The sea has predominantly natural boundaries and is only separated from the waters by conditional boundaries. The Sea of Okhotsk is a fairly large and deep sea in our country. Its area is about 1603 thousand km2, the volume of water is 1318 thousand km3. The average depth of this sea is 821 m, the maximum depth is 3916 m. According to its features, this sea is a marginal sea of a mixed continental-marginal type.
There are few islands in the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk, among which the largest is. The Kuril ridge consists of 30 different in size. Their location is seismically active. There are more than 30 active and 70 extinct ones here. Seismic activity zones can be located both on islands and under water. If the epicenter is under water, then huge ones rise.
The coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, with a considerable length, is quite equal. There are many large bays along the coastline: Aniva, Patience, Sakhalin, Academies, Tugursky, Ayan and Shelikhov. There are also several lips: Tauiskaya, Gizhiginskaya and Penzhinskaya.
Sea of Okhotsk
The bottom is a wide range of different underwater elevations,. The northern part of the sea is located on the continental shelf, which is a continuation of the land. In the western zone of the sea there is a shoal of Sakhalin, located near the island. In the east of the Sea of Okhotsk is Kamchatka. Only a small part is located in the shelf zone. A significant part of the water expanses is located on the continental slope. The depth of the sea here varies from 200 m to 1500 m.
The southern edge of the sea is the deepest zone, the maximum depth here is more than 2500 m. This part of the sea is a kind of bed, which is located along the Kuril Islands. The southwestern part of the sea is characterized by deep depressions and slopes, which is not characteristic of the northeastern part.
In the central zone of the sea there are two hills: the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute of Oceanology. These hills divide the sea underwater space into 3 basins. The first basin is the northeastern TINRO basin, which is located to the west of Kamchatka. This depression is distinguished by small depths, about 850 m. The bottom has. The second basin is the Deryugin depression, located to the east of Sakhalin, the water depth here reaches 1700 m. The bottom is a plain, the edges of which are somewhat elevated. The third basin is the Kuril. It is the deepest (about 3300 m). is a plain that extends 120 miles in the western part, and 600 miles in the northeast.
The Sea of Okhotsk is under the influence of . The main source of cold air is located in the west. This is due to the fact that the western part of the sea is strongly cut into the mainland and is located not far from the Asian cold pole. From the east, the relatively high mountain ranges of Kamchatka impede the advance of the warm Pacific. The greatest amount of heat comes from the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan through the southern and southeastern borders. But the influence of cold air masses dominates over warm air masses, therefore, in general, the Sea of Okhotsk is quite severe. The Sea of Okhotsk is the coldest in comparison with the Sea of Japan.
Sea of Okhotsk
During the cold period (which lasts from October to April), the Siberian and Aleutian lows have a significant effect on the sea. As a result, winds from the northern and northwestern directions prevail in the Sea of Okhotsk. The power of these winds often reaches storm strength. Especially strong winds are observed in January and February. Their average speed is about 10 - 11 m/s.
In winter, the cold Asian monsoon contributes to a strong decrease in the northern and northwestern parts of the sea. In January, when the temperature reaches its minimum limit, on average the air cools down to -20-25°C in the northwestern part of the sea, to -10-15°C in the central part and to -5-6°C in the southeastern part. In the last zone, the influence of warm Pacific air is felt.
In autumn and winter, the sea is under the influence of continental. This leads to increased wind, and in some cases to cooling. In general, it can be described as clear with reduced. These climatic features are influenced by cold Asian air. In April-May, the Siberian anticyclone ceases to operate, and the influence of the Honolulu maximum increases. In this regard, during the warm period, small southeast winds are observed, the speed of which rarely exceeds 6–7 m/s.
In summer, there are different temperatures depending on. In August, the highest temperature is recorded in the southern part of the sea, it is +18°C. In the central part of the sea, the temperature drops to 12-14°C. The northeast has the coldest summer, the average temperature does not exceed 10-10.5°C. During this period, the southern part of the sea is subject to numerous oceanic cyclones, due to which the wind strength increases, and storms rage for 5-8 days.
Sea of Okhotsk
A large number of rivers carry their waters to the Sea of Okhotsk, but they are all mostly small. In this regard, it is small, it is about 600 km 3 during the year. , Penzhina, Okhota, Bolshaya - the largest flowing into the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk. Fresh waters have little effect on the sea. The waters of the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean are of great importance for the Sea of Okhotsk.
This natural reservoir is considered one of the deepest and largest in Russia. The coolest Far Eastern sea is located between the waters of the Bering and the Sea of Japan.
The Sea of Okhotsk separates the territories of the Russian Federation and Japan and is the most important port point for our country.
After reviewing the information in the article, you can learn about the richest resources of the Sea of Okhotsk and the history of the formation of the reservoir.
About the name
Previously, the sea had other names: Kamchatskoe, Lamskoe, Hokkai among the Japanese.
The current name of the sea was given by the name of the Okhota River, which in turn comes from the Even word "okat", which translates as "river". The former name (Lamskoe) also came from the Even word "lam" (translated as "sea"). Hokkai literally translates to "North Sea" in Japanese. However, due to the fact that this Japanese name now refers to the North Sea Atlantic Ocean, its name was changed to Ohotsuku-kai, which is an adaptation of the Russian name to the norms of Japanese phonetics.
Geography
Before proceeding to the description of the richest resources of the Sea of Okhotsk, we briefly present its geographical position.
The reservoir, located between the Bering and the Seas of Japan, strongly goes into the land of the mainland. The arc of the Kuril Islands separates the waters of the sea from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The reservoir has for the most part natural boundaries, and its conditional boundaries are with the Sea of Japan.
The Kuriles, which are about 3 dozen small areas of land and separating the ocean from the sea, are located in a seismically hazardous zone due to the presence of a large number of volcanoes on them. In addition, the waters of these two natural reservoirs are separated by the island of Hokkaido and Kamchatka. largest island Sea of Okhotsk - Sakhalin. The largest rivers flowing into the sea are Amur, Okhota, Bolshaya and Penzhina.
Description
The area of the sea is approximately 1603 thousand square meters. km, the volume of water - 1318 thousand cubic meters. km. The maximum depth is 3916 meters, the average is 821 m. The type of sea is mixed, continental-marginal.
Several bays pass along the rather even coastal boundary of the reservoir. The northern part of the coast is represented by many rocks and rather sharp cliffs. Storm is a frequent and quite common occurrence for this sea.
Features of nature and all resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are partly related to climate conditions and unusual terrain.
For the most part, the seashores are rocky and high. From the sea, from afar on the horizon, they are distinguished by black stripes, framed on top by brownish green spots of sparse vegetation. Only in some places (the western coast of Kamchatka, the northern part of Sakhalin), the coastline is low, fairly wide areas.
The bottom in some respects is similar to the bottom of the Sea of Japan: in many places there are hollows under water, which indicate that the area of \u200b\u200bthe present sea in the Quaternary period was above sea level, and huge rivers flowed in this place - Penzhina and Amur.
Sometimes, during earthquakes, waves appear in the ocean, reaching several tens of meters in height. There is an interesting historical fact connected with this. In 1780, one of these waves during an earthquake deep into the island of Urup (300 meters from the coast) brought the ship "Natalia", which remained on land. This fact is confirmed by the record preserved from those times.
Geologists believe that the territory of the eastern part of the sea is one of the most "troubled" areas on the globe. And today quite large movements of the earth's crust are taking place here. In this part of the ocean, underwater earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are often observed.
A bit of history
The rich natural resources of the Sea of Okhotsk began to attract the attention of people from its very discovery, which occurred during the first campaigns of the Cossacks to the Pacific Ocean through Siberia. It was then called the Lam Sea. Then, after the discovery of Kamchatka, trips by sea and coast to this richest peninsula and to the mouth of the river. Penzhins have become more frequent. In those days, the sea already bore the names Penzhinskoe and Kamchatskoe.
After leaving Yakutsk, the Cossacks moved east not straight through the taiga and mountains, but along the winding rivers and channels between them. Such a caravan path eventually led them to a river called the Hunt, and along it they were already moving to the seashore. That is why this reservoir was named Okhotsk. Since then, many significant and important large centers have arisen on the sea coast. The name that has been preserved since then testifies to the important historical role of the port and the river, from which people began the development of this vast, richest sea area.
Features of nature
The natural resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are quite attractive. This is especially true for the regions of the Kuril Islands. This is a very special world, consisting of a total of 30 large and small islands. This range also includes rocks of volcanic origin. Today, there are active volcanoes on the islands (about 30), which clearly indicates that the bowels of the earth are restless here and now.
Some islands have underground hot springs (temperature up to 30-70°C), many of which have healing properties.
Very severe climatic conditions for life on the Kuril Islands (especially in the northern part). Fogs are kept here for a long time, and in winter very often there are strong storms.
Rivers
Many rivers, mostly small ones, flow into the Sea of Okhotsk. This is the reason for the relatively small continental flow (about 600 cubic km per year) of water into it, and about 65% of it belongs to the Amur River.
Other relatively large rivers are the Penzhina, Uda, Okhota, Bolshaya (in Kamchatka), which carry a much smaller volume of fresh water into the sea. Water flows to a greater extent in spring and early summer.
Fauna
The biological resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are very diverse. This is the most biologically productive sea in Russia. It provides 40% of domestic and more than half of the Far Eastern catches of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. At the same time, it is believed that the biological potential of the sea is underutilized today.
A huge variety of depths and bottom topography, hydrological and climatic conditions in certain parts of the sea, a good supply of fish food - all this determined the richness of the ichthyofauna of these places. The northern part of the sea contains 123 species of fish in its waters, the southern part - 300 species. Approximately 85 species are endemic. This sea is a real paradise for lovers of sea fishing.
Fishing, seafood production and production of salmon caviar are actively developing on the territory of the sea. The inhabitants of the sea waters of this region: pink salmon, chum salmon, cod, sockeye salmon, flounder, coho, pollock, herring, saffron cod, chinook salmon, squid, crabs. On the Shantar Islands, hunting (limited) for fur seals is carried out, and the extraction of kelp, mollusks and sea urchins is also becoming popular.
Of the animals, the white whale, seal and seal are of particular commercial value.
Flora
The resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are inexhaustible. Vegetable world reservoir: in the northern part, arctic species predominate, in the southern part - to a greater extent, species of the temperate region. Plankton (larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, etc.) provides abundant food for fish throughout the year. The phytoplankton of the sea is represented mainly by diatoms, and the bottom flora contains many species of red, brown and green algae, as well as extensive meadows of sea grass. In total, the composition of the coastal flora of the Sea of Okhotsk includes about 300 species of vegetation.
In comparison with the Bering Sea, the benthic fauna here is more diverse, and in comparison with the Sea of Japan, it is less rich. The main food fields for deep-sea fish are the northern shallow waters, as well as the East Sakhalin and western Kamchatka shelves.
Mineral resources
The mineral resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are especially rich. Only the water of the sea contains almost all the elements of the table of D. I. Mendeleev.
The bottom of the sea has exceptional reserves of globigerin and diamond silts, consisting mainly of shells of unicellular tiny algae and protozoa. Sludge is a valuable raw material for the production of insulating building materials and high quality cement.
The shelf of the sea is also promising for prospecting for hydrocarbon deposits. The rivers of the Aldan-Okhotsk watershed and the lower reaches of the Amur have long been famous for placers of valuable metals, which indicates that there is a possibility of finding underwater ore deposits in the sea. Perhaps there are still many unexplored raw materials in the Sea of Okhotsk.
