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High-frequency (HF) ocean radar has the potential to observe sea ice, but this application has not been thoroughly investigated. In this article, we explore sea ice observation with HF radar (HFR) and develop a corresponding signal processing procedure. We derived sea ice radial velocities from raw HFR data and determined angular positions using the MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. Sea ice velocities were evaluated by comparison with measurements from moored acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) and a drifting buoy. The root-mean-square (rms) differences between the sea ice velocities obtained by HFR and the ADCPs decreased with increasing radar signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), implying that a high SNR was associated with accurate measurement of sea ice velocity. These results agree with previous validations of HFR ocean current observations. The sea ice pattern mapped by HFR is consistent with the simultaneous C-band microwave radar observations. In particular, the HFR captured the approach of the sea ice edge toward the coast. Sharp attenuation of the HF signal over high concentration sea ice resulted in missing and/or low-SNR data at ranges beyond the front edge of pack ice, in qualitative agreement with model estimates of attenuation.

In this study, intra-annual variation of near-inertial internal wave (NIW) in the Arctic Ocean is examined using year-round mooring in the Northwind Abyssal Plain. Our emphasis is on dynamical responses of NIW to local sea-ice variables such as concentration, draft, and drift. We obtained those using a coupling system of ice profiling sonar (IPS) and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) deployed at the top of the mooring. According to the wavelet spectrum, the inertial oscillation of ice drift becomes considerably strong during periods of ice formation and decay. Results show that the NIW amplitude in the upper part of the water column responds more sensitively to the sea-ice inertial oscillation than to the mean component of ice drift heading to the northwest. We also conducted an experiment with a mixed-layer slab model using the IPS-ADCP measured ice speed to examine the NIW generation responding to the ice-to-ocean stress. Experiment results suggest that the mixed-layer inertial oscillation is amplified in the early time of ice formation, through the ice-water resonance process. It is then concluded that the mixed-layer inertial current driven by ice drift is the primary driver of the enhanced NIW generation.

The quantification of sea ice production in coastal polynyas is a key issue to understand the global climate system. In this study, we directly compared Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) data with the sea ice thickness distribution obtained from a mooring observation during the winter of 2003 off Sakhalin in the Sea of Okhotsk to evaluate the algorithm for estimation of sea ice thickness in coastal polynyas. By using thermal ice thickness as a target physical quantity, we found that the obtained relationship between the polarization ratio (PR) and ice thickness can provide an appropriate AMSR-E algorithm to estimate thin ice thickness, irrespective of the uniform or nonuniform ice thickness field. The relationship between the PR value and thermal ice thickness is likewise consistent with the local PR–thickness relationship that is observed at individual ice floes. This is because both the PR value and thermal ice thickness are more sensitive to thinner ice. Furthermore, we evaluated the method for detection of active frazil in a coastal polynya by comparing with the mooring data, and subsequently modified it to classify the coastal polynya into three thin ice types, namely, active frazil, thin solid ice, and mixed ice (mixture of active frazil and thin solid ice). The improved algorithm successfully represents the thermal ice thickness even for a relatively small-scale polynya off Sakhalin and is expected to be useful for better quantification of sea ice production in the global ocean owing to its high versatility.

The Arctic is experiencing rapid changes in sea-ice seasonality and extent, with significant consequences for primary production. With the importance of accurate monitoring of spring phytoplankton dynamics in a changing Arctic, this study further examines the previously established critical relationship between spring phytoplankton bloom types and timing of the sea-ice retreat for broader temporal and spatial coverages, with a particular focus on the Pacific Arctic for 2003–2019. To this end, time-series of satellite-retrieved phytoplankton biomass were modeled using a parametric Gaussian function, as an effective approach to capture the development and decay of phytoplankton blooms. Our sensitivity analysis demonstrated accurate estimates of timing and presence/absence of peaks in phytoplankton biomass even with some missing values, suggesting the parametric Gaussian function is a powerful tool for capturing the development and decay of phytoplankton blooms. Based on the timing and presence/absence of a peak in phytoplankton biomass and following the classification developed by the previous exploratory work, spring bloom types are classified into three groups (under-ice blooms, probable under-ice blooms, and marginal ice zone blooms). Our results showed that the proportion of under-ice blooms was higher in the Chukchi Sea than in the Bering Sea. The probable under-ice blooms registered as the dominant bloom types in a wide area of the Pacific Arctic, whereas the marginal ice zone bloom was a relatively minor bloom type across the Pacific Arctic. Associated with a shift of sea-ice retreat timing toward earlier dates, we confirmed previous findings from the Chukchi Sea of recent shifts in phytoplankton bloom types from under-ice blooms to marginal ice zone blooms and demonstrated that this pattern holds for the broader Pacific Arctic sector for the time period 2003–2019. Overall, the present study provided additional evidence of the changing sea-ice retreat timing that can drive variations in phytoplankton bloom dynamics, which contributes to addressing the detection and consistent monitoring of the biophysical responses to the changing environments in the Pacific Arctic.

