Description of the oceanographic condition off Sanriku, Northwestern Pacific, and its relation to spring bloom detected by the Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS) images

We describe the oceanographic condition as observed by hydrographic data and phytoplankton spring bloom detected by OCTS images off Sanriku, northwestern Pacific, during the spring bloom period in 1997. The relationship between the two is discussed. OCTS images detected the bloom in early April in the coastal area around the Izu ridge north of the Kuroshio and the eastern coastal area of Hokkaido to the Oyashio front. The bloom areas were seen along the offshore Kuroshio Extension from the end of April, in the upstream region of the Oyashio south of the Kurile Islands, except for a part of coastal area from the end of May, and in the Kuroshio warm-core ring 93A (KWCR 93A) from early June. The temperature difference between the surface and subsurface layer is used as a stratification index. This was large in the upstream region of the Oyashio south of the Kurile Islands and KWCR 93A from early June. Previous research has pointed out that the spring bloom usually corresponds to the development of stratification in the water column due to seasonal warming. In addition to that, we suggest that the transportation of water containing a high chlorophyll a concentration by advection due to strong currents, like the Kuroshio and the Oyashio, is important for the formation of an area of high chlorophyll a concentration. These results indicate that the OCTS images are useful for a knowledge of the distribution and the change of chlorophyll a concentration in the northwestern Pacific region.