Cluster analysis revealed at least three morphological classes in Brepollen: (i) steep slopes (southern Brepollen), (ii) flat sea bottoms (central Brepollen) and gentle slopes (the Store glacier valley and the southern part of the Horn glacier valley), (iii) the most morphologically diverse region (the central Store valley, the northern part of the Horn glacier valley and the NE part of central

Brepollen with the adjacent Horn and Store valleys). We Atezolizumab would like to thank the staff of the Polish Polar Station in Hornsund for their practical assistance during this research. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers and to the editor for their critical comments on the manuscript. “
“Sedimentation is defined as the overall process of particle transport to, emplacement on, removal from and preservation in the seabed (McKee et al. 1983). This definition discerns certain phases/stages of the sedimentation process. The first stage is deposition defined as temporary emplacement from and preservation on the seabed and pertains to this relatively short time of sediment formation. Sediment accumulation is the stage pertaining to a decidedly longer period: it is the result of particle deposition and removal, leading to the preservation BTK signaling inhibitors of the strata. Particle removal

may be due to several mechanisms, e.g. physical erosion, biological resuspension and chemical dissolution Org 27569 (McKee et al. 1983). The usual method of determining the deposition rate is the in situ technique relevant to this short sedimentation time, where sediment traps are deployed in the natural conditions of seas, bays or lakes (Faas and Carson, 1988, Lund-Hanses et al., 1999 and Roos and Valeur, 2006). The accumulation rate of the sediment comprising a > 100 year period can be determined only by an isotope method based on the analyses of changes in 210Pb activity in the sediment profile (Musielak, 1985, Appleby and Oldfield, 1992 and Appleby, 1997). The rate of accumulation of

marine sediments has been a research topic for many years (Nicholas, 1989, Pempkowiak, 1991, Mojski, 1995, Hille et al., 2006 and Roos and Valeur, 2006). Nevertheless, it remains an important scientific problem because of the still unresolved issues emerging from the variety of methodologies and diverse interpretations of the results. The rate of sediment accumulation has a significant impact on many geochemical processes; it is also vital for the functioning of benthic organisms in this environment, particularly the seabed fauna (Musielak, 1983, Kozerski, 1994, Żytkowicz, 1994 and Szczuciński, 2007). Determining the rate of sediment accumulation is usually a complicated task, even when using theoretical models for a perfectly calm water basin.