Sediment-laden sea ice is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas. This study presents a satellite-based approach at quantifying the distribution of sediment-laden ice that allows for more extensive observations in both time and space to monitor spatiotemporal variations in sediment-laden ice. A structural-optical model coupled with a four-stream multilayer discrete ordinates method radiative transfer model was used to examine surface spectral albedo for four surface types: clean ice, sediment-laden ice with 15 different sediment loadings from 25 to 1000 g m(-3), ponded ice, and ice-free open water. Based on the fact that the spectral characteristics of sediment-laden ice differ from those other surface types, fractions of sediment-laden ice were estimated from the remotely-sensed surface reflectance by a spectral unmixing algorithm using a least square method. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that a combination of sediment loads of 50 and 500 g m(-3) effectively represents the areal fraction of sediment-laden ice with a wide range of sediment loads. The estimated fractions of each surface type and corresponding remotely-sensed surface reflectances were used to train an artificial neural network to speed up processing relative to the least squares method. Comparing the fractions of sediment-laden ice derived from these two approaches yielded good agreements for areal fractions of sediment-laden ice, highlighting the superior performance of the neural network for processing large datasets. Although our approach contains potential uncertainties associated with methodological limitations, spatiotemporal variations in sediment-laden ice exhibited reasonable agreement with spatial patterns and seasonal variations reported in the literature on in situ observations of sediment-laden ice. Systematic satellite-based monitoring of sediment-laden ice distribution can provide extensive, sustained, and cost-effective observations to foster our under-standing of the role of sediment-laden ice in a wide variety of research fields including sediment transport and biogeochemical cycling.

Small sea ice crystals, so-called frazil ice, are created during initial ice formation in the water column. Frazil ice can be suspended under turbulent conditions, and it can scavenge particulate matter through interaction with resuspended sediment. This study examined the suspension depth of frazil ice based on backscatter data from 150-kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) moored in the pelagic regions east of Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk with bottom depths from 800 to 1700 m during 1998–2000. ADCP backscatter strength revealed dominant signals from the diurnal vertical migration of zooplankton. In addition, the backscatter was enhanced by suspended frazil ice that extended down the water column from the surface. Frazil ice was detected several times at each mooring site during sea-ice seasons. These events occurred when the mooring sites were on the edge of the sea ice regions and the wind speed was high, typically exceeding 8 m/s. The estimated mean suspension depth of frazil ice was 35 m as long as valid ADCP backscatter data from depths greater than ~15 m were used. The maximum suspension depth reached ~100 m, which was much deeper than that previously reported in various sea-ice regions as frazil ice originating from the atmospheric heat absorption at the surface. These results suggest that frazil ice comes into contact with the bottom and scavenges seafloor sediment in shallower regions, resulting in incorporation of sediment-origin macronutrients into sea ice, which would play an important role in bio-related material cycle.

In the Sea of Okhotsk, sediment incorporation, transport and release by sea ice potentially plays important roles in the bio-related material (such as iron) cycle and ecosystem. The backscatter strength data of bottom-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers have suggested signals of frazil ice down to 30 m depth, and signals of upward sediment transport throughout the water column simultaneously in the region northeast of Sakhalin, with a water depth of ∼100 m. Such events occurred under turbulent conditions with strong winds of 10–20 m s−1. During such events, newly formed ice was present near the observational sites, shown by satellite microwave imagery. Sediment dispersion from the bottom occurred in association with strong currents of 1.0–1.5 m s−1. During these events, the mixed layer reaches near the bottom due to wind-induced stirring, inferred from the high frequency component of vertical velocity. Thus the winter time turbulent mixing brings re-suspended sediment up to near the ocean surface. This study provides the first observational evidence of a series of processes on the incorporation of sedimentary materials into sea ice: sedimentary particles are dispersed by the strong bottom current, subsequently brought up to near the surface by winter time mixing, and finally incorporated into sea ice through underwater interaction with frazil ice and/or flooding of sea ice floes. This wintertime incorporation of bottom sediment into sea ice is a possible mechanism of iron supply to sea ice which melts in spring, and releases bio-reactive iron into the ocean.

