Multidisciplinary studies of the caspian sea system during cruise 39 of the R/V Rift

The main goal of the biogeochemical studies during a research cruise was to collect material for studying the Caspian Sea sedimentation system, which makes it possible to estimate the modern particle fluxes in the sea, water column, and on the floor, as well as the biogeochemical processes affecting the sedimentary matter in the sea and bottom sediments. New data on the structure of the upper part of the sedimentary cover obtained during the cruise significantly supplemented and refined the modern concepts about the sedimentation in the Caspian Sea. Unique seismic profiles were recorded in the deepest seated Southern Caspian Basin at a depth of more than 1000 m. According to the CSP data, the visible thickness of the sediments locally reached no less than 500 m. The seafloor seismic survey in total covered more than 2000 km. Buried mud volcanoes, faults, facies boundaries, and other features were identified in the seismic profiles.