BOUNDARY-LAYER MEASUREMENTS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR SEDIMENT TRANSPORT ON THE EASTERN NORWEGIAN SEA CONTINENTAL-SLOPE

Benthic currents, temperature, salinity, and suspended sediment concen tration were measured in 1993-1994 on the Bear Island Fan, at water de pths of approximately 1700 m, near the wreckage of the Russian nuclear submarine ''Komsomolets''. A maximum current speed of 51 cm/s and a m ean speed of approximately 10 cm/s was recorded. There was a marked se asonal pattern in flow strength, and the net transport was northward a long the slope contours. The strongest flow event of the year, however , was directed to the southwest. The smooth (apart from burrows create d by benthic fauna), unscoured appearance of the sediment surface in b ottom photographs suggest that the deep currents on the continental sl ope are weak. Our measurements, however, show that the currents freque ntly exceeded the erosion threshold speed. Peak concentration values d uring the energetic winter period were within the range expected for a n erosion event. The data indicate a high potential for sediment erosi on and transport on the Bear Island Fan, with implications for the pos sible transport of contaminants from the submarine. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.