Landfast sea ice is an important seasonal feature along most Arctic coastlines, such as that of the Chukchi Sea near Barrow, Alaska. Its stability throughout the ice season is determined by many factors but grounded pressure ridges are the primary stabilizing component. Landfast ice breakouts occur when these grounded ridges fail or unground, and previously stationary ice detaches from the coast and drifts away. Using ground-based radar imagery from a coastal ice and ocean observatory at Barrow, we have developed a method to estimate the extent of grounded ridges by tracking ice motion and deformation over the course of winter and have derived ice keel depth and potential for grounding from cumulative convergent ice motion. Estimates of landfast ice grounding strength have been compared to the atmospheric and oceanic stresses acting on the landfast ice before and during breakout events to determine prevailing causes for the failure of stabilizing features. Applying this approach to two case studies in 2008 and 2010, we conclude that a combination of atmospheric and oceanic stresses may have caused the breakouts analyzed in this study, with the latter as the dominant force. Preconditioning (as weakening) of grounded ridges by sea level variations may facilitate failure of the ice sheet leading to breakout events.

In the Arctic, land-fast sea ice growth can be influenced by fresher water from rivers and residual summer melt. This paper examines a method to reconstruct changes in water masses using oxygen isotope measurements of sea ice cores. To determine changes in sea water isotope composition over the course of the ice growth period, the output of a sea ice thermodynamic model (driven with reanalysis data, observations of snow depth, and freeze-up dates) is used along with sea ice oxygen isotope measurements and an isotopic fractionation model. Direct measurements of sea ice growth rates are used to validate the output of the sea ice growth model. It is shown that for sea ice formed during the 2011/2012 ice growth season at Barrow, Alaska, large changes in isotopic composition of the ocean waters were captured by the sea ice isotopic composition. Salinity anomalies in the ocean were also tracked by moored instruments. These data indicate episodic advection of meteoric water, having both lower salinity and lower oxygen isotopic composition, during the winter sea ice growth season. Such advection of meteoric water during winter is surprising, as no surface meltwater and no local river discharge should be occurring at this time of year in that area. How accurately changes in water masses as indicated by oxygen isotope composition can be reconstructed using oxygen isotope analysis of sea ice cores is addressed, along with methods/strategies that could be used to further optimize the results. The method described will be useful for winter detection of meteoric water presence in Arctic fast ice regions, which is important for climate studies in a rapidly changing Arctic. Land-fast sea ice effective fractionation coefficients were derived, with a range of +1.82‰ to +2.52‰. Those derived effective fractionation coefficients will be useful for future water mass component proportion calculations. In particular, the equations given can be used to inform choices made when engaging in end member determination for working out the component proportions of water masses.

Under the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) program, sea-ice thickness has been routinely monitored off Lutzow–Holm Bay (East Antarctica) during the summer (mid-December to early January) since 2000/01, using an electromagnetic induction (EM) instrument onboard the icebreaker Shirase. Analysis of these data over a 10-year period, combined with visual observations using a simplified form of the ASPeCt (Antarctic Sea ice Processes and Climate) protocol, suggests a strong interannual variability in sea-ice thickness in this region. For the repeat pack-ice observation area, where the sea-ice thickness averaged over the nine seasons is ∼1.9 m, mean thicknesses of observed sea-ice in 2010/11 and 2011/12 are exceptionally large, at ∼3.3 and ∼5.8 m, respectively. This result is strongly related to regional patterns of sea ice dynamics. Ice convergence caused by anomalous northerly winds was particularly high in 2011/12, suggesting that the extremely thick ice observed in that season resulted largely from sea-ice deformation processes (including pressure ridging). Longer-term analysis of data from the past 34 years confirms that sea-ice conditions and thickness off Lutzow–Holm Bay in summer are determined mainly by the large-scale pattern of atmospheric pressure in December.