It is known that the lower shelf horizons and part of the continental slope adjoining them are enriched in phosphorite concretions. There is another more realistic prospect - the extraction of rare elements contained in the bone remains of mammals and fish, and such accumulations are found in deep-sea sediments of the Yuzhno-Okhotskaya basin.
It is impossible to keep silent about amber. The very first finds of this mineral on the eastern coast of Sakhalin date back to the middle of the 19th century. At that time, representatives of the Amur expedition worked here. It should be noted that Sakhalin amber is very beautiful - it is perfectly polished, cherry-red and highly appreciated by experts. The largest pieces of wood fossil resin (up to 0.5 kg) were discovered by geologists near the village of Ostromysovsky. Amber is also found in the oldest deposits of the Taigonos Peninsula, as well as in Kamchatka.
Conclusion
In short, the resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are extremely rich and diverse, it is impossible to list all of them, let alone describe them.
Today, the importance of the Sea of Okhotsk in the national economy is determined by the use of its richest natural resources and sea transport. The main wealth of this sea are game animals, primarily fish. However, today it is enough high level the danger of pollution of the commercial zones of the sea with oil products as a result of discharges of oily waters by fishing vessels creates a situation that requires certain measures to increase the level of environmental safety of the work being carried out.
The depth of the Sea of Okhotsk reaches an average of 1780 m, and the maximum is approximately 3916 m. At the same time, its area is 1603 thousand km². It does not have the same depth, in the west it is less than in the eastern part. Many scientists classify it as semi-closed. It washes the Asian part of Eurasia and belongs to the Pacific Ocean.
Map of the Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk washes the shores of the two states of Japan and. It is called Hokkai, literally - Northern. However, due to the existence of such a sea in the Atlantic Ocean, a new name, derived from the word Okhotsk - Okhotsuku-ka, received a distribution.
It is noteworthy that most of the territory of this sea belongs to the internal waters of these states and only a small part of it, according to the norms of international maritime law, is the open sea.
With the Pacific Ocean, this sea is connected by a number of straits located between the Kuril Islands. There are also exits to. They are connected by two straits through the Amur estuary: Tatar and Nevelskoy. And also through the La Perouse Strait. From the north and west, this sea is limited by the continental coast. In the east - the Kamchatka Peninsula and the islands. In the South - the island of Hokaido and the island of Sakhalin.
Speaking about the coastline, it should be noted that it is not very homogeneous. So in the north, the coast is noticeably more indented than in the western part. The largest bay of this sea is located in the northeast of the Sea of Okhotsk and is called Shelikhov Bay. In addition, fairly large bays in this sea are: Eyrineyskaya Bay, Babushkina, Zabiyaka, Sheltinga and Kekurny bays. The eastern part of the sea, washing the Kamchatka Peninsula, has practically no bays.
Surface water temperatures reach an average of 1.8°C in winter and range from 10 to 18°C in summer. It should be noted that in winter, or rather, somewhere from October to May, sometimes until mid-June, the part of the sea located in the north is covered with ice. While the southern one usually does not freeze. The surface layer of sea water has approximately 33.8% salinity.
This sea is characterized by mixed and diurnal tides. Their maximum amplitude is recorded in the area of the Gizhiginskaya Bay, where it sometimes reaches 13 m.
Okhotsk fauna and flora
If we consider living creatures living in this sea, one can easily notice the heterogeneity of their composition in the northern and southern parts. In the north, it is inhabited for the most part by species characteristic of the Arctic seas, while in the south by those that usually live in a temperate maritime climate.
A large amount of plankton, especially zooplankton, is food for fish living in these waters. Diatoms are the most numerous among phytoplankton. Enough here and red, brown, and green algae. In addition, here you can find vast meadows of Zostera - sea grass. In general, there are more than 300 species of them in the Sea of Okhotsk.
There are also many species of fish here, in the northern part there are 123 species, and in the southern part there are more than 300. Among them, there are many deep-sea ones. In terms of fishing, halibut, cod, chum salmon, ivasi, pollock, pink salmon, flounder, coho salmon and even chinook salmon are most often caught. Salmon fishing is limited. This is due to a significant decrease in their population due to overfishing in the past. On this moment an artificial increase in their number.
There are also crustaceans, moreover, crab fishing is carried out off the west coast. There is also enough marine mammals, among which fishing is carried out for seals, beluga whales and seals.
The Sea of Okhotsk is of great transport importance, in addition, it is of interest for oil production. In historical terms, it is not easy to single out significant events in it. Quite important naval battles took place here during the Russo-Japanese War.
Traveling on Okhotsk - for extreme people
How tourist area this sea is not used due to the cold climate. But the pristine nature will attract the attention of fans of extreme sports. Many rare plants, natural landscape, the opportunity to watch seals resting on the rocks or unique birds nesting here. A multitude of diverse species, both marine and land-dwelling animals, and the incomparable view of the steel-gray sky and the sea surface leave an indelible impression.
And many feet under the keel!)))
Basic physical and geographical features. In the chain of our Far Eastern seas, it occupies a middle position, protrudes quite deeply into the Asian continent, and is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the arc of the Kuril Islands. The Sea of Okhotsk has natural boundaries almost everywhere, and only in the south-west from the Sea of Japan is it separated by conditional lines: Cape Yuzhny - Cape Tyk and Cape Crillon - Cape Soya in the Laperouse Strait. The southeastern boundary of the sea runs from Cape Nosyappu (Hokkaido Island) through the Kuril Islands to Cape Lopatka (Kamchatka), while all passages between the island. Hokkaido and Kamchatka are included in the Sea of Okhotsk. Within these limits, the expanse of the sea extends from north to south from 62°42′ to 43°43′ N. sh. and from west to east from 134°50′ to 164°45′ E. The sea is significantly elongated from the southwest to the northeast and expanded approximately in its central part (Fig. 1).
Rice. 1. Coastal types and bottom topography of the Sea of Okhotsk. Conv. see designations.
The Sea of Okhotsk is one of the largest and deepest seas in our country. Its area is 1603 thousand km 2, the volume is 1318 thousand km 3, the average depth is 821 m, the greatest depth is 3916 m. geographic location, the predominance of depths up to 500 m and significant spaces occupied by great depths, the Sea of Okhotsk belongs to marginal seas of mixed continental-marginal type.
There are few islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. The largest border island is Sakhalin. The Kuril ridge has about 30 large, many small islands and rocks. The Kuril Islands are located in the seismic activity belt, which includes more than 30 active and 70 extinct volcanoes. Seismic activity is manifested on the islands and under water. In the latter case, tsunami waves are formed. In addition to the named "marginal" islands in the sea, there are the islands of Shantarsky, Spafaryeva, Zavyalova, Yamsky and the small island of Iona - the only one of them remote from the coast. With a large length, the coastline is indented relatively weakly. At the same time, it forms several large bays (Aniva, Patience, Sakhalin, Academies, Tugursky, Ayan, Shelikhov) and bays (Udskaya, Tauiskaya, Gizhiginskaya and Penzhinskaya).
The straits connecting the Sea of Okhotsk with the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan and their depths are of great importance, since they determine the possibility of water exchange. The Nevelskoy and La Perouse straits are comparatively narrow and shallow. The width of the Nevelskoy Strait (between Capes Lazarev and Pogibi) is only about 7 km. The width of the La Perouse Strait is somewhat larger - about 40 km, and the greatest depth is 53 m.
At the same time, the total width of the Kuril Straits is about 500 km, and the maximum depth of the deepest of them (Bussol Strait) exceeds 2300 m. Thus, the possibility of water exchange between the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk is incomparably less than between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. However, even the depth of the deepest of the Kuril straits is much less than the maximum depth of the sea, therefore the Kuril ridge is a huge threshold that separates the sea basin from the ocean.
The most important for water exchange with the ocean are the straits of Bussol and Krusenstern, as they have the largest area and depth. The depth of the Bussol Strait was indicated above, and the depth of the Kruzenshtern Strait is 1920 m. The Friza, Fourth Kuril, Rikord and Nadezhda straits are of less importance, the depths of which are more than 500 m. The depths of the remaining straits generally do not exceed 200 m, and the areas are insignificant.
The shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, which are not identical in external forms and structure, in different regions belong to different geomorphological types. From fig. 38 shows that for the most part these are abrasion shores altered by the sea, only in the west of Kamchatka and in the east of Sakhalin there are accumulative shores. In general, the sea is surrounded by high and steep shores. In the north and northwest, rocky ledges descend directly to the sea. A less high, and then a low-lying mainland coast approaches the sea near the Sakhalin Bay. The southeastern coast of Sakhalin is low, and the northeastern coast is low. The shores of the Kuril Islands are very steep. The northeastern coast of Hokkaido is predominantly low-lying. The coast of the southern part of western Kamchatka has the same character, but its northern part is distinguished by some elevation of the coast.
The bottom relief of the Sea of Okhotsk is varied and uneven (see Fig. 38). In general, it is characterized by the following main features. The northern part of the sea is a continental shelf - an underwater continuation of the Asian mainland. The width of the continental shoal in the region of the Ayano-Okhotsk coast is approximately 100 miles, in the region of the Uda Bay - 140 miles. Between the meridians of Okhotsk and Magadan, its width increases to 200 miles. From the western edge of the sea basin there is the island sandbar of Sakhalin, from the eastern edge - the continental shelf of Kamchatka. The shelf occupies about 22% of the bottom area. The rest, most (about 70%) of the sea is located within the continental slope (from 200 to 1500 m), on which separate underwater heights, depressions and trenches stand out.
The deepest southern part of the sea deeper than 2500 m, which is a section of the bed, occupies 8% of the total area. It is elongated as a strip along the Kuril Islands, gradually narrowing from 200 km against about. Iturup up to 80 km against the Krusenstern Strait. Great depths and significant slopes of the bottom distinguish the southwestern part of the sea from the northeastern part, which lies on the continental shelf.
Of the major elements of the relief of the bottom of the central part of the sea, two underwater hills stand out - the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute of Oceanology. Together with the protrusion of the continental slope, they determine the division of the sea basin into three basins: the northeastern TINRO basin, the northwestern Deryugin basin, and the southern deep-water Kuril basin. The depressions are connected by gutters: Makarov, P. Schmidt and Lebed. To the northeast of the TINRO depression, the Shelikhov Bay trench departs.
The least deep TINRO basin is located to the west of Kamchatka. Its bottom is a plain lying at a depth of about 850 m with a maximum depth of 990 m. The Deryugin Depression is located to the east of the underwater base of Sakhalin. Its bottom is a flat, elevated plain at the edges, lying on average at a depth of 1700 m, the maximum depth of the depression is 1744 m. The deepest is the Kuril basin. This is a huge flat plain, lying at a depth of about 3300 m. Its width in the western part is about 120 miles, its length in the northeast direction is about 600 miles.
The hill of the Institute of Oceanology has a rounded shape, it is extended in the latitudinal direction by almost 200 miles, and in the meridional direction by about 130 miles. The minimum depth above it is about 900 m. The upland of the USSR Academy of Sciences is indented by the peaks of underwater valleys. A remarkable feature of the relief of the hills is the presence of their flat tops, which occupy a large area.
