Estimates of non-tidal exchange transport between the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific

AbstractThe interbasin exchange between the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific governs the intermediate water ventilation and fertilization of the nutrient-rich subpolar Pacific, and thus has an enormous influence on the North Pacific. However, the mechanism of this exchange is puzzling; current studies have not explained how the western boundary current (WBC) of the subarctic North Pacific intrudes only partially into the Sea of Okhotsk. High-resolution models often exhibit unrealistically small exchanges, as the WBC overshoots passing by deep straits and does not induce exchange flows. Therefore, partial intrusion cannot be solely explained by large-scale, wind-driven circulation. Here, we demonstrate that tidal forcing is the missing mechanism that drives the exchange by steering the WBC pathway. Upstream of the deep straits, tidally-generated topographically trapped waves over a bank lead to cross-slope upwelling. This upwelling enhances bottom pressure, thereby steering the WBC pathway toward the deep straits. The upwelling is identified as the source of joint-effect-of-baroclinicity-and-relief (JEBAR) in the potential vorticity equation, which is caused by tidal oscillation instead of tidally-enhanced vertical mixing. The WBC then hits the island chain and induces exchange flows. This tidal control of WBC pathways is applicable on subpolar and polar regions globally.

Download Full-text

Overturning circulation that ventilates the intermediate layer of the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific: The role of salinity advection

Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans ◽

10.1002/2014jc009995 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 120 (3) ◽

pp. 1462-1489 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Junji Matsuda ◽

Humio Mitsudera ◽

Tomohiro Nakamura ◽

Yuichiro Sasajima ◽

Hiroyasu Hasumi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North Pacific ◽

Intermediate Layer ◽

Sea Of Okhotsk ◽

Overturning Circulation ◽

The Sea Of Okhotsk ◽

The North ◽

The North Pacific

Download Full-text

Descriptive Physical Oceanography of the North Pacific, Sea of Japan (East Sea) and Sea of Okhotsk.

10.21236/ada311009 ◽

1995 ◽

Author(s):

Janice D. Boyd

Keyword(s):

Sea Of Japan ◽

North Pacific ◽

Sea Of Okhotsk ◽

East Sea ◽

Physical Oceanography ◽

The North ◽

The North Pacific

Download Full-text

Four new species of Careproctus (Cottoidei: Liparidae) from the deep-water vicinity of the southern Kuril Islands (Western North Pacific)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4821.1.3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4821 (1) ◽

pp. 71-87

Author(s):

NATALIA CHERNOVA ◽

RALF THIEL ◽

IRINA EIDUS

Keyword(s):

North Pacific ◽

Sea Of Okhotsk ◽

Western North Pacific ◽

Pectoral Fin ◽

Caudal Fin ◽

The North ◽

Kuril Basin ◽

Fin Rays ◽

The North Pacific ◽

Pectoral Fin Rays

Four new species of Careproctus (Cottoidei: Liparidae) are described from the Bussol Strait (the deepest channel of the Kuril archipelago) and two neighboring abyssal basins of the Western North Pacific. Careproctus laperousei sp. nov. from the northern slope of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench (depths of 4796–4803 m) has the following characters: vertebrae 57, pectoral-fin rays 26, principal caudal-fin rays 8 and pore pattern 2-6-7-1; it differs from the most similar congeners from the North Pacific in having a black peritoneum, short head (22.5 % of standard length, SL) and large disk (37.0 % of head length, lc). Careproctus brevipectoralis sp. nov. from the Kuril Basin of the Sea of Okhotsk (depths of 3301 m) has the following characters: vertebrae 55, pectoral-fin rays 26, caudal-fin rays 9, pore pattern 2-6-7-1 and peritoneum black; it differs from congeners by the absence of pleural ribs, deep and compressed leaf-like body (greatest depth 119 % lc, depth above anal-fin origin 113 % lc), small head (18 % SL), short pectoral fin (11 % SL) and cartilaginous-like tissue surrounding the dorsal fin. Careproctus pulcher sp. nov. and Careproctus globulus sp. nov., both having 46 vertebrae, are found on the Pacific side of the Bussol Strait at depths of 2350–2358 m. Careproctus pulcher sp. nov. is characterized by pectoral-fin rays 31–32, caudal-fin rays 10, pore pattern 2-6-7-1 and peritoneum pale; it differs from the most similar congeners in having a shorter head (25.5–26.3 % SL in adults) and gill opening reaching ventrally to 4th pectoral ray. Careproctus globulus sp. nov. has the following characters: pectoral-fin rays about 24, caudal-fin rays 8 and peritoneum black; it differs from other species in having a globular body, deep curve of vertebral column and pore pattern 2-5-6-1. Thus, based on these collections, the underwater sill of the Bussol Strait is inhabited by different species of Careproctus than the neighboring abyssal plains, Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and the Kuril Basin of the Sea of Okhotsk. Careproctus laperousei sp. nov. is the most deep-water Careproctus in the North Pacific.

Download Full-text

Two new species of deep-water Calcigorgia gorgonians (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) from the Kurile Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, with a review of distinctive characters of the known species of the genus

European Journal of Taxonomy ◽

10.5852/ejt.2018.408 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Tatiana N. Dautova

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Deep Water ◽

North Pacific ◽

Sea Of Okhotsk ◽

Far East ◽

Undescribed Species ◽

The North ◽

Kurile Islands ◽

Two New Species ◽

The North Pacific

This paper provides descriptions of Calcigorgia gorgonians collected from the Sea of Okhotsk and shores of the Kurile Islands between 3 Aug. 1984 and 20 Aug. 1987. New species described are the deep-water gorgonians Calcigorgia matua sp. nov. and C. simushiri sp. nov., belonging to the temperate fauna of the North Pacific hemisphere. Specimens belonging to all species of the genus were examined and the distinctive characters for each one are provided and summarized in a table. A modified diagnosis of the genus is proposed. The finding of a previously undescribed species emphasizes the need of further surveys, particularly in shelf and deeper waters, in order to improve our knowledge of this neglected fauna in Far East seas.

Download Full-text