PALEOENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN THE OKHOTSK SEA SINCE LATE PLEISTOCENE AND ITS DRIVING FORCE

The Okhotsk Sea is the second largest marginal sea in the north Pacific Ocean. The marine environment of the Okhots Sea is very special under the complex interactions among ocean,land,atmosphere and ice,and characterized by high productivity, seasonal sea ice cover, and the ventilation source of the North Pacific Intermediate Water.Our results show that the advance and retreat of sea ice are mainly related to the strength and the active center of the atmosphere circulation over the subarctic Pacific Ocean. The influence of the sea ice cover by the Soya current and the Amur River only exist in a limited area and limited time. The advance and retreat of sea ice influence not only the sedimentation,but also the change in surface productivity and the formation of North Pacific Intermediate Water,and as the result the regional and global carbon cycle and the ventilation of the North Pacific Intermediate Water are also effected. In this study, we propose some key science questions for future study and conclude that the key to understand the paleoenvironmental changes in the Okhotsk Sea is to collect more information about the sea ice advance and retreat in the Okhotsk Sea.