Over the past few decades, sea ice retreat during summer has been enhanced in the Pacific sector of the Arctic basin, likely due in part to increasing summertime heat flux of Pacific-origin water from the Bering Strait. Barrow Canyon, in the northeast Chukchi Sea, is a major conduit through which the Pacific-origin water enters the Arctic basin. This paper presents results from 6 repeat high-resolution shipboard hydrographic/velocity sections occupied across Barrow Canyon in summer 2010. The different Pacific water masses feeding the canyon – Alaskan coastal water (ACW), summer Bering Sea water (BSW), and Pacific winter water (PWW) – all displayed significant intra-seasonal variability. Net volume transports through the canyon were between 0.96 and 1.70 Sv poleward, consisting of 0.41–0.98 Sv of warm Pacific water (ACW and BSW) and 0.28–0.65 Sv of PWW. The poleward heat flux also varied strongly, ranging from 8.56 TW to 24.56 TW, mainly due to the change in temperature of the warm Pacific water. Using supplemental mooring data from the core of the warm water, along with wind data from the Pt. Barrow weather station, we derive and assess a proxy for estimating heat flux in the canyon for the summer time period, which is when most of the heat passes northward towards the basin. The average heat flux for 2010 was estimated to be 3.34 TW, which is as large as the previous record maximum in 2007. This amount of heat could melt 315,000 km 2 of 1-meter thick ice, which likely contributed to significant summer sea ice retreat in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean.

At several locations around Antarctica, dense water is formed as a result of intense sea ice formation. When this dense water becomes sufficiently denser than the surrounding water, it descends the continental slope and forms Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). This study presents the AABW formation off the coast of Cape Darnley [Cape Darnley Bottom Water (CDBW)] in East Antarctica, using a nonhydrostatic model. The model is forced for 8 months by a temporally uniform surface salt flux (because of sea ice formation) estimated from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (EOS; AMSR-E) data and a heat budget calculation. The authors reproduce AABW formation and associated periodic downslope flows of dense water. Descending pathways of dense water are largely determined by the topography; most dense water flows into depressions on the continental shelf, advects onto the continental slope, and is steered downslope to greater depths by the canyons. Intense sea ice formation is the most important factor in the formation of AABW off Cape Darnley, and the existence of depressions is of only minor importance for the flux of CDBW. The mechanism responsible for the periodic downslope flow of dense water is further analyzed using an idealized model setup. The period of dense water outflow is regulated primarily by the topographic beta effect.

The Sea of Okhotsk is the southernmost sea-ice zone with sizable ice. It is widely believed that the prevailing northwesterly wind and the southward East Sakhalin Current (ESC) are the two main factors that drive the southward drift of sea ice. However, the relative contributions of these factors have not been understood. In this paper, by using the current and ice-drift data measured with the moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, a 3-D ocean model simulation, objective analysis data of the wind, and satellite sea-ice data, we examine to what degree and how the ice drift is determined by the wind and ocean current. From a linear regression of the observed ice drift, ocean current, and wind, the wind-forced component of the ice drift was best fitted when sea ice is assumed to move with a speed of 1.6% of the geostrophic wind with a turning angle of 17.6° to the left of the wind. Such a relationship was adopted as the wind-drift component for all sea-ice pixels detected from Special Sensor Microwave Imager data. For the ocean-forced component of the ice drift, we adopted the current at 20 m depth from a numerical model simulation that reproduces well the ESC and its variability. We then evaluated the sea-ice drift over 46–54°N during 1998–2005. For the southward drift of sea ice, the contribution of the wind component is found to be larger than the oceanic component, although the ocean contribution becomes larger, typically comparable to the wind contribution, near the coast and in the northern region where the ESC is stronger. We estimated the average annual cumulative southward ice transport to be 3.0 ± 0.9 × 10 11 m 3 at 53°N. This ice transport is comparable to the annual discharge of the Amur River. The ratio of wind to oceanic components in the transport is estimated to be ∼1.2–1.8. We also conducted ice-drift simulations based on the modeled current velocity and the assumed wind drift of 1.5% geostrophic wind with a turning angle of 15° to the left. The simulations reproduce well the ice drift north of 47°N but not south of 47°N, likely due to the poor representation of the current system at the latter, underevaluation of the wind factor near the ice edges, and the neglect of ice formation and melt.

Antarctic Bottom Water fills much of the global abyssal ocean, and is known to form in three main sites in the Southern Ocean. Data from instrumented elephant seals and moorings suggest an additional source of bottom-water formation in the Cape Darnley polynya that is driven by sea-ice production.

Sea ice dynamics is examined for the frequency spectra of ice velocity using mathematical models and ice motion data. The data are from the Baltic Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. A general spectrum for linear coupled ice–ocean free drift is derived and analysed. Interior dynamics shows singularity in the Coriolis (inertial) frequency and asymptotic high frequency power law of − 2. In the presence of internal friction the spectrum is expected to evenly fall to zero with frictional resistance increasing above yield level. In the observations, the main spectral peak is wide at the synoptic time scales. The Okhotsk Sea spectra show inertial and tidal signals but they are missing from the Baltic Sea due to very weak tides and shallow depth damping inertial oscillations. Above semidiurnal frequency ice velocity spectra fall in power law of − 5/3, inherited from atmospheric and oceanic dynamics, and at very high frequencies, above 0.5 cph (cycles per hour) the fall seems to slow down to power law below − 1. The Eulerian ice velocity spectrum was higher than the Lagrangian spectrum throughout the entire obtained spectrum (0.1–5 cpd (cycles per day)). Theoretical spectra show general agreement with observations except that they have less kinetic energy at very high frequencies and much stronger inertial peak. Thus Eulerian observations are more variable than Lagrangian observations.

