Effects of the Wind and Ice Conditions on the Upwelling along the Western Kamchatka Coast (Sea of Okhotsk) Based on the Satellite Data

Abstract

The variability of the upwelling along the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula (northeastern part of the Sea of Okhotsk) has been studied based on an analysis of the multisensor satellite data. The intensity of upwelling is estimated on the basis of wind-forced offshore Ekman transport (upwelling index). The wind data for studying the seasonal variation of upwelling were collected in 1999–2009 using a Quik-SCAT/SeaWinds scatterometer. The upwelling events along the western Kamchatka coast were observed in December at the beginning of the winter monsoon period. During the period of strong winter monsoon northern winds from January to the middle of March, the drifting ice prevents the upwelling of the deep water at the western Kamchatka shelf edge under the mean conditions. The oceanographic data show that upwelling in the western coastal zone of Kamchatka was also observed during the transitional periods from winter to the summer monsoon (April). In summer, upwelling events are rarely observed in this region. The main cause of the summer upwelling is the propagation of the atmospheric cyclones over the Kamchatka Peninsula.