 24 hours of collection using a Geotech barrel filter with a 0.45 micron Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane filter. Multicores were extruded on deck and subsamples were transferred to sterile whirl-pak sample bags. All sediment samples were frozen and subsequently shipped back to the lab in coolers. Sediment samples were analyzed for grain size, bulk elemental composition via X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations and isotopes via EA-IRMS (elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometry). Grain size distributions were measured using a Malvern mastersizer laser diffraction particle size analyzer at the University of Colorado Boulder. Bulk elemental composition was measured on the Rigaku XRF in the Analytical Geochemistry Lab at the University of New Mexico. Total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and carbon/nitrogen isotopes were measured at the Center for Stable Isotopes at the University of New Mexico. Prior to EA-IRMS analyses, sediment samples were acid-treated to remove inorganic carbon following the method of Galy et al., 2007. References Galy, V., Bouchez, J., & France‐Lanord, C. (2007). Determination of total organic carbon content and δ13C in carbonate‐rich detrital sediments. Geostandards and Geoanalytical research, 31(3), 199-207. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Environmental Data Initiative)
    The dataset is comprised of analyses of sediment cores and sediment trap samples from ferruginous and meromictic Brownie Lake, Minnesota, U.S.A from January 2018 through February 2021. The dataset includes bulk sediment characteristics including water content, grain size, major and minor elements. Voltammetric scans were collected on porewaters and lake waters. Sediment porewaters were analyzed for pH, total alkalinity, ferrous iron, and dissolved sulfur species contents. Sediment samples were maintained under the exclusion of oxygen for analysis by synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; (, Journal of Sedimentary Research)
    ABSTRACT Glacial marine sediment deposition varies both spatially and temporally, but nearly all studies evaluate down-core (∼ time) variations in sediment variables with little consideration for across core variability, or even the consistency of a data set over distance scales of 1 to 1000 m. Grain size and quantitative X-ray diffraction (qXRD) methods require only ≤ 1 g of sediment and thus analyses assume that the identification of coarse sand (i.e., ice-rafted debris) and sediment mineral composition are representative of the depth intervals. This assumption was tested for grain size and mineral weight % on core MD99-2317, off East Greenland. Samples were taken from two sections of the core that had contrasting coarse-sand content. A total of fourteen samples were taken consisting of seven (vertical) and two (horizontal) samples, with five replicates per sample for qXRD analyses and ∼ 10 to 20 replicates for grain size. They had an average dry weight of 10.5 ± 0.5 g and are compared with two previous sets of sediment samples that averaged 54.1 ± 18.9 g and 20.77 ± 5.8 g dry weight. The results indicated some significant differences between the pairs of samples for grain-size parameters (mean sortable silt, and median grain size) but little difference in the estimates of mineral weight percentages. Out of 84 paired mineral and grain-size comparisons only 17 were significantly different at p = < 0.05 in the post-hoc Scheffe test, all of which were linked to grain-size attributes. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; (, Western Dredging Association (WEDA))
    Hayes, Donald F (Ed.)
    SedImaging is an innovative alternative particle size analysis method developed to obtain high-resolution particle size distributions (PSDs) of sands. It was developed at the University of Michigan (UM) and is based on wet processing and digital image analyses of fine to medium sands. This work summarizes a variant of the SedImaging method, named FieldSed, which was first applied in a field lab setting for a sediments site by the authors and colleagues in October 2017. The goal of this work was to detect subtle variations in the fine sand and fines compositions as a pilot test at a field laboratory, without use of a sieve set or oven drying. The testing program included replicates, independent testing by UM, and other quality control measures. Sediment processing included wet-removal of fines and particles larger than coarse sand; preparation of the sample in a pre-sorter tube followed by sedimentation in a tall, water-filled column to sort the sands; and the collection and analysis of high-resolution digital imagery of the settled sand. The FieldSed method included variations to estimate mass percentages of oversized (> 2 millimeters [mm]) and undersized (< 0.075 mm) sediments, and throughput improvement. Wet sieving and air drying were used to separate and prepare oversized sediments for weighing. Multiple decants of sediment-water mixtures were used to wash out more dispersive fines. Decanted fines contents were estimated by differences in wet weights and by specific gravity approximations. Digital images were analyzed and used to generate highresolution PSDs, which typically included more than 80 size bins from 2 mm to less than 0.050 mm. The FieldSed method was successful in clearly distinguishing coarse and fine material, as well as defining the gradient between medium sands, fine sands, and coarse silts. Color, angularity, and other grain characteristics from the digital imagery were noted. With further testing to improve processing rates and efficiencies, the method could be applied to provide same-day field decisions. More efficient and faster processing could be achieved for characterization of cleaner sands, and applications could be expanded further, such as to assess suitability of post-dredge sand cover materials in the field. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email