By its location, the Sea of Okhotsk is located in the monsoon climate zone of temperate latitudes, which is significantly influenced by the physical and geographical features of the sea. Thus, a significant part of it in the west deeply protrudes into the mainland and lies relatively close to the cold pole of the Asian land, so the main source of cold for the Sea of Okhotsk is in the west, and not in the north. The relatively high ridges of Kamchatka make it difficult for warm Pacific air to penetrate. Only in the southeast and south is the sea open to the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, from where a significant amount of heat enters it. However, the effect of cooling factors is stronger than warming factors, so the Sea of Okhotsk is generally the coldest of the Far Eastern seas. At the same time, its large meridional extent causes significant spatial differences in the synoptic situation and meteorological indicators in each season. In the cold part of the year, from October to April, the Siberian anticyclone and the Aleutian low act on the sea. The influence of the latter extends mainly to the southeastern part of the sea. This distribution of large-scale baric systems determines the dominance of strong stable northwestern and northern winds often reaching storm strength. Low winds and calms are almost completely absent, especially in January and February. In winter, the wind speed is usually 10-11 m/s.
The dry and cold Asian winter monsoon significantly cools the air over the northern and northwestern regions of the sea. In the coldest month (January), the average air temperature in the northwest of the sea is -20-25°, in the central regions -10-15°, only in the southeastern part of the sea it is -5-6°, which is explained by the warming effect Pacific Ocean.
The autumn-winter time is characterized by the emergence of cyclones of predominantly continental origin. They entail intensification, winds, and sometimes a decrease in air temperature, but the weather remains clear and dry, as they bring in continental air from the chilled mainland of Asia. In March-April, large-scale baric fields are restructured. The Siberian anticyclone is collapsing and the Honolulu High is getting stronger. As a result, during the warm season (May to October), the Sea of Okhotsk is under the influence of the Honolulu High and the area of low pressure located over Eastern Siberia. In accordance with this distribution of the centers of action of the atmosphere, weak southeasterly winds prevail over the sea at this time. Their speed usually does not exceed 6-7 m/s. Most often, these winds are observed in June and July, although stronger northwesterly and northerly winds are sometimes observed in these months. In general, the Pacific (summer) monsoon is weaker than the Asian (winter) monsoon, since the horizontal pressure gradients are small in the warm season. murat gokhan yalciner
In summer, the air warms up unevenly over the entire sea. The average monthly air temperature in August decreases from southwest to northeast from 18° in the south to 12-14° in the center and to 10-10.5° in the northeast of the Sea of Okhotsk. In the warm season, oceanic cyclones quite often pass over the southern part of the sea, which is associated with an increase in wind to a storm, which can last up to 5-8 days. The predominance of southeasterly winds in the spring-summer season leads to significant cloudiness, precipitation, and fog. Monsoon winds and stronger winter cooling of the western part of the Sea of Okhotsk compared to the eastern part are important climatic features of this sea.
Quite a few mostly small rivers flow into the Sea of Okhotsk, therefore, with such a significant volume of its waters, the continental runoff is relatively small. It is equal to approximately 600 km 3 /year, while Amur gives about 65%. Other relatively large rivers - Penzhina, Okhota, Uda, Bolshaya (in Kamchatka) - bring much less fresh water to the sea. It arrives mainly in spring and early summer. At this time, the influence of continental runoff is most noticeable, mainly in the coastal zone, near the mouth areas of large rivers.
Geographical position, large length along the meridian, monsoonal change of winds and good connection of the sea with the Pacific Ocean through the Kuril Straits are the main natural factors that most significantly affect the formation of the hydrological conditions of the Sea of Okhotsk. The values of heat input and output in the sea are determined mainly by radiative heating and cooling of the sea. The heat brought by the Pacific waters is of subordinate importance. However, for the water balance of the sea, the inflow and outflow of water through the Kuril Straits plays a decisive role. The details and quantitative indicators of water exchange through the Kuril Straits have not yet been studied enough, but the main ways of water exchange through the straits are known. The flow of surface Pacific waters into the Sea of Okhotsk occurs mainly through the northern straits, in particular through the First Kuril. In the straits of the middle part of the ridge, both the inflow of Pacific waters and the outflow of Okhotsk waters are observed. So, in the surface layers of the Third and Fourth Kuril Straits, apparently, there is a runoff of water from the Sea of Okhotsk, in the bottom layers there is an inflow, and in the Bussol Strait, on the contrary: in the surface layers, an inflow, in the deep layers, a drain. In the southern part of the ridge, mainly through the straits of Ekaterina and Friza, there is mainly a runoff of water from the Sea of Okhotsk. The intensity of water exchange through the straits can vary significantly. In general, in the upper layers of the southern part Kuril ridge the runoff of the Sea of Okhotsk waters predominates, and in the upper layers of the northern part of the ridge, Pacific waters enter. In the deep layers, the influx of Pacific waters generally prevails.
The inflow of Pacific waters largely affects the distribution of temperature, salinity, formation of the structure and general circulation of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Hydrological characteristic. Water temperature on the sea surface generally decreases from south to north. In winter, almost everywhere, the surface layers cool to a freezing temperature of −1.5-1.8°. Only in the southeastern part of the sea does it remain around 0°, and near the northern Kuril Straits, the water temperature reaches 1-2° under the influence of the Pacific waters penetrating here.
Spring warming at the beginning of the season mainly goes to the melting of ice, only towards the end of it does the water temperature begin to rise. In summer, the distribution of water temperature on the sea surface is quite diverse (Fig. 39). In August, the waters adjacent to about. Hokkaido. In the central regions of the sea, the water temperature is 11-12°. The coldest surface waters are observed near about. Iona, near Cape Pyagin and near the Kruzenshtern Strait. In these areas, the water temperature is kept within 6-7 °. The formation of local centers of increased and decreased water temperature on the surface is mainly associated with the redistribution of heat by currents.
The vertical distribution of water temperature varies from season to season and from place to place. In the cold season, the change in temperature with depth is less complex and varied than in warm seasons. In winter, in the northern and central regions of the sea, water cooling extends to horizons of 100–200 m. rises to 1-2° in the southern part of the sea, near the Kuril Straits, the water temperature from 2.5-3.0° on the surface drops to 1.0-1.4° at the horizons of 300-400 m and then gradually rises to 1, 9-2.4° at the bottom.
In summer, surface waters are warmed up to a temperature of 10-12°C. In the subsurface layers, the water temperature is slightly lower than on the surface. A sharp decrease in temperature to values of −1.0-1.2° is observed between the horizons of 50-75 m, deeper to the horizons of 150-200 m the temperature rises to 0.5-1.0°, and then its increase occurs more smoothly and by in horizons of 200-250 m it is equal to 1.5-2.0°. From here, the temperature of the water almost does not change to the bottom. In the southern and southeastern parts of the sea, along the Kuril Islands, the water temperature drops from 10-14° on the surface to 3-8° at the 25-m horizon, then to 1.6-2.4° at the 100-m horizon and down to 1 ,4-2.0° at the bottom. The vertical temperature distribution in summer is characterized by a cold intermediate layer, a remnant of the winter cooling of the sea (see Fig. 2). In the northern and central regions of the sea, the temperature in it is negative, and only near the Kuril Straits does it have positive values. In different areas of the sea, the depth of the cold intermediate layer is different and varies from year to year.
Rice. Fig. 2. Temperature distribution on the surface and in depth in the Sea of Okhotsk
Rice. Fig. 3. Distribution of salinity on the surface and in depth in the Sea of Okhotsk
Distribution salinity in the Sea of Okhotsk, it changes relatively little seasonally and is characterized by its increase in the eastern part, which is under the influence of Pacific waters, and its decrease in the western part, desalinated by continental runoff (Fig. 3). In the western part, salinity on the surface is 28-31‰, and in the eastern part it is 31-32‰ and more (up to 33‰ near the Kuril ridge). In the northwestern part of the sea, due to desalination, the salinity on the surface is 25‰ or less, and the thickness of the desalinated layer is about 30-40 m.
Salinity increases with depth in the Sea of Okhotsk. At the horizons of 300-400 m in the western part of the sea, the salinity is 33.5‰, and in the eastern part it is about 33.8‰. At a horizon of 100 m, salinity is 34.0‰, and further towards the bottom it increases slightly - by only 0.5-0.6‰. In individual bays and straits, salinity and its stratification may differ significantly from the open sea, depending on local hydrological conditions.
Temperature and salinity determine the magnitudes and distribution density waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. In accordance with this, denser waters are observed in winter in the northern and central ice-covered regions of the sea. The density is somewhat less in the relatively warm Kuril region. In summer, the water density decreases, its lowest values are confined to the zones of influence of coastal runoff, and the highest values are observed in the areas of distribution of Pacific waters. Density increases with depth. In winter, it rises relatively slightly from the surface to the bottom. In summer, its distribution in the upper layers depends on the temperature values, and on the middle and lower horizons on salinity. In summer, a noticeable density stratification of waters along the vertical is created, the density increases especially significantly at the horizons of 25-35-50 m, which is associated with the heating of waters in open areas and desalination off the coast.
The development opportunities are largely related to the peculiarities of the vertical distribution of oceanological characteristics. water mixing Sea of Okhotsk. Wind mixing is carried out in the ice-free season. It flows most intensively in spring and autumn, when strong winds blow over the sea, and the stratification of waters is not yet very pronounced. At this time, wind mixing extends to a horizon of 20–25 m from the surface. Strong cooling and powerful ice formation in the autumn-winter time contributes to the development of convection in the Sea of Okhotsk. However, it proceeds differently in its different regions, which is explained by the features of the bottom topography, climatic differences, the inflow of Pacific waters, and other factors. Thermal convection in most of the sea penetrates up to 50-60 m, since the summer heating of surface waters, and in the zones of influence of coastal runoff and significant freshening, cause vertical stratification of waters, which is most pronounced on these horizons. The increase in the density of surface waters due to cooling and the resulting convection are not able to overcome the stability maximum located at the aforementioned horizons. In the southeastern part of the sea, where Pacific waters mainly spread, relatively weak vertical stratification is observed; therefore, thermal convection propagates here to horizons of 150–200 m, where it is limited by the density structure of waters.
Intense ice formation over most of the sea excites an enhanced thermohaline winter vertical circulation. At depths up to 250-300 m, it spreads to the bottom, and its penetration to greater depths is prevented by the maximum stability that exists here. In areas with a rugged bottom topography, the spread of density mixing into the lower horizons is facilitated by the sliding of water along the slopes. In general, the Sea of Okhotsk is characterized by good mixing of its waters.
Features of the vertical distribution of oceanological characteristics, mainly water temperature, indicate that the Sea of Okhotsk is characterized by a subarctic water structure, in which cold and warm intermediate layers are well pronounced in summer. A more detailed study of the subarctic structure in this sea has shown that the Sea of Okhotsk, Pacific, and Kuril varieties of the subarctic water structure exist in it. With the same nature of the vertical structure, they have quantitative differences in the characteristics of water masses.
Based on analysis T, S-curves in combination with consideration of the vertical distribution of oceanological characteristics in the Sea of Okhotsk distinguish the following water masses. Surface water mass, which has spring, summer and autumn modifications. It represents the upper maximum of stability, mainly due to temperature. This water mass is characterized by temperature and salinity corresponding to each season, on the basis of which its mentioned modifications are distinguished.
Sea of Okhotsk water mass is formed from surface water in winter and in spring, in summer and autumn it manifests itself in the form of a cold intermediate layer flying between horizons of 40-150 m. This water mass is characterized by a fairly uniform salinity (about 32.9-31.0‰) and varies from place to place temperature. In most of the sea, its temperature is below 0° and reaches -1.7°, and in the area of the Kuril Straits it is above 1°.
