Drivers of organic carbon distribution and accumulation in the northern Barents Sea

•Sedimentation rates (SR) are influenced by topography and particle size along the continental margin.•Sediment OC distribution is explained by spatial variability of sea ice and biological production.•There is no seasonality of sedimentary OC in the northern Barents Sea.•Slow SR, high degradation, and long residence time in the water column lead to low and stable ARtoc.•High TOC north of the Polar Front signals a northeastward AW intrusion into the northern Barents Sea. Sedimentary properties and accumulation rates on the continental shelf and in the deep sea reflect temporal oceanographic, biological and chemical processes occurring in the water column and the sediment surface. We used the radionuclides 210Pb, 226Ra, and 137Cs activities to estimate sedimentation rates during the last century at nine stations in the northern Barents Sea region. Elemental (C, N) and stable isotopic composition (δ13C, δ15N) were also analysed from the nine stations sampled in August 2018, and, for five other stations sampled in August and December 2019, and in March and May 2021. Sediment accumulation rates varied between 130 and 1 410 g m−2 y−1. The