Seasonal Variation of Soya Current.

Observation of the Soya Warm Current Combining HF Ocean Radar with Coastal Tide Gauges and Satellite Altimetry

“…The current axis is located 20 to 30 km from the coast in this region, and the typical width of the SWC is approximately 50 km. These features of the SWC are consistent with the results of short-term or point-wise observations reported in previous studies [1], [2]. In Fig.…”

“…It supplies warm, saline water in the Sea of Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk. The current is roughly barotropic and shows a clear seasonal variation [1], [2]. However, the SWC has never been continuously monitored due to the difficulties involved in field observations related to various reasons, such as severe weather conditions in winter, political issues at the border strait, and conflicts with fishing activities in the strait.…”

Rapid fluctuation of alkenone temperature in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea during the past 120 ky

“…The Amur River discharge is largest from May to October (Ogi et al, 2001). A warm (7-20°C) and saline (33.6-34.3 psu) water mass, the Soya Warm Current (SWC), flows from the Japan Sea into the Okhotsk Sea through the Soya Strait, and then flows southward along the coast of Hokkaido, with a maximum volume during June-November and a minimum in winter (Takizawa, 1982;Matsuyama et al, 1999). Because the Soya Strait is shallow (55 m), it would have been closed during periods of low sea level, such as at the time of the last glacial maximum (LGM) (Chappell et al, 1996).…”

Millennial-scale variations of sea-ice expansion in the southwestern part of the Okhotsk Sea during the past 120 kyr: Age model and ice-rafted debris in IMAGES Core MD01-2412

“…The SWC originates from the Sea of Japan flowing into the Sea of Okhotsk through the shallow Soya Strait (about 50 m water depth) and flows along the coast of Hokkaido with a width of 40 km and a depth of 0-150 m, which is defined as the water with salinity greater than 33.6 psu (Aota, 1975;Itoh et al, 2003). The SWC is present on the shelf from April to November and achieves maximum velocity in summer and autumn (about 50 cm/s, 1.0 Sv) (Matsuyama et al, 1999). In winter it becomes very weak and intermittent, existing only near the bottom (0-25 cm/s, − 0.3-0.5 Sv) (Aota and Kawamura, 1978;Takizawa, 1982;Itoh and Ohshima, 2000).…”