Intermediate water mass It is formed mainly due to the sinking of waters along the slopes of the bottom, within the sea it is located from 100-150 to 400-700 m and is characterized by a temperature of 1.5 ° and a salinity of 33.7‰. This water mass is distributed almost everywhere, except for the northwestern part of the sea, Shelikhov Bay and some areas along the coast of Sakhalin, where the Sea of Okhotsk water mass reaches the bottom. The thickness of the intermediate water mass generally decreases from south to north.
deep pacific water the mass represents the water of the lower part of the warm layer of the Pacific Ocean, which enters the Sea of Okhotsk at horizons below 800-2000 m, i.e., below the depth of the waters descending in the straits, and manifests itself in the sea as a warm intermediate layer. This water mass is located on the horizons of 600-1350 m, has a temperature of 2.3°C and a salinity of 34.3‰. However, its characteristics change in space. The highest values of temperature and salinity are observed in the northeastern and partly in the northwestern regions, which is associated here with the rise of waters, and the smallest values of the characteristics are characteristic of the western and southern regions, where the waters sink.
The water mass of the Southern Basin is of Pacific origin and represents the deep water of the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean from a horizon of 2300 m, corresponding to the maximum depth of the threshold in the Kuril Straits (Bussol Strait). The considered water mass generally fills the named basin from the horizon of 1350 m to the bottom. It is characterized by a temperature of 1.85° and a salinity of 34.7‰, which vary only slightly with depth.
Among the identified water masses, the Sea of Okhotsk and the deep Pacific are the main ones and differ from each other not only in thermohaline, but also in hydrochemical and biological indicators.
Under the influence of winds and water inflow through the Kuril Straits, character traits systems of non-periodic currents Sea of Okhotsk (Fig. 4). The main one is the cyclonic system of currents, covering almost the entire sea. It is due to the predominance of cyclonic circulation of the atmosphere over the sea and the adjacent part of the Pacific Ocean. In addition, stable anticyclonic circulations and extensive areas of cyclonic water circulation can be traced in the sea.
Rice. 4. Currents on the surface of the Sea of Okhotsk
At the same time, a narrow strip of stronger coastal currents stands out quite clearly, which, continuing each other, seem to bypass coastline seas counterclockwise; the warm Kamchatka current directed to the north into Shelikhov Bay; flow of western and then south-western direction along the northern and north-western coasts of the sea; the steady East Sakhalin Current going south, and the rather strong Soya Current entering the Sea of Okhotsk through the Laperouse Strait.
On the southeastern periphery of the cyclonic circulation of the Central Part of the Sea, a branch of the Northeast Current is distinguished, opposite in direction to the Kuril Current (or Oyashio) in the Pacific Ocean. As a result of the existence of these streams, stable areas of convergence of currents are formed in some of the Kuril Straits, which leads to subsidence of waters and has a significant effect on the distribution of oceanological characteristics not only in the straits, but also in the sea itself. And finally, one more feature of the water circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk is two-way stable currents in most of the Kuril straits.
Non-periodic currents on the surface of the Sea of Okhotsk are most intense off the western coast of Kamchatka (11-20 cm/s), in the Sakhalin Bay (30-45 cm/s), in the area of the Kuril Straits (15-40 cm/s), over the South Basin ( 11-20 cm/s) and during the Soya (up to 50-90 cm/s). In the central part of the cyclonic region, the intensity of horizontal transport is much less than on its periphery. In the central part of the sea, velocities vary from 2 to 10 cm/s, with velocities below 5 cm/s predominating. A similar picture is observed in Shelikhov Bay, rather strong currents near the coast (up to 20–30 cm/s) and low velocities in the central part of the cyclonic gyre.
Periodic (tidal) currents are also well expressed in the Sea of Okhotsk. Here their various types are observed: semidiurnal, diurnal and mixed with a predominance of semidiurnal or diurnal components. The velocities of tidal currents are different - from a few centimeters to 4 m/s. Away from the coast, the current velocities are low (5-10 cm/s). In straits, bays and near the coast, the velocities of tidal currents increase significantly, for example, in the Kuril Straits they reach 2-4 m/s.
tides Sea of Okhotsk have a very complex character. A tidal wave enters from the south and southeast from the Pacific Ocean. The semidiurnal wave moves to the north, and at the 50° parallel it is divided into two branches: the western one turns to the northwest, forming amphidromic regions to the north of Cape Terpeniya and in the northern part of Sakhalin Bay, the eastern one moves towards the Shelikhov Bay, at the entrance to which arises another amphidrome. The diurnal wave also moves north, but at the latitude of the northern tip of Sakhalin it is divided into two parts: one enters Shelikhov Bay, the other reaches the northwestern coast.
There are two main types of tides in the Sea of Okhotsk: diurnal and mixed. The most common are diurnal tides. They are observed in the Amur Estuary, Sakhalin Bay, the Kuril Islands, off the western coast of Kamchatka and in Penzhinsky Bay. Mixed tides are observed on the northern and northwestern coasts of the sea and in the area of the Shantar Islands.
The highest tides were recorded in the Penzhina Bay near Cape Astronomichesky (up to 13 m). These are the highest tides for the entire coast of the USSR. In second place is the region of the Shantar Islands, where the tide exceeds 7 m. The tides are very significant in the Sakhalin Bay and in the Kuril Straits. In the northern part of the sea, the tides reach up to 5 m. In the southern part of the sea, the magnitude of the tides is 0.8-2.5 m. In general, tidal level fluctuations in the Sea of Okhotsk are very significant and have a significant impact on its hydrological regime, especially in the coastal zone.
In addition to tidal, there are also well-developed surge level fluctuations. They occur mainly during the passage of deep cyclones over the sea. Surge rises in the level reach 1.5-2 m. The largest surges are noted on the coast of Kamchatka and in the Gulf of Patience.
Significant size and great depths Sea of Okhotsk, frequent and strong winds over it cause the development of large waves here. The sea is especially stormy in autumn, and in ice-free areas in winter. These seasons account for 55-70% of storm waves, including those with wave heights of 4-6 m, and greatest heights waves reach 10-11 m. The most restless are the southern and southeastern regions of the sea, where the average frequency of storm waves is 35-50%, and in the northwestern part it decreases to 25-30%. islands and between the Shantar Islands a crowd is formed.
Severe and long winters with strong northwest winds contribute to the development of intensive ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk. The ice of the Sea of Okhotsk is exclusively of local formation. There are both fixed ice (fast ice) and floating ice, which are the main form of sea ice. In one quantity or another, ice is found in all areas of the sea, but in summer the entire sea is cleared of ice. The exception is the region of the Shantar Islands, where ice can persist in summer.
Ice formation begins in November in the bays and bays of the northern part of the sea, in the coastal part of the island. Sakhalin and Kamchatka. Then ice appears in the open part of the sea. In January and February, ice covers the entire northern and middle parts of the sea. In ordinary years, the southern boundary of a relatively stable ice cover curves northward from the La Perouse Strait to Cape Lopatka. The extreme southern part of the sea never freezes. However, due to the winds, significant masses of ice are carried into it from the north, often accumulating near the Kuril Islands.
From April to June there is a destruction and gradual disappearance of the ice cover. On average, the ice in the sea disappears in late May - early June. The northwestern part of the sea, due to the currents and the configuration of the coasts, is most of all clogged with ice, which remains there until July. Consequently, the ice cover in the Sea of Okhotsk persists for 6-7 months. Floating ice covers more than three-quarters of the sea's surface. Close-knit ice in the northern part of the sea is a serious obstacle to navigation even for icebreakers. The total duration of the ice period in the northern part of the sea reaches 280 days a year.
The southern coast of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands are areas with low ice cover, where ice stays on average no more than three months a year. The thickness of the ice growing during the winter reaches 0.8-1.0 m. Strong storms, tidal currents break the ice cover in many areas of the sea, forming hummocks and large waters. In the open part of the sea, solid immovable ice is never observed; usually, ice drifts here in the form of vast fields with numerous leads. Part of the ice from the Sea of Okhotsk is carried into the ocean, where it breaks up and melts almost immediately. In severe winters, floating ice is pressed against Kuril Islands and clog some straits. Thus, in the winter time in the Sea of Okhotsk there is no such place where an encounter with ice would be completely excluded.
hydrochemical conditions. Due to the constant water exchange with the Pacific Ocean through the deep Kuril Straits, the chemical composition of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk generally does not differ from that of the ocean. The values and distribution of dissolved gases and biogenic substances in the open areas of the sea are determined by the inflow of Pacific waters, and in the coastal part, coastal runoff has a certain effect.
The Sea of Okhotsk is rich in oxygen, but its content is not the same in different areas of the sea and varies with depth. A large amount of oxygen is dissolved in the waters of the northern and central parts of the sea, which is explained by the abundance of oxygen-producing phytoplankton here. In particular, in the central part of the sea, the development of plant organisms is associated with the rise of deep waters in the zones of convergence of currents. The waters of the southern regions of the sea contain a smaller amount of oxygen, since the Pacific waters, which are relatively poor in phytoplankton, come here. The highest content (7-9 ml / l) of oxygen is noted in the surface layer, deeper it gradually decreases and at the horizon of 100 m it is 6-7 ml / l, and at the horizon of 500 m - 3.2-4.7 ml / l, further, the amount of this gas decreases very quickly with depth and reaches a minimum (1.2-1.4 ml/l) at the horizons of 1000-1300 m, but in deeper layers it increases to 1.3-2.0 ml/l. The oxygen minimum is confined to the deep Pacific water mass.
The surface layer of the sea contains 2-3 µg/l of nitrites and 3-15 µg/l of nitrates. With depth, their concentration increases, and the content of nitrites reaches a maximum at the horizons of 25-50 m, and the amount of nitrates sharply increases here, but the greatest values of these substances are noted at the horizons of 800-1000 m, from where they slowly decrease towards the bottom. The vertical distribution of phosphates is characterized by an increase in their content with depth, which is especially noticeable from horizons of 50-60 m, and the maximum concentration of these substances is observed in the bottom layers. In general, the amount of nitrites, nitrates and phosphates dissolved in the waters of the sea increases from north to south, which is mainly due to the rise of deep waters. Local features of hydrological and biological conditions (water circulation, tides, degree of development of organisms, etc.) form the regional hydrochemical features of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Economic use. The economic significance of the Sea of Okhotsk is determined by the use of its natural resources and maritime transport. The main wealth of this sea is game animals, especially fish. Here, mainly its most valuable species are mined - salmon (chum, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon) and their caviar. Currently, salmon stocks have decreased, so their production has decreased. The catch of this fish is limited. In addition, herring, cod, flounder and other types of sea fish are caught in the sea in limited quantities. The Sea of Okhotsk is the main area for crab fishing. Squid are being harvested in the sea. One of the largest herds of fur seals is concentrated on the Shantar Islands, the extraction of which is strictly regulated.
Sea transport lines connect the Okhotsk ports of Magadan, Nagaevo, Ayan, Okhotsk with other Soviet and foreign ports. Various cargoes come here from different regions of the Soviet Union and foreign countries.
The largely studied Sea of Okhotsk still needs to solve various natural problems. In terms of their hydrological aspects, an essential place is occupied by studies of the water exchange of the sea with the Pacific Ocean, general circulation, including vertical movements of waters, their fine structure and eddy-like movements, ice conditions, especially in the prognostic direction of the timing of ice formation, the direction of ice drift, etc. The solution of these and other problems will contribute to the further development of the Sea of Okhotsk.
