Spatial and temporal organic carbon burial along a fjord to coast transect: A case study from Western Norway

We investigated spatial and temporal changes in accumulation rate and source of organic carbon on a gradient along the Lysefjord and the more coastal Hogsfjord, Western Norway. This was achieved through analysis of total organic carbon and nitrogen content of sediment cores, which were radiometrically dated to the early 19th and 20th centuries for the Hogsfjord and Lysefjord, respectively. Benthic foraminifera (protists) were utilized to determine changes in organic carbon supply and Ecological Quality Status (EcoQS) by their accumulation rate (benthic foraminiferal accumulation rate (BFAR)), assemblage composition, species diversity, individual species responses and the composition of stable carbon isotopes of the tests (shells) of Cassidulina laevigata, Hyalinea balthica and Melonis barleeanus. Organic carbon accumulation rates were greatest closest to the river Lyse at the head of the Lysefjord (83–171 g C m−2 yr−1). The organic carbon at the head of the fjord is mainly terrestrial in origin, and this ...