Interdecadal variability in dissolved oxygen in the intermediate water layer of the Western Subarctic Gyre and Kuril Basin (Okhotsk Sea)

Using dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration at isopycnal surfaces we have obs erved an oscillation in the intermediate water layer of the Western Subarct ic Gyre (WSG) and the Kuril Basin of the Okhotsk Sea with a period of about 20 years. The interdecadal oscillation in DO is strongly correlated with t he intensity of the Aleutian Low pressure cell with a 2 -year time lag. The interdecadal variations in DO in the intermediate water layer of the WSG a nd the Okhotsk Sea may be a result of oscillation in the atmospheric forcin g, leading to variations in the isopycnal fluxes of DO at the boundaries of the Okhotsk Sea- Western Subarctic Gyre - subtropical region, the isopycna l- surface replacement in the WSG, and in changes in the intermediate water formation rate in the Okhotsk Sea.