The Sea of Okhotsk is the sea of the Pacific Ocean, separated from it by the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands and the island of Hokkaido.
The sea washes the shores of Russia and Japan.
The area is 1603 thousand km². The average depth is 1780 m, the maximum depth is 3916 m. The western part of the sea is located above the gentle continuation of the continent and has a shallow depth. In the center of the sea are the Deryugin depressions (in the south) and the TINRO depression. In the eastern part there is the Kuril basin, in which the depth is maximum.
Sea of Okhotsk map of the Far East 
In the chain of our Far Eastern seas, it occupies a middle position, protrudes quite deeply into the Asian continent, and is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the arc of the Kuril Islands. The Sea of Okhotsk has natural boundaries almost everywhere, and only in the south-west from the Sea of Japan is it separated by conditional lines: Cape Yuzhny - Cape Tyk and in the Laperouse Strait Cape Crillon - Cape Soya. The southeastern boundary of the sea runs from Cape Nosyappu (Hokkaido Island) through the Kuril Islands to Cape Lopatka (Kamchatka), while all passages between the island. Hokkaido and Kamchatka are included in the Sea of Okhotsk. Within these limits, the expanse of the sea extends from north to south from 62°42′ to 43°43′ N. sh. and from west to east from 134°50′ to 164°45′ E. e. The sea is considerably elongated from the southwest to the northeast and expanded approximately in its central part.
GENERAL DATA, GEOGRAPHY, ISLANDS
The Sea of Okhotsk is one of the largest and deepest seas in our country. Its area is 1603 thousand km2, volume 1318 thousand km3, average depth 821 m, maximum depth 3916 m. marginal type.
There are few islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. The largest border island is Sakhalin. The Kuril ridge has about 30 large, many small islands and rocks. The Kuril Islands are located in the seismic activity belt, which includes more than 30 active and 70 extinct volcanoes. Seismic activity is manifested on the islands and under water. In the latter case, tsunami waves are formed. In addition to the named "marginal" islands in the sea, there are the islands of Shantarsky, Spafaryeva, Zavyalova, Yamsky and the small island of Iona - the only one of them remote from the coast.
With a large length, the coastline is indented relatively weakly. At the same time, it forms several large bays (Aniva, Patience, Sakhalin, Academies, Tugursky, Ayan, Shelikhov) and bays (Udskaya, Tauiskaya, Gizhiginskaya and Penzhinskaya).
Atsonopuri volcano, Iturup Island, Kuril Islands 
From October to May-June, the northern part of the sea is covered with ice. The southeastern part practically does not freeze.
The coast in the north is strongly indented; in the northeast of the Sea of Okhotsk, its largest bay, Shelikhov Bay, is located. Of the smaller bays of the northern part, the most famous are the Eyriney Bay and the bays of Shelting, Zabiyaka, Babushkin, Kekurny.
In the east, the coastline of the Kamchatka Peninsula is practically devoid of bays. In the west, the coastline is heavily indented, forming the Sakhalin Bay and the Shantar Sea. In the south, the largest are Aniva and Patience bays, Odessa Bay on Iturup Island.
Fishing (salmon, herring, pollock, capelin, navaga, etc.), seafood (Kamchatka crab).
Extraction of hydrocarbon raw materials on the shelf of Sakhalin.
The rivers Amur, Okhota, Kukhtui flow into it.
Sea of Okhotsk Cape Velikan, Sakhalin Island 
Main ports:
on the mainland - Magadan, Ayan, Okhotsk (portpoint); on the island of Sakhalin - Korsakov, on the Kuril Islands - Severo-Kurilsk.
The sea is located on the Okhotsk subplate, which is part of the Eurasian plate. The crust under most of the Sea of Okhotsk is of continental type.
The Sea of Okhotsk is named after the Okhota River, which in turn comes from Evensk. okat - "river". Previously, it was called Lamsky (from the Evensk. lam - "sea"), as well as the Kamchatka Sea. The Japanese traditionally called this sea Hokkai (北海), literally "North Sea". But since this name now refers to the North Sea of the Atlantic Ocean, they changed the name of the Sea of Okhotsk to Ohotsuku-kai (オホーツク海), which is an adaptation of the Russian name to the norms of Japanese phonetics.
Cape Medyay Sea of Okhotsk
Territorial regime
The water area of the Sea of Okhotsk is inland waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone of two coastal states - Russia and Japan. According to its international legal status, the Sea of Okhotsk is closest to a semi-enclosed sea (Article 122 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea), since it is surrounded by two or more states and mainly consists of a territorial sea and an exclusive economic zone of two states, but it is not one, since connected to the rest of the world's oceans not by a single narrow passage, but by a series of passages.
In the central part of the sea, at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines, there is an area elongated in the meridional direction, traditionally referred to in the English-language literature as Peanut Hole, which is not included in the exclusive economic zone and is an open sea outside the jurisdiction of Russia; in particular, any country in the world has the right to fish here and conduct other activities permitted by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, excluding activities on the shelf. Since this region is an important element for the reproduction of the population of some species of commercial fish, the governments of some countries expressly prohibit their vessels from fishing in this area of the sea.
On November 13-14, 2013, the Subcommittee established within the framework of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf agreed with the arguments of the Russian delegation as part of the consideration of the application of the Russian Federation to recognize the bottom of the above section of the high seas as a continuation of the Russian continental shelf. On March 15, 2014, the 33rd session of the Commission in 2014 adopted a positive decision on the Russian application, first filed in 2001, and filed in a new edition in early 2013, and the central part of the Sea of Okhotsk outside the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation was recognized Russian continental shelf.
Consequently, in the central part, other states are prohibited from extracting "sedentary" biological resources (for example, crab) and developing subsoil. Catching other biological resources, such as fish, is not subject to the restrictions of the continental shelf. Consideration of the application on the merits became possible due to the position of Japan, which, by an official note dated May 23, 2013, confirmed its consent for the Commission to consider the essence of the application without regard to resolving the issue of the Kuril Islands. Sea of Okhotsk 
temperature and salinity
In winter, the water temperature at the sea surface ranges from -1.8 to 2.0 °C, in summer the temperature rises to 10-18 °C.
Below the surface layer, at a depth of about 50-150 meters, there is an intermediate cold layer of water, the temperature of which does not change during the year and is about −1.7 °C.
The waters of the Pacific Ocean entering the sea through the Kuril Straits form deep water masses with a temperature of 2.5 - 2.7 ° C (at the very bottom - 1.5-1.8 ° C). In coastal areas with significant river runoff, the water temperature is around 0 °C in winter and 8-15 °C in summer.
The salinity of surface sea waters is 32.8-33.8 ppm. The salinity of the intermediate layer is 34.5‰. Deep waters have a salinity of 34.3 - 34.4 ‰. Coastal waters have a salinity of less than 30 ‰.
RESCUE OPERATION
Incident in December 2010 - January 2011
Icebreaker "Krasin" (year of construction 1976), analogue of the icebreaker "Admiral Makarov" (year of construction 1975) 
From December 30, 2010 to January 31, 2011, a rescue operation was carried out in the Sea of Okhotsk, which received extensive media coverage.
The operation itself was large-scale, according to the Deputy Minister of Transport Viktor Olersky and the head of the Federal Agency for Fishery Andrei Krayny, rescue operations on such a scale have not been carried out in Russia for 40 years.
The cost of the operation was in the range of 150-250 million rubles, 6,600 tons of diesel fuel were spent on it.
15 ships, on which there were about 700 people, were captured by ice.
The operation was carried out by the forces of the icebreaking flotilla: the icebreakers Admiral Makarov and Krasin, the icebreaker Magadan and the tanker Victoria worked as auxiliary vessels. The coordinating headquarters of the rescue operation was located in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the work was carried out under the leadership of the Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Viktor Olersky.
Most of the vessels got out on their own, the icebreakers rescued four vessels: the trawler Cape Elizabeth, the research vessel Professor Kizevetter (first half of January, Admiral Makarov), the refrigerator Coast of Hope and the mother ship Sodruzhestvo.
The first aid was provided to the seiner Cape Elizabeth, whose captain led his vessel after the introduction of a ban on entering the area.
As a result, Cape Elizabeth was frozen into ice in the area of the Sakhalin Bay. Sea of Okhotsk 
The second liberated vessel was the Professor Kizevetter, whose captain, as a result of the investigation, was deprived of his diploma for six months.
In the area of January 14, the icebreakers gathered together the remaining ships in distress, after which the icebreakers escorted both vessels of the caravan on a coupler.
After the “whiskers” of the “Commonwealth” broke off, it was decided to first drive a refrigerator through heavy ice.
The wiring was suspended in the region on January 20 due to weather conditions, but on January 24, the Coast of Hope refrigerator was brought to clean water.
On January 25, after bunkering, the Admiral Makarov returned to escort the mother ship.
On January 26, the towing "whiskers" broke again, we had to lose time for the delivery of new ones by helicopter.
On January 31, the floating base Sodruzhestvo was also taken out of ice captivity, the operation ended at 11:00 Vladivostok time.
HOKKAIDO ISLAND
Hokkaido (Jap. “North Sea Governorate”), formerly known as Ezo, in the old Russian transcription Iesso, Ieddo, Iyozo, is the second largest island in Japan. Until 1859, Matsumae was also called by the name of the ruling feudal clan that owned the castle town of Matsumae - in the old Russian transcription - Matsmai, Matsmai.
It is separated from the island of Honshu by the Sangar Strait, however, between these islands, the Seikan tunnel is laid under the seabed. The largest city Hokkaido and the administrative center of the prefecture of the same name - Sapporo. The northern coast of the island is washed by the cold Sea of Okhotsk and faces the Pacific coast of the Russian Far East. The territory of Hokkaido is almost equally divided between mountains and plains. Moreover, the mountains are located in the center of the island and stretch in ridges from north to south. The most high peak- Mount Asahi (2290 m). In the western part of the island, along the Ishikari River (length 265 km), there is a valley with the same name, in the eastern part, along the Tokati River (156 km) - another valley. The southern part of Hokkaido is formed by the Oshima Peninsula, separated by the Sangar Strait from Honshu.
The island is the easternmost point of Japan - Cape Nosappu-Saki. Also located on it is the extreme north point Japan - Cape Soya.
Red Cape, Three Brothers Islands 
SHELEKHOVA BAY
Shelikhov Bay is a bay of the Sea of Okhotsk between the coast of Asia and the base of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The bay got its name in honor of G. I. Shelikhov.
Length - 650 km, width at the entrance - 130 km, maximum width - 300 km, depths up to 350 m.
In the northern part, the Taigonos Peninsula is divided into the Gizhiginskaya Bay and the Penzhina Bay. The rivers Gizhiga, Penzhina, Yama, Malkachan flow into the bay.
Covered with ice from December to May. The tides are irregular, semi-diurnal. In the Penzhina Bay, they reach the maximum value for the Pacific Ocean.
The bay is rich in fish resources. Fishing objects are herring, halibut, flounder, Far Eastern saffron cod.
In the southern part of the Shelikhov Bay there is a small archipelago of the Yamskiye Islands.
In Shelikhov Bay, tides reach 14 m.
Sakhalin Bay, swans have arrived Sea of Okhotsk 
SAKHALIN BAY
Sakhalin Bay is a bay of the Sea of Okhotsk between the coast of Asia north of the mouth of the Amur and the northern tip of Sakhalin Island.
It is wide in the northern part, narrows to the south and passes into the Amur Estuary. Width up to 160 km Nevelskoy Strait connected with the Tatar Strait and the Sea of Japan.