Wind factor, the ratio of sea ice drift speed to surface wind speed, is a key factor for the dynamics of sea ice and is generally about 2%. In some coastal oceans, however, the wind factor tends to be larger near the coast. This study proposes the enhancement mechanism of the sea ice drift caused by the dynamical coupling between sea ice and a coastal ocean. In a coastal ocean covered with sea ice, wind-forced sea ice drift excites coastal trapped waves (shelf waves) and generates fluctuating ocean current. This ocean current can enhance sea ice drift when the current direction is the same as that of the wind-driven drift. The authors consider a simplified setting where spatially uniform oscillating wind drifts sea ice parallel to the coast. When a barotropic long shelf wave is assumed for the ocean response, sea ice drifts driven by wind and ocean are obtained analytically. The ratio of ocean-driven to wind-driven sea ice drifts is used for the evaluation of the oceanic contribution to the enhancement of sea ice drift. The enhancement is mostly determined by the characteristics of the shelf waves, and sea ice drift is significantly enhanced close to the coast with lower-frequency wind forcing. Comparison with the observation off the Sakhalin coast shows that the degree of enhancement of sea ice drift and its characteristic such that larger enhancement occurs near the coast are mostly consistent with our theoretical solution, suggesting that this mechanism is present in the real ocean.

In the southwestern part of the Sea of Okhotsk off Hokkaido, sea-ice drift characteristics are investigated using the ice and water velocities obtained from a moored upward-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) during the winters of 1999–2001. Using hourly-mean values of these data along with the wind data measured at a nearby coastal station, the wind factor and turning angle of the relative velocity between the ice and water velocities with respect to the wind are calculated assuming free drift under various conditions. Since the simultaneous sea-ice draft data are also available from a moored ice-profiling sonar (IPS), we examine the dependence of drift characteristics on ice thickness for the first time. As ice thickness increases and wind decreases, the wind factor decreases and the turning angle increases, as predicted by the theory of free drift. This study clearly shows the utility of the moored ADCP measurement for studying sea-ice drift, especially with the simultaneous IPS measurement for ice thickness, which cannot be obtained by other methods.

From December to June 2002–2003, sea-ice and oceanic data were obtained from moorings near Sakhalin in the west central Okhotsk Sea. Ice draft measured by sonar reveals distinct periods of thin and thick ice. Thin-ice periods in January–March corresponded to offshore ice movement and increasing seawater salinity. The measured change in salinity corresponds well with that derived from heat-flux calculations using the observed ice thickness. Brine rejection from ice growing in a coastal polynya off northern Sakhalin is responsible for much of the observed salinity increase. The simultaneous observation of dense shelf water ( > 26.7 σ θ ) suggests that this region is one possible source. The periods of thick-ice incursion are likely indicative of heavily deformed pack formed further north and drifting south with the current. The mean draft (1.95 m), thick-ice ratio, and keel frequency during these periods are close to values observed in the Beaufort Sea. Freshwater transport estimated from the observed ice thickness and velocity is larger than that of the Amur River discharge.

From July 1998 to June 2000, the first long-term mooring measurements were carried out off the east coast of Sakhalin. Using these data, we examined the characteristics of the tidal heights and currents. The tidal heights and currents are dominated by the diurnal variability with fortnightly modulation over the northern part of the shelf. The K 1 and O 1 tidal current ellipses are clockwise with their major axes along the isobaths and their signal propagates with the coast on the right with phase speeds of 3.4 and 3.8 m s - 1 , respectively. The diurnal tidal currents are almost uniform in the vertical direction except for the bottom Ekman layer. The thickness of the bottom Ekman layer caused by the diurnal tidal currents is larger in the region of stronger tidal currents, reaching 20–30 m over the northern part of the shelf. The diurnal tidal currents over the northern part of the shelf can be explained by the first-mode diurnal coastal-trapped waves (CTWs). The diurnal CTWs are almost independent of the seasonal variability of density stratification and contribute significantly to diurnal currents, but only slightly to sea-surface heights. The diurnal tidal currents over the southern part of the shelf are significantly smaller than those over the northern part. This is because the diurnal CTWs cannot exist south of ∼ 52 ∘ N from the dispersion relation. The diurnal tidal currents are significantly reduced over the northern shelf, where the diurnal CTWs exist, during the high sea-ice concentration periods. From this result, we propose the scenario that the CTWs are damped by the spin-down effect due to the Ekman layer that would occur underneath the sea ice.

