Recent changes of the halocline characteristics and warming of the intermediate water in the Kamchatka current and the Oyashio

The upper Oyashio intermediate water, one of the source waters for the Sea of Okhotsk intermediate water, is exhibiting a warming trend. The historical data show that the upper Oyashio temperature increased by 2.4°C during 1953 to 2007 at the potential density of 26.75 at depths of approximately 170 m. This rate of warming is much faster than that of the global ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. The upper Oyashio warming is likely linked to the penetration of warm water of the Alaskan Stream westward. One mechanism of this warm Alaskan Stream water penetration is associated with large Aleutian eddies.