From November to June it is covered with ice.
The tides are irregular daily, up to 2-3 m.
Industrial fishing (salmon, cod) is carried out in the waters of the bay.
On the shore of the bay is the port of Moskalvo.
Aniva Bay, Korsakov Port, Sakhalin Island 
ANIVA BAY
Aniva is a bay of the Sea of Okhotsk south coast Sakhalin Islands, between the peninsulas of Crillon and Tonino-Anivsky. From the south it is wide open to the La Perouse Strait.
The origin of the name of the bay is most likely connected with the Ainu words "an" and "willow". The first is usually translated as "available, located", and the second as "mountain range, rock, peak"; thus, "Aniva" can be translated as "having ridges" or "located among the ridges (mountains)".
Width 104 km, length 90 km, maximum depth 93 meters. The narrowed part of the bay is known as Salmon Bay. The warm current Soya affects the temperature regime and the dynamics of currents inside the bay, which is changeable.
Sakhalin (Japanese 樺太，Chinese 库页/庫頁) is an island off the east coast of Asia. Part of the Sakhalin region. The largest island in Russia. It is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. It is separated from mainland Asia by the Tatar Strait (in the narrowest part, the Nevelskoy Strait, it is 7.3 km wide and freezes in winter); from the Japanese island of Hokkaido - by the La Perouse Strait.
The island got its name from the Manchu name of the Amur River - "Sakhalyan-ulla", which means "Black River" - this name, printed on the map, was erroneously attributed to Sakhalin, and in further editions of the maps it was already printed as the name of the island.
The Japanese call Sakhalin Karafuto, this name goes back to the Ainu "kamuy-kara-puto-ya-mosir", which means "land of the god of the mouth." In 1805, a Russian ship under the command of I.F. Kruzenshtern explored most of the coast of Sakhalin and concluded that Sakhalin was a peninsula. In 1808, Japanese expeditions led by Matsuda Denjuro and Mamiya Rinzo proved that Sakhalin was an island. Most European cartographers were skeptical of the Japanese data. For a long time, on various maps, Sakhalin was designated either as an island or a peninsula. Only in 1849 did the expedition under the command of G. I. Nevelsky put an end to this issue, passing on the military transport ship Baikal between Sakhalin and the mainland. This strait was subsequently named after Nevelskoy.
The island is elongated meridionally from Cape Crillon in the south to Cape Elizabeth in the north. The length is 948 km, the width is from 26 km (the Poyasok isthmus) to 160 km (at the latitude of the village of Lesogorskoye), the area is 76.4 thousand km².
BAY OF PATIENCE
Gulf of Patience is a bay of the Sea of Okhotsk off the southeastern coast of Sakhalin Island. In the eastern part it is partially bounded by the Patience Peninsula.
The bay was discovered in 1643 by the Dutch navigator M. G. De Vries and named by him the Gulf of Patience, since his expedition had to wait here for a long time thick fog, which made it impossible to continue sailing.
The bay is 65 km long, about 130 km wide, and up to 50 m deep. The Poronai River flows into the bay.
In winter, the bay freezes over.
The waters of the bay are rich in biological resources, including chum salmon and pink salmon.
The port of Poronaysk is located in Patience Bay. Sea of Okhotsk 
- a chain of islands between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the island of Hokkaido, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean in a slightly convex arc.
The length is about 1200 km. The total area is 10.5 thousand km². To the south of them is the state border of the Russian Federation with Japan.
The islands form two parallel ridges: the Greater Kuril and the Lesser Kuril. Includes 56 islands. They are of great military-strategic and economic importance. The Kuril Islands are part of the Sakhalin region of Russia. The southern islands of the archipelago - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group - are disputed by Japan, which includes them in the Hokkaido prefecture.
Relate to the regions of the Far North
The climate on the islands is marine, rather severe, with cold and long winters, cool summers, and high humidity. The mainland monsoon climate undergoes significant changes here. In the southern part of the Kuril Islands, frosts in winter can reach -25 ° C, the average temperature in February is -8 ° C. In the northern part, the winter is milder, with frosts down to -16 ° C and -7 ° C in February.
In winter, the islands are affected by the Aleutian baric minimum, the effect of which weakens by June.
The average temperature in August in the southern part of the Kuril Islands is +17 °C, in the north - +10 °C.
List of islands with an area of more than 1 km² in the direction from north to south.
Name, Area, km², height, Latitude, Longitude
Great Kuril Ridge
northern group
Atlasova 150 2339 50°52" 155°34"
Shumshu 388 189 50°45" 156°21"
Paramushir 2053 1816 50°23" 155°41"
Antsiferova 7 747 50°12" 154°59"
Macanrushi 49 1169 49°46" 154°26"
Onecotan 425 1324 49°27" 154°46"
Harimkotan 68 1157 49°07" 154°32"
Chirinkotan 6 724 48°59" 153°29"
Ekarma 30 1170 48°57" 153°57"
Shiashkotan 122 934 48°49" 154°06"
middle group
Raikoke 4.6 551 48°17" 153°15"
Matua 52 1446 48°05" 153°13"
Russhua 67 948 47°45" 153°01"
Ushishir Islands 5 388 — —
Ryponkicha 1.3 121 47°32" 152°50"
Yankich 3.7 388 47°31" 152°49"
Ketoi 73 1166 47°20" 152°31"
Simushir 353 1539 46°58" 152°00"
Broughton 7 800 46°43" 150°44"
Black Brothers Islands 37,749 — —
Chirpoy 21 691 46°30" 150°55"
Brat-Chirpoev 16 749 46°28" 150°50"
Southern group
Urup 1450 1426 45°54" 149°59"
Iturup 3318.8 1634 45°00" 147°53"
Kunashir 1495.24 1819 44°05" 145°59"
Small Kuril Ridge
Shikotan 264.13 412 43°48" 146°45"
Polonsky 11.57 16 43°38" 146°19"
Green 58.72 24 43°30" 146°08"
Tanfilyev 12.92 15 43°26" 145°55"
Yuri 10.32 44 43°25" 146°04"
Anuchina 2.35 33 43°22" 146°00"
Geological structure
The Kuril Islands are a typical ensimatic island arc at the edge of the Okhotsk plate. It sits above a subduction zone where the Pacific Plate is being swallowed up. Most of the islands are mountainous. The highest height is 2339 m - Atlasov Island, Alaid volcano. The Kuril Islands are located in the Pacific volcanic ring of fire in a zone of high seismic activity: out of 68 volcanoes, 36 are active, there are hot mineral springs. Large tsunamis are not uncommon. The most famous are the tsunami of November 5, 1952 in Paramushir and the Shikotan tsunami of October 5, 1994. The last major tsunami occurred on November 15, 2006 in Simushir.
DETAILED GEOGRAPHY OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK, DESCRIPTION OF THE SEA
Basic physical and geographical features.
The straits connecting the Sea of Okhotsk with the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan and their depths are of great importance, since they determine the possibility of water exchange. The Nevelskoy and La Perouse straits are comparatively narrow and shallow. The width of the Nevelskoy Strait (between Capes Lazarev and Pogibi) is only about 7 km. The width of the La Perouse Strait is somewhat larger - about 40 km, and the greatest depth is 53 m.
At the same time, the total width of the Kuril Straits is about 500 km, and the maximum depth of the deepest of them (Bussol Strait) exceeds 2300 m. Thus, the possibility of water exchange between the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk is incomparably less than between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. However, even the depth of the deepest of the Kuril Straits is much less than the maximum depth of the sea, therefore, r, which separates the sea basin from the ocean.
The most important for water exchange with the ocean are the straits of Bussol and Krusenstern, as they have the largest area and depth. The depth of the Bussol Strait was indicated above, and the depth of the Kruzenshtern Strait is 1920 m. The Friza, Fourth Kuril, Rikord and Nadezhda straits are of less importance, the depths of which are more than 500 m. The depths of the remaining straits generally do not exceed 200 m, and the areas are insignificant.
The shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, which are not identical in external forms and structure, in different regions belong to different geomorphological types. From fig. 38 shows that for the most part these are abrasion shores altered by the sea, only in the west of Kamchatka and in the east of Sakhalin there are accumulative shores. In general, the sea is surrounded by high and steep shores. In the north and northwest, rocky ledges descend directly to the sea. A less high, and then a low-lying mainland coast approaches the sea near the Sakhalin Bay. The southeastern coast of Sakhalin is low, and the northeastern coast is low. very abrupt. The northeastern coast of Hokkaido is predominantly low-lying. The coast of the southern part of western Kamchatka has the same character, but its northern part is distinguished by some elevation of the coast.
The bottom relief of the Sea of Okhotsk is varied and uneven. In general, it is characterized by the following main features. The northern part of the sea is a continental shelf - an underwater continuation of the Asian mainland. The width of the continental shoal in the area of the Ayano-Okhotsk coast is approximately 100 miles, in the area of the Uda Bay - 140 miles. Between the meridians of Okhotsk and Magadan, its width increases to 200 miles. From the western edge of the basin of the sea is the island sandbar of Sakhalin, from the eastern edge - the continental shelf of Kamchatka. The shelf occupies about 22% of the bottom area. The rest, most (about 70%) of the sea is located within the continental slope (from 200 to 1500 m), on which separate underwater heights, depressions and trenches stand out.
The deepest southern part of the sea deeper than 2500 m, which is a section of the bed, occupies 8% of the total area. It is elongated as a strip along the Kuril Islands, gradually narrowing from 200 km against about. Iturup up to 80 km against the Krusenstern Strait. Great depths and significant slopes of the bottom distinguish the southwestern part of the sea from the northeastern part, which lies on the continental shelf.
Of the large elements of the relief of the bottom of the central part of the sea, two underwater hills stand out - the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute of Oceanology. Together with the protrusion of the continental slope, they determine the division of the sea basin into three basins: the northeastern TINRO basin, the northwestern Deryugin basin, and the southern deep-water Kuril basin. The depressions are connected by gutters: Makarov, P. Schmidt and Lebed. To the northeast of the TINRO depression, the Shelikhov Bay trench departs.
Kamchatka, race on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, Berengia 2013 
The least deep TINRO basin is located to the west of Kamchatka. Its bottom is a plain lying at a depth of about 850 m with a maximum depth of 990 m. The Deryugin Depression is located to the east of the underwater base of Sakhalin. Its bottom is a flat, elevated plain at the edges, lying on average at a depth of 1700 m, the maximum depth of the depression is 1744 m. The deepest is the Kuril basin. This is a huge flat plain, lying at a depth of about 3300 m. Its width in the western part is about 120 miles, its length in the northeast direction is about 600 miles.
The hill of the Institute of Oceanology has a rounded shape, it is extended in the latitudinal direction by almost 200 miles, and in the meridional direction by about 130 miles. The minimum depth above it is about 900 m. The upland of the USSR Academy of Sciences is indented by the peaks of underwater valleys. A remarkable feature of the relief of the hills is the presence of their flat tops, which occupy a large area.
