The reflection of the present distribution of the primary production in the bottom sediments of the Sea of Okhotsk

Using the authors’ data obtained during expeditions to the Sea of Okhotsk during the last decade, the primary phytoplankton production and the distribution of organic carbon and chlorophyll a degradation products (chlorin) in the bottom sediments were studied. Using the authors’ and published data, the spatial distribution of the production and paleoproduction indicators was plotted. The ratios of the chlorin and C_org content in the sediments was considered, and the correlation between these parameters was revealed. It was shown that the average annual primary production of phytoplankton and the paleoproduction indices were maximum in the coastal and upwelling zones and decreased towards the sea’s center. A quantitative correlation was found between the distribution of the present primary production in the photic layer and that of the rates of the accumulation of organic matter buried within the surface sediments. As a result, it was shown that the content of chlorin and C_org in the marine bottom sediments may be used to reconstruct the paleoproduction variability of the past.