Fig. 3 Time variations in mean sea ice area in Okhotsk Sea in year with anomalous southward intrusion of the subarctic circulation (closed circles). January, February and March in 1974, 81, 84 and 86 and December of the previous years, and those in other years over 1971-1988 (open circles). Vertical bars show the standard deviation of each data.
Correlation between the sea ice area in the Okhotsk Sea and snow cover area over the Eurasian Continent in winter over 1973-1988 are shown in Fig. 4. A significant positive correlation is detected. Together with the positive correlation shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the small sea ice area in the Okhotsk Sea and small snow cover area over the Eurasian Continent coincide in winter with the occurrence of the anomalous southward shift of the Oyashio and subarctic circulation in the North Pacific.