Data from the Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet) acquired near Barrow, Alaska, during the 2009/10 ice season allow novel comparisons between measurements of ice thickness and velocity. An airborne electromagnetic survey that passed over a moored Ice Profiling Sonar (IPS) provided coincident independent measurements of total ice and snow thickness and ice draft at a scale of 10 km. Once differences in sampling footprint size are accounted for, we reconcile the respective probability distributions and estimate the thickness of level sea ice at 1.48 ± 0.1 m, with a snow depth of 0.12 ± 0.07 m. We also complete what we believe is the first independent validation of radar-derived ice velocities by comparing measurements from a coastal radar with those from an under-ice acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). After applying a median filter to reduce high-frequency scatter in the radar-derived data, we find good agreement with the ADCP bottom-tracked ice velocities. With increasing regulatory and operational needs for sea-ice data, including the number and thickness of pressure ridges, coordinated observing networks such as SIZONet can provide the means of reducing uncertainties inherent in individual datasets.

To clarify the characteristics of tidal currents and heights over Kashevarov Bank (KB) in the Sea of Okhotsk, continuous mooring observation with ADCP and CT sensors was carried out near the summit of KB from 20 September 1999 to 20 June 2000. The velocity, sea-surface height, and bottom-water temperature were dominated by the diurnal signal with fortnightly modulation. The velocity amplitude reached ∼ 1.4 m s - 1 during the spring tide. The K 1 and O 1 tidal current ellipses are clockwise with a nearly circular shape and nearly barotropic. To interpret the physical mechanism of the amplified diurnal currents over KB, a seamount-trapped wave (SMTW) model was applied to KB. The frequency of SMTW approximated to KB is close to the diurnal tidal frequencies for the first-gravest mode of first azimuthal wavenumber. The structure and properties of the SMTW mode are consistent with the observations. It is proposed that the amplified diurnal currents over KB are caused by the resonance with SMTW. The observed fortnightly variability in tidal currents and bottom- and surface-temperatures suggests that both the cold spot in summer and the low sea-ice concentration in winter over KB are due to the horizontal and vertical mixing with the surrounding subsurface water, caused by strong tidal currents.

Hydrographic observations under sea ice were conducted in the southwestern part of the Sea of Okhotsk for 4 years from 1996 to 1999. Every year a cold mixed layer with near-freezing temperature was distributed from the sea surface to a depth of 150–300 m near the shelf break under sea ice. The thicknesses of the mixed layer and sea ice were largest in 1997. While the depth of the mixed layer was considerably deeper than that of dichothermal water, which is identified as a temperature minimum from spring to fall in this region, the density of water in the mixed layer was equal to or less than that of dichothermal water. It is shown that deepening of isopycnals due to the alongshore component of the wind stress is essential for thickening of the mixed layer. In 1997 the nearly northerly winds, which are usually directed offshore, were more parallel to the coast than those in the other years. Thickening of the mixed layer in 1997 is attributed to this wind condition. The air temperature and wind indicate that the sea-ice production rate was low in 1997, whereas the wind direction was favorable for rafting and ridging. Thus the change in wind direction is proposed as an important factor in determining the thickness of both the mixed layer and the sea ice in this region.

Dual-frequency, multi-polarization airborne synthetic aperture radar (Pi-SAR; developed by the Communications Research Laboratory and National Space Development Agency of Japan) observations of the seasonal sea-ice region off the Okhotsk coast of Hokkaido, Japan, were carried out in February 1999 using X- and L-band radar frequencies with a resolution of 1.5 and 3.0 m. In conjunction with the SAR observations, the sea-ice thickness (draft) and velocity were measured by a moored Ice Profiling Sonar (IPS) and an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Tracks of the sea ice passing over the IPS were estimated from the time series of the ADCP ice-velocity and -direction data. Along these tracks, the SAR backscattering coefficient profiles were compared with the IPS ice-draft profiles. The results showed that the L-band SAR backs cattering profiles correlated well with the IPS ice-draft data, particularly in the thicker part (a few meters thick) of the rim of first-year ice, which had a large backscattering coefficient. Although the X-band SAR backscattering profiles did not correlate well with the IPS data, thin ice (