CLIMATE OF THE SEA OF Okhotsk
By its location, the Sea of Okhotsk is located in the monsoon climate zone of temperate latitudes, which is significantly influenced by the physical and geographical features of the sea. Thus, a significant part of it in the west deeply protrudes into the mainland and lies relatively close to the cold pole of the Asian land, so the main source of cold for the Sea of Okhotsk is in the west, and not in the north. The relatively high ridges of Kamchatka make it difficult for warm Pacific air to penetrate. Only in the southeast and south is the sea open to the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, from where a significant amount of heat enters it. However, the effect of cooling factors is stronger than warming factors, so the Sea of Okhotsk is generally the coldest of the Far Eastern seas. At the same time, its large meridional extent causes significant spatial differences in the synoptic situation and meteorological indicators in each season. In the cold part of the year, from October to April, the Siberian anticyclone and the Aleutian low act on the sea. The influence of the latter extends mainly to the southeastern part of the sea. Such a distribution of large-scale baric systems determines the dominance of strong, stable northwestern and northern winds, often reaching storm strength. Low winds and calms are almost completely absent, especially in January and February. In winter, the wind speed is usually 10-11 m/s.
The dry and cold Asian winter monsoon significantly cools the air over the northern and northwestern regions of the sea. In the coldest month (January), the average air temperature in the northwest of the sea is −20–25°, in the central regions −10–15°, only in the southeastern part of the sea it is −5–6°, which is explained by the warming effect Pacific Ocean.
The autumn-winter time is characterized by the emergence of cyclones of predominantly continental origin. They entail intensification, winds, and sometimes a decrease in air temperature, but the weather remains clear and dry, as they bring in continental air from the chilled mainland of Asia. In March-April, large-scale baric fields are restructured. The Siberian anticyclone is collapsing and the Honolulu High is getting stronger. As a result, during the warm season (May to October), the Sea of Okhotsk is under the influence of the Honolulu High and the area of low pressure located over Eastern Siberia. In accordance with this distribution of the centers of action of the atmosphere, weak southeasterly winds prevail over the sea at this time. Their speed usually does not exceed 6-7 m/s. Most often, these winds are observed in June and July, although stronger northwesterly and northerly winds are sometimes observed in these months. In general, the Pacific (summer) monsoon is weaker than the Asian (winter) monsoon, since the horizontal pressure gradients are small in the warm season.
bay Nagaevo 
In summer, the air warms up unevenly over the entire sea. The average monthly air temperature in August decreases from southwest to northeast from 18° in the south to 12–14° in the center and to 10–10.5° in the northeast of the Sea of Okhotsk. In the warm season, oceanic cyclones quite often pass over the southern part of the sea, which is associated with an increase in wind to a storm, which can last up to 5-8 days. The predominance of southeasterly winds in the spring-summer season leads to significant cloudiness, precipitation, and fog. Monsoon winds and stronger winter cooling of the western part of the Sea of Okhotsk compared to the eastern part are important climatic features of this sea.
Quite a few mostly small rivers flow into the Sea of Okhotsk, therefore, with such a significant volume of its waters, the continental runoff is relatively small. It is equal to approximately 600 km3/year, while about 65% is provided by the Amur. Other relatively large rivers - Penzhina, Okhota, Uda, Bolshaya (in Kamchatka) - bring much less fresh water into the sea. It arrives mainly in spring and early summer. At this time, the influence of continental runoff is most noticeable, mainly in the coastal zone, near the mouth areas of large rivers.
Geographical position, large length along the meridian, monsoonal change of winds and good connection of the sea with the Pacific Ocean through the Kuril Straits are the main natural factors that most significantly affect the formation of the hydrological conditions of the Sea of Okhotsk. The values of heat input and output in the sea are determined mainly by radiative heating and cooling of the sea. The heat brought by the Pacific waters is of subordinate importance. However, for the water balance of the sea, the inflow and outflow of water through the Kuril Straits plays a decisive role. The details and quantitative indicators of water exchange through the Kuril Straits have not yet been studied enough, but the main ways of water exchange through the straits are known. The flow of surface Pacific waters into the Sea of Okhotsk occurs mainly through the northern straits, in particular through the First Kuril. In the straits of the middle part of the ridge, both the inflow of Pacific waters and the outflow of Okhotsk waters are observed. Thus, in the surface layers of the Third and Fourth Kuril Straits, apparently, there is a runoff of water from the Sea of Okhotsk, while in the bottom layers there is an inflow, and in the Bussol Strait, on the contrary: in the surface layers, an inflow, in the deep layers, a drain. In the southern part of the ridge, mainly through the straits of Ekaterina and Friza, there is mainly a runoff of water from the Sea of Okhotsk. The intensity of water exchange through the straits can vary significantly. In general, in the upper layers of the southern part of the Kuril ridge, the runoff of the Sea of Okhotsk waters predominates, and in the upper layers of the northern part of the ridge, Pacific waters enter. In the deep layers, the influx of Pacific waters generally prevails.
The inflow of Pacific waters largely affects the distribution of temperature, salinity, formation of the structure and general circulation of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Cape Stolbchaty, Kunashir Island, Kuril Islands 
Hydrological characteristic.
The sea surface temperature generally decreases from south to north. In winter, almost everywhere, the surface layers cool down to a freezing temperature of −1.5–1.8°. Only in the southeastern part of the sea does it remain around 0°, and near the northern Kuril Straits, the water temperature reaches 1–2° under the influence of the Pacific waters penetrating here.
Spring warming at the beginning of the season mainly goes to the melting of ice, only towards the end of it does the water temperature begin to rise. In summer, the distribution of water temperature on the sea surface is quite diverse (Fig. 39). In August, the warmest (up to 18-19 °) waters adjacent to the island. Hokkaido. In the central regions of the sea, the water temperature is 11-12°. The coldest surface waters are observed near about. Iona, near Cape Pyagin and near the Kruzenshtern Strait. In these areas, the water temperature is kept within 6-7 °. The formation of local centers of increased and decreased water temperature on the surface is mainly associated with the redistribution of heat by currents.
The vertical distribution of water temperature varies from season to season and from place to place. In the cold season, the change in temperature with depth is less complex and varied than in warm seasons. In winter, in the northern and central regions of the sea, water cooling extends to horizons of 100–200 m. rises to 1–2° in the southern part of the sea; near the Kuril Straits, the water temperature drops from 2.5–3.0° on the surface to 1.0–1.4° at 300–400 m horizons and then gradually rises to 1, 9-2.4° at the bottom.
In summer, surface waters are heated to a temperature of 10-12°C. In the subsurface layers, the water temperature is slightly lower than on the surface. A sharp decrease in temperature to values of −1.0–1.2° is observed between horizons of 50–75 m; in horizons of 200-250 m it is 1.5-2.0°. From here, the temperature of the water almost does not change to the bottom. In the southern and southeastern parts of the sea, along the Kuril Islands, the water temperature drops from 10–14° at the surface to 3–8° at a 25 m horizon, then to 1.6–2.4° at a 100 m horizon and down to 1 .4—2.0° at the bottom. The vertical temperature distribution in summer is characterized by a cold intermediate layer, a remnant of the winter cooling of the sea (see Fig. 39). In the northern and central regions of the sea, the temperature in it is negative, and only near the Kuril Straits does it have positive values. In different areas of the sea, the depth of the cold intermediate layer is different and varies from year to year.
The distribution of salinity in the Sea of Okhotsk varies relatively little with seasons and is characterized by its increase in the eastern part, which is under the influence of Pacific waters, and its decrease in the western part, desalinated by continental runoff (Fig. 40). In the western part, salinity on the surface is 28–31‰, and in the eastern part it is 31–32‰ or more (up to 33‰ near the Kuril ridge). In the northwestern part of the sea, due to desalination, the salinity on the surface is 25‰ or less, and the thickness of the desalinated layer is about 30–40 m.
Salinity increases with depth in the Sea of Okhotsk. At the horizons of 300-400 m in the western part of the sea, the salinity is 33.5‰, and in the eastern part it is about 33.8‰. At the 100 m horizon, the salinity is 34.0‰, and further towards the bottom it increases insignificantly, by only 0.5–0.6‰. In individual bays and straits, salinity and its stratification may differ significantly from the open sea, depending on local hydrological conditions.
Temperature and salinity determine the values and distribution of the density of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. In accordance with this, denser waters are observed in winter in the northern and central ice-covered regions of the sea. The density is somewhat less in the relatively warm Kuril region. In summer, the water density decreases, its lowest values are confined to the zones of influence of coastal runoff, and the highest values are observed in the areas of distribution of Pacific waters. Density increases with depth. In winter, it rises relatively slightly from the surface to the bottom. In summer, its distribution in the upper layers depends on the temperature values, and on the middle and lower horizons on salinity. In summer, a noticeable density stratification of water along the vertical is created, the density increases especially significantly at horizons of 25–35–50 m, which is associated with the heating of water in open areas and desalination near the coast.
Cape Nyuklya (Sleeping Dragon) near Magadan 
The possibilities for the development of water mixing in the Sea of Okhotsk are largely related to the peculiarities of the vertical distribution of oceanological characteristics. Wind mixing is carried out in the ice-free season. It flows most intensively in spring and autumn, when strong winds blow over the sea, and the stratification of waters is not yet very pronounced. At this time, wind mixing extends to a horizon of 20–25 m from the surface. Strong cooling and powerful ice formation in the autumn-winter time contributes to the development of convection in the Sea of Okhotsk. However, it proceeds differently in its different regions, which is explained by the features of the bottom topography, climatic differences, the inflow of Pacific waters, and other factors. Thermal convection in most of the sea penetrates up to 50-60 m, since the summer heating of surface waters, and in the zones of influence of coastal runoff and significant freshening, cause vertical stratification of waters, which is most pronounced on the indicated horizons. The increase in the density of surface waters due to cooling and the resulting convection are not able to overcome the stability maximum located at the aforementioned horizons. In the southeastern part of the sea, where Pacific waters mainly spread, relatively weak vertical stratification is observed; therefore, thermal convection propagates here to 150–200 m horizons, where it is limited by the density structure of the waters.
Intense ice formation over most of the sea excites an enhanced thermohaline winter vertical circulation. At depths of up to 250-300 m, it spreads to the bottom, and its penetration to greater depths is prevented by the maximum stability that exists here. In areas with a rugged bottom topography, the spread of density mixing into the lower horizons is facilitated by the sliding of water along the slopes. In general, the Sea of Okhotsk is characterized by good mixing of its waters.
Features of the vertical distribution of oceanological characteristics, mainly water temperature, indicate that the Sea of Okhotsk is characterized by a subarctic water structure, in which cold and warm intermediate layers are well pronounced in summer. A more detailed study of the subarctic structure in this sea has shown that the Sea of Okhotsk, Pacific, and Kuril varieties of the subarctic water structure exist in it. With the same nature of the vertical structure, they have quantitative differences in the characteristics of water masses.
Based on the analysis of T, S-curves in combination with a consideration of the vertical distribution of oceanological characteristics in the Sea of Okhotsk, the following water masses are distinguished. Surface water mass with spring, summer and autumn modifications. It represents the upper maximum of stability, mainly due to temperature. This water mass is characterized by temperature and salinity corresponding to each season, on the basis of which its mentioned modifications are distinguished.
The Sea of Okhotsk water mass is formed in winter from surface water and in spring, summer and autumn it manifests itself in the form of a cold intermediate layer flying between horizons of 40–150 m. This water mass is characterized by a fairly uniform salinity (about 32.9–31.0 place to place temperature. In most of the sea, its temperature is below 0° and reaches -1.7°, and in the area of the Kuril Straits it is above 1°.
The intermediate water mass is formed mainly due to the sinking of water along the slopes of the bottom, within the sea it is located from 100-150 to 400-700 m and is characterized by a temperature of 1.5 ° and a salinity of 33.7‰. This water mass is distributed almost everywhere, except for the northwestern part of the sea, Shelikhov Bay and some areas along the coast of Sakhalin, where the Sea of Okhotsk water mass reaches the bottom. The thickness of the intermediate water mass generally decreases from south to north.
