Renewal of the bottom water after the winter 2000-2001 may spin-up the thermohaline circulation in the Japan Sea

Senju, Tomoharu*; Aramaki, Takafumi; Otosaka, Shigeyoshi  ; Togawa, Orihiko ; Danchenkov, M. A.*; Karasev, E.*; Volkov, Y. N.*

The newly formed bottom water in the Japan Sea was observed in the summer of 2001 after the severe winter 2000-2001. The new bottom water, which was observed in the northwestern Japan Sea, showed low temperature, high salinity, high dissolved oxygen and low nutrients concentration compared to the old bottom water. The distribution of the bottom water indicates that the deep convection occurred in the area of south off Vladivostok, not the northern Japan Sea, and then the bottom water was advected to the observation area from the convection region. The record of current meters suggests that the deep convection occurred in the early-February, because strong flows faster than 10 cms-1 appeared abruptly from mid-February 2001. This formation event may contribute not only the relaxation of the anoxic trend in the bottom layer but also the spin-up of the thermohaline circulation in the Japan Sea.