Influence of the Amur River runoff on the hydrological conditions of the Amur Liman and Sakhalin Bay (Sea of Okhotsk) during the spring-summer flood

Hydrographic and satellite observation data obtained in June 2007 enabled to study the influence of the Amur River runoff on the hydrological conditions of the Amur Liman and the Sea of Okhotsk during the spring-summer flood. Salt waters from the Sea of Japan and fresh Amur River waters mix in the estuary (the Amur Liman). Freshened waters flow from the estuary into the Sea of Okhotsk as a jet-like flow drift, which forms a recirculating anticyclonic gyre in the Sakhalin Bay. The coastal current associated with the Amur River flow was obserwed near Sakhalin Island coast. The computed values of dynamic parameters (Kelvin number K=2, Froude number F = 0.4) showed that the Earth rotation and stratification are important factors in the dynamical balance of the Amur River plume during the spring-summer flood event.     

New Ideas on the Origin of Chalk in Upper Cretaceous Rocks of the Voronezh Anteclise

On the basis of the lithological and mineral composition of chalk, it is concluded that it was formed under various facial conditions. Carbonate sediment accumulated at a shallow depth and underwent wave movements. No correlation is found between the lithological chalk types and the facial conditions of precipitation of the carbonate sediment.     

The structure of the tidal mixing front in the region of Shantar Islands (Sea of Okhotsk) according to data of satellite observations

The location and seasonal variability of the tidal mixing front in the region of Shantar Islands are studied based on an analysis of satellite data. The Shantar tidal mixing front is related to the main features of the oceanographic structure of the northwestern shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk in summer. This front separates the coastal waters mixed by tidal currents and the stratified part of the shelf. The temperature tidal mixing front forms in July after the melting ice cover and disappears in the end of October when the stratification is broken. The mean position of the front changes insignificantly and is determined by the critical value of the Simpson-Hunter parameter (logh/u ₃ = 2.5); the front is located over the isobath of 50 m. The temperature tidal mixing front corresponds to the front in the distribution of chlorophyll a determined from SeaWiFS and MODIS satellite imagery. High (when compared to the stratified part of the shelf) concentrations of chlorophyll a were observed within the zone of intense tidal mixing. Satellite images in the IR range of the spectrum (Landsat-5 TM) demonstrated that the front is dynamically unstable. Mixing effects connected with frontal submesoscale baroclinic eddies have an influence on the structure of the stratified part of the shelf.     

Water exchange between the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean through the Kamchatka Strait

Hydrological and hydrochemical conditions in the Kamchatka Strait are considered, the computation of geostrophic flows is carried out, and estimations of the water exchange between the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean through this strait are made on the basis of the analysis of data obtained during the trip of the research vessel Miraii in August, 2004. According to the results of computations, the volume transport from the Bering Sea to the Pacific Ocean made up 10.2 Sv; mass transport, 10.4 × 10⁹ kg/s; salt transport, 0.35 × 10⁶ kg/s. The estimated value of heat transport through the strait is 11.4 × 10¹⁵ W. The Eastern Kamchatka Current carries oxygen and biogenic elements through the strait: 1222, 28, 380, and 1036 kmol/s for oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, and silicon, respectively. In total, the Bering Sea is the source of oxygen and biogenic elements for the northern part of the Pacific Ocean in the upper 500-m layer.     

Effects of the Anticyclonic Eddies on Water Masses, Chemical Parameters and Chlorophyll Distributions in the Oyashio Current Region

Data from the R/V Mirai cruise (May–June 2000) have been examined to discover how mesoscale processes associated with eddy dynamics direct affect the water masses, the distributions and the vertical fluxes of the dissolved oxygen, nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon in the western subarctic Pacific. Using maps of the temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, chlorophyll and sea-air pCO₂ difference we show that the boundaries of the anticyclone eddies in the study region were composed of high productivity coastal Oyashio water. The coastal waters were wrapped around the anticyclone eddies (thus creating a high productivity belt) and intruded inside of them. Using SeaWifs data we demonstrate that temporal variations in the position and the strength of anticyclone eddies advected the Kuril island coastal high productivity waters to the pelagic part, resulting in temporal variations of the chlorophyll in the Oyashio region. Computed vertical fluxes of the dissolved oxygen (DO), inorganic carbon (DIC) and silicate show that the anticylonic eddies in the Kuroshio-Oyashio Zone are characterized by enhanced vertical fluxes of the DO and DIC between the upper (σ_θ = 26.7–27.0) and lower (σ_θ = 27.1–27.5) intermediate layer, probably due to the intrusions of the Oyashio waters into the eddies. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of the Wind and Ice Conditions on the Upwelling along the Western Kamchatka Coast (Sea of Okhotsk) Based on the Satellite Data

The variability of the upwelling along the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula (northeastern part of the Sea of Okhotsk) has been studied based on an analysis of the multisensor satellite data. The intensity of upwelling is estimated on the basis of wind-forced offshore Ekman transport (upwelling index). The wind data for studying the seasonal variation of upwelling were collected in 1999–2009 using a Quik-SCAT/SeaWinds scatterometer. The upwelling events along the western Kamchatka coast were observed in December at the beginning of the winter monsoon period. During the period of strong winter monsoon northern winds from January to the middle of March, the drifting ice prevents the upwelling of the deep water at the western Kamchatka shelf edge under the mean conditions. The oceanographic data show that upwelling in the western coastal zone of Kamchatka was also observed during the transitional periods from winter to the summer monsoon (April). In summer, upwelling events are rarely observed in this region. The main cause of the summer upwelling is the propagation of the atmospheric cyclones over the Kamchatka Peninsula.