in the Okhotsk Sea is known to be related to a massive freshwater run-off from the Amur River which dilutes the surface salinity. This develops a unique dichothermal layer in the Okhotsk Sea.
From the monthly averaged data of CZCS (Coastal Zone Color Scanner), ice edge phytoplankton blooms were detected from March to June depending upon differences in location in the Okhotsk Sea along with the receding ice edge, and no such bloom was observed until June outside of the Okhotsk Sea where there was no sea ice (Figs. 1 and 2, Saitoh et al,, 1996). Similar results were also obtained by mooring observations at the south end of the Okhotsk Sea where chlorophyll in the water column increased immediately after ice melted, which indicated ice edge algal bloom (Shirasawa et al., 1995).
Massive development of ice algae was observed inside of the ice of the Okhotsk Sea although there was no quantitative data yet.