The deep Pacific water mass is the water of the lower part of the warm layer of the Pacific Ocean, which enters the Sea of Okhotsk at horizons below 800–2000 m, i.e., below the depth of the waters descending in the straits, and manifests itself in the sea as a warm intermediate layer. This water mass is located on the horizons of 600-1350 m, has a temperature of 2.3°C and a salinity of 34.3‰. However, its characteristics change in space. The highest values of temperature and salinity are observed in the northeastern and partly in the northwestern regions, which is associated here with the rise of waters, and the smallest values of the characteristics are characteristic of the western and southern regions, where the waters sink.
The water mass of the Southern Basin is of Pacific origin and represents the deep water of the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean from a horizon of 2300 m, corresponding to the maximum depth of the threshold in the Kuril Straits (Bussol Strait). The considered water mass generally fills the named basin from the horizon of 1350 m to the bottom. It is characterized by a temperature of 1.85° and a salinity of 34.7‰, which vary only slightly with depth.
Among the identified water masses, the Sea of Okhotsk and the deep Pacific are the main ones and differ from each other not only in thermohaline, but also in hydrochemical and biological indicators.
Under the influence of winds and water inflow through the Kuril Straits, characteristic features of the system of non-periodic currents of the Sea of Okhotsk are formed (Fig. 41). The main one is the cyclonic system of currents, covering almost the entire sea. It is due to the predominance of cyclonic circulation of the atmosphere over the sea and the adjacent part of the Pacific Ocean. In addition, stable anticyclonic circulations and extensive areas of cyclonic water circulation can be traced in the sea.
At the same time, a narrow strip of stronger coastal currents stands out quite clearly, which, continuing each other, seem to bypass the coastline of the sea counterclockwise; the warm Kamchatka current directed to the north into Shelikhov Bay; flow of western and then south-western direction along the northern and north-western coasts of the sea; the steady East Sakhalin Current going south, and the rather strong Soya Current entering the Sea of Okhotsk through the Laperouse Strait.
On the southeastern periphery of the cyclonic circulation of the Central Part of the Sea, a branch of the Northeast Current is distinguished, opposite in direction to the Kuril Current (or Oyashio) in the Pacific Ocean. As a result of the existence of these streams, stable areas of convergence of currents are formed in some of the Kuril Straits, which leads to subsidence of waters and has a significant effect on the distribution of oceanological characteristics not only in the straits, but also in the sea itself. And finally, one more feature of the circulation of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk is two-way stable currents in most of the Kuril straits.
Non-periodic currents on the surface of the Sea of Okhotsk are most intense off the western coast of Kamchatka (11–20 cm/s), in Sakhalin Bay (30–45 cm/s), in the region of the Kuril Straits (15–40 cm/s), over the South Basin ( 11-20 cm/s) and during the Soya (up to 50-90 cm/s). In the central part of the cyclonic region, the intensity of horizontal transport is much less than on its periphery. In the central part of the sea, velocities vary from 2 to 10 cm/s, with velocities below 5 cm/s predominating. A similar picture is also observed in the Shelikhov Bay, rather strong currents near the coast (up to 20–30 cm/s) and low velocities in the central part of the cyclonic gyre.
Periodic (tidal) currents are also well expressed in the Sea of Okhotsk. Here their various types are observed: semidiurnal, diurnal and mixed with a predominance of semidiurnal or diurnal components. The velocities of tidal currents are different - from a few centimeters to 4 m/s. Away from the coast, the current velocities are low (5–10 cm/s). In straits, bays, and off the coast, the velocities of tidal currents increase significantly; for example, in the Kuril Straits they reach 2–4 m/s.
The tides of the Sea of Okhotsk have a very complex character. A tidal wave enters from the south and southeast from the Pacific Ocean. The semidiurnal wave moves to the north, and at the 50° parallel it is divided into two branches: the western one turns to the northwest, forming amphidromic regions to the north of Cape Terpeniya and in the northern part of Sakhalin Bay, the eastern one moves towards the Shelikhov Bay, at the entrance to which arises another amphidrome. The diurnal wave also moves north, but at the latitude of the northern tip of Sakhalin it is divided into two parts: one enters Shelikhov Bay, the other reaches the northwestern coast.
There are two main types of tides in the Sea of Okhotsk: diurnal and mixed. The most common are diurnal tides. They are observed in the Amur Estuary, Sakhalin Bay, the Kuril Islands, off the western coast of Kamchatka and in Penzhinsky Bay. Mixed tides are observed on the northern and northwestern coasts of the sea and in the area of the Shantar Islands.
The highest tides were recorded in the Penzhina Bay near Cape Astronomichesky (up to 13 m). These are the highest tides for the entire coast of the USSR. In second place is the region of the Shantar Islands, where the tide exceeds 7 m. The tides are very significant in the Sakhalin Bay and in the Kuril Straits. In the northern part of the sea, the tides reach up to 5 m. In the southern part of the sea, the tides are 0.8–2.5 m. In general, tidal level fluctuations in the Sea of Okhotsk are very significant and have a significant effect on its hydrological regime, especially in the coastal zone.
In addition to tidal fluctuations, surge fluctuations in the level are also well developed here. They occur mainly during the passage of deep cyclones over the sea. Surge rises in the level reach 1.5–2 m. The largest surges are noted on the coast of Kamchatka and in the Gulf of Patience.
The significant size and great depths of the Sea of Okhotsk, frequent and strong winds over it determine the development of large waves here. The sea is especially stormy in autumn, and in ice-free areas in winter. These seasons account for 55–70% of storm waves, including those with wave heights of 4–6 m, and the highest wave heights reach 10–11 m. The most restless are the southern and southeastern regions of the sea, where the average frequency of storm waves is 35 -50%, and in the northwestern part it decreases to 25-30%. In case of strong waves, a crowd forms in the straits between the Kuril Islands and between the Shantar Islands.
Severe and long winters with strong northwest winds contribute to the development of intense ice formation in the Sea of Okhotsk. The ice of the Sea of Okhotsk is exclusively of local formation. There are both fixed ice (fast ice) and floating ice, which are the main form of sea ice. In one quantity or another, ice is found in all areas of the sea, but in summer the entire sea is cleared of ice. The exception is the region of the Shantar Islands, where ice can persist in summer.
Ice formation begins in November in the bays and bays of the northern part of the sea, in the coastal part of the island. Sakhalin and Kamchatka. Then ice appears in the open part of the sea. In January and February, ice covers the entire northern and middle parts of the sea. In ordinary years, the southern boundary of a relatively stable ice cover curves northward from the La Perouse Strait to Cape Lopatka. The extreme southern part of the sea never freezes. However, due to the winds, significant masses of ice are carried into it from the north, often accumulating near the Kuril Islands.
From April to June there is a destruction and gradual disappearance of the ice cover. On average, the ice in the sea disappears in late May - early June. The northwestern part of the sea, due to the currents and the configuration of the coasts, is most of all clogged with ice, which remains there until July. Consequently, the ice cover in the Sea of Okhotsk persists for 6-7 months. Floating ice covers more than three-quarters of the sea's surface. Close-knit ice in the northern part of the sea is a serious obstacle to navigation even for icebreakers. The total duration of the ice period in the northern part of the sea reaches 280 days a year.
The southern coast of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands are areas with low ice cover, where ice stays on average no more than three months a year. The thickness of the ice that grows during the winter reaches 0.8-1.0 m. Strong storms and tidal currents break the ice cover in many areas of the sea, forming hummocks and large leads. In the open part of the sea, solid immovable ice is never observed; usually, ice drifts here in the form of vast fields with numerous leads. Part of the ice from the Sea of Okhotsk is carried into the ocean, where it breaks up and melts almost immediately. In severe winters, floating ice is pressed against the Kuril Islands by northwestern winds and clogs some of the straits. Thus, in the winter time in the Sea of Okhotsk there is no such place where an encounter with ice would be completely excluded.
hydrochemical conditions.
Due to the constant water exchange with the Pacific Ocean through the deep Kuril Straits, the chemical composition of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk generally does not differ from that of the ocean. The values and distribution of dissolved gases and biogenic substances in the open areas of the sea are determined by the inflow of Pacific waters, and in the coastal part, coastal runoff has a certain effect.
The Sea of Okhotsk is rich in oxygen, but its content is not the same in different areas of the sea and varies with depth. A large amount of oxygen is dissolved in the waters of the northern and central parts of the sea, which is explained by the abundance of oxygen-producing phytoplankton here. In particular, in the central part of the sea, the development of plant organisms is associated with the rise of deep waters in the zones of convergence of currents. The waters of the southern regions of the sea contain a smaller amount of oxygen, since the Pacific waters, which are relatively poor in phytoplankton, come here. The highest content (7-9 ml/l) of oxygen is observed in the surface layer, deeper it gradually decreases and is 6-7 ml/l at the 100 m horizon, and 3.2-4.7 ml/l at the 500 m horizon, further, the amount of this gas decreases very rapidly with depth and reaches a minimum (1.2–1.4 ml/l) at horizons of 1000–1300 m; however, in deeper layers it increases to 1.3–2.0 ml/l. The oxygen minimum is confined to the deep Pacific water mass.
The surface layer of the sea contains 2–3 µg/l of nitrites and 3–15 µg/l of nitrates. With depth, their concentration increases, and the content of nitrites reaches a maximum at the horizons of 25-50 m, and the amount of nitrates sharply increases here, but the greatest values of these substances are noted at the horizons of 800-1000 m, from where they slowly decrease to the bottom. The vertical distribution of phosphates is characterized by an increase in their content with depth, which is especially noticeable from horizons of 50–60 m, and the maximum concentration of these substances is observed in the bottom layers. In general, the amount of nitrites, nitrates and phosphates dissolved in the waters of the sea increases from north to south, which is mainly due to the rise of deep waters. Local features of hydrological and biological conditions (water circulation, tides, degree of development of organisms, etc.) form the regional hydrochemical features of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Economic use.
The economic significance of the Sea of Okhotsk is determined by the use of its natural resources and maritime transport. The main wealth of this sea is game animals, especially fish. Here, mainly its most valuable species are mined - salmon (chum, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon) and their caviar. Currently, salmon stocks have decreased, so their production has decreased. The catch of this fish is limited. In addition, herring, cod, flounder and other types of sea fish are caught in the sea in limited quantities. The Sea of Okhotsk is the main area for crab fishing. Squid are being harvested in the sea. One of the largest herds of fur seals is concentrated on the Shantar Islands, the extraction of which is strictly regulated.
Sea transport lines connect the Okhotsk ports of Magadan, Nagaevo, Ayan, Okhotsk with other Soviet and foreign ports. Various cargoes come here from different regions of the Soviet Union and foreign countries.
The largely studied Sea of Okhotsk still needs to solve various natural problems. In terms of their hydrological aspects, an essential place is occupied by studies of the water exchange of the sea with the Pacific Ocean, general circulation, including vertical movements of waters, their fine structure and eddy-like movements, ice conditions, especially in the prognostic direction of the timing of ice formation, the direction of ice drift, etc. The solution of these and other problems will contribute to the further development of the Sea of Okhotsk.
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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
http://tapemark.narod.ru/more/18.html
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http://www.photosight.ru/
photo: O.Smoly, A.Afanasiev, A.Gill, L.Golubtsova, A.Panfilov, T.Selena.