In the southwestern part of the Okhotsk Sea, oceanographic and sea-ice observations on board the icebreaker Soya were carried out in February 1997. A mixed layer of uniform temperature nearly at the freezing point extending down to a depth of about 300 m was observed. This is much deeper than has previously been reported. It is suggested that this deep mixed layer originated from the north (off East Sakhalin), being advected along the shelf slope via the East Sakhalin Current, accompanied with the thick first-year ice (average thickness 0.6 m). This vertically uniform winter water, through mixing with the surrounding water, makes the surface water more saline (losing a characteristic of East Sakhalin Current Water) and the water in the 100–300 m depth zone less saline, colder, and richer in oxygen (a characteristic of the intermediate Okhotsk Sea water). The oceanographic structure and a heat budget analysis suggest that new ice zone, which often appears at ice edges, can be formed through preconditioning of thick ice advection and subsequent cooling by the latent heat release due to its melting.

[1] Seasonal breakup of landfast sea ice consists of movement and irreversible ice detachment in response to winds or oceanic forces in the late stages of ice decay. The breakup process of landfast sea ice in the Chukchi Sea at Barrow, Alaska, was analyzed for the years 2000 through 2010 on the basis of local observations of snow and ice conditions, weather records, image sequences obtained from cameras, coastal X band marine radar, and satellite imagery. We investigated the relation of breakup to winds, tides, and nearshore current measurements from a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler. Two breakup modes are distinguished at Barrow on the basis of the degree of ice decay. Mechanical breakup due to wind and oceanic forces follows ablation and weakening of the ice. Thermal breakup is the result of ice disintegration under melt ponds, requiring little force to induce dispersion. Grounded pressure ridges are pivotal in determining the breakup mode. The timing of thermal breakup of the nearshore ice cover was found to correlate with the measured downwelling solar radiation in June and July. This linkage allows for the development of an operational forecast of landfast ice breakup. Results from forecasts during 2 years demonstrate that thermal breakup can be predicted to within a couple of days 2 weeks in advance. The cumulative shortwave energy absorbed by the ice cover provides for a measure of the state of ice decay and potential for disintegration. Discriminating between the two modes of breakup bears the potential to greatly increase forecasting skill.

[1] From comparisons with thickness of sea ice from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and ice-profiling sonar data we have developed an Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) thin ice thickness algorithm for the Sea of Okhotsk. This algorithm can estimate ice thickness of ≤0.2 m without snow using the polarization ratio of AMSR-E brightness temperature at a 36.5 GHz channel from a linear relationship with AVHRR ice thickness. When a snow cover exists on the thin ice surface, as occurred a few times in each winter, it is shown that the algorithm cannot detect the thin ice. Sea ice and dense shelf water (DSW) production in coastal polynya are estimated on the basis of heat flux calculation with the daily AMSR-E ice thickness for three winters (December–March) of 2002–2003 to 2004–2005. The ice production is largest in the northwest shelf (NWS) polynya which accounts for ∼45% of the sum of ice production in major coastal polynyas. The ice production in major coastal polynyas would cover the maximum ice area of the Okhotsk Sea if the average ice thickness is assumed to be 1 m. Variability of the ice production is mainly modulated by air temperature. In the NWS polynya, which is the main DSW production area, the annual DSW formation rate is estimated to be ∼0.36 Sv.

[1] Using a moored ice-profiling sonar along with a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler, a total spatial section of draft across 3334 km of sea ice was obtained in the southwestern Sea of Okhotsk near Hokkaido in the winters of 1999–2001. Using this draft data set, the average draft and keel statistics are discussed in this sea for the first time. The mean draft was 0.60 m, which corresponds to the thickness of 0.71 m, over the three winters with the range of 0.49–0.72 m for each winter. The classification of level and deformed ice reveals a small range of the monthly mean level ice draft (0.18–0.27 m) and the dominance of the deformed ice in terms of volume (80%). The mean draft varied with the areal ratio of the deformed ice fairly well. These results suggest that dynamic processes such as ridging and rafting are important for the evolution of draft in the region of observation. The observed draft probability density distribution and keel statistics show that the thick ice ratio and keel frequency are lower than the similar data in polar regions and closer to those observed in Davis Strait west of Greenland. Along with the ice concentration and speed derived from the satellite data the southward ice transport to the southwestern Sea of Okhotsk is estimated on the basis of the observed sea ice thickness. The estimated ice transport ranged from 15 to 70 km3 in each winter. The heat and freshwater transport associated with the ice transport ranged from −3.9 × 1017 to −1.8 × 1018 J and from 12 to 57 km3, respectively.

[1] Sinking particles collected at two depths at two sites off Sakhalin Island in the western region of the Sea of Okhotsk were analyzed to determine their major chemical components (lithogenic material, biogenic opal, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and total organic carbon (TOC)). The lithogenic and opal fluxes increased downward, indicating the lateral input of resuspended sedimentary particles into the lower traps, while the CaCO3 or TOC fluxes did not change greatly between the upper and lower traps. The lithogenic particle flux in the lower traps showed intermittent increase events frequently during periods when cold water masses penetrated into the intermediate layer at the mooring sites. This coincidence between the flux increase and the cooling of the intermediate layer clearly indicates that the cold and turbid Dense Shelf Water (DSW) is discharged from the bottom of the northwestern continental shelf to the pelagic intermediate layer, supplying large amounts of particulate matter onto the bottom of the slope and deep basin. After removing the effect of the lateral input, the time series of the opal export from the surface water at the mooring sites were reconstructed using the upper trap data. There were two predominant characteristics in the seasonal variations of the opal export, which is nearly equal to the diatom production, in the area off Sakhalin. One is the relatively large opal flux in autumn, and the other is the southward propagation of the spring diatom bloom, although the sea ice retreats northward every spring. Both of these characteristics suggest that the river water discharged from the Amur, together with the seasonal sea ice cover, regulates primary production in this area.

[1] Using a moored ice-profiling sonar along with an ADCP, a spatial section of draft across 855 km of sea ice was obtained for the first time in the southwestern part of the Okhotsk Sea near Hokkaido in winter of 1999. The draft evolved from 0.20 m in mid-February to 1.45 m in late March with the overall value of 0.72 m. The draft characteristics were quite different between February and March before and after the period of strong winds. The increase of the mean draft from February to March was associated with the increase of deformed ice. The maximum draft observed was ∼17 m. Ice volume was dominated by the contribution from portions of deformed ice especially in March. These results suggest that deformed ice dominated in the region of observation and dynamical processes were mainly responsible for the evolution of draft.

Downward material fluxes under seasonal sea ice were measured using a time-series sediment trap installed at an offshore site in the Okhotsk Sea north of Hokkaido, Japan, from 13 January to 23 March 2005. The maximum fluxes of lithogenic material (753 mg m−2 day−1) and organic matter (mainly detritus; 333 mg m−2 day−1) were recorded during the period in which sea ice drifted ashore and increased in extent, from 13 January to 9 February. Organic matter as fecal pellets (81–93 mg m−2 day−1) and opal as biosilica (51–67 mg m−2 day−1), representing diatom fluxes, were abundant in sediment trap samples obtained during the period of full sea ice coverage from 10 February to 9 March. Microscopic observations revealed that fecal pellets were largely diatom frustules, suggesting that zooplankton actively grazed on ice algae during the period of full sea ice coverage. During the period of retreating sea ice, from 10 to 23 March, the phytoplankton flux showed a rapid increase (from 9.5 to 22.5 × 106 cells m−2 day−1), reflecting their release into the water column as the sea ice melted. Our results demonstrate that the quantity and quality of sinking biogenic and lithogenic materials vary with the seasonal extent of sea ice in mid-winter.

The characteristics of ice in the Okhotsk coastal polynyas are examined. A map of AMSR-E thin-ice thickness in the northwest shelf region shows that most of the coastal polynya area is covered by thin ice with a thickness of 0.1 m. the thickness increases sharply at the edge of the polynya. From comparisons with QuikSCAT backscatter, the thin-ice area corresponds well with the low-backscatter area during almost all the coastal polynya period. A comparison with ice thickness measured by an ice-profiling sonar in the coastal polynya region of northeastern Sakhalin shows a similar relationship, with the backscatter tending to be low when the ice is thin. the averaged backscatter of thin (≤0.1 m) ice is –19.6±2.8 dB (horizontal polarization). the backscatter of thin ice is considered to be mainly determined by the surface roughness because volume scattering of thin ice is low due to the dielectric properties associated with the high salinity. the results of this study suggest that the coastal polynya is covered with grease ice/nilas whose surface is almost mirror smooth. This is confirmed by a comparison with photographs taken at the coastal polynya region near Magadan, Russia. At the outer edge of the coastal polynya, a region of relatively high backscatter (>–16 dB) exists, probably because it has a rougher ice surface than the polynya area. This suggests that ice motion in this area may be convergent.