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Oyashio Current

Oyashio Current is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Oyashio Current rather than just read about it. In short: The Oyashio Current (親潮; "Parental Tide"), also known as the Okhotsk Current or Kurile Current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean and flow southward via the Bering Sea, passing through the Bering Strait and transporting cold water from the Arctic Sea into the Pacific Oc…

Oyashio Current — main illustration
Oyashio Current — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Oyashio Current belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Oyashio Current to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Oyashio Current from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Oyashio Current (親潮; "Parental Tide"), also known as the Okhotsk Current or Kurile Current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean and flow southward via the Bering Sea, passing through the Bering Strait and transporting cold water from the Arctic Sea into the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. It collides with the Kuroshio Current off the eastern shore of Japan to form the North Pacific Current (or Drift). The nutrient-rich Oyashio is named for its metaphorical role as the parent (親, oya) that provides for and nurtures marine organisms.

Climate impact The current has an important impact on the climate of the Russian Far East, mainly in Kamchatka and Chukotka, where the northern limit of tree growth is moved south up to ten degrees compared with the latitude it can reach in inland Siberia. The waters of the Oyashio Current form probably the richest fishery in the world owing to the extremely high nutrient content of the cold water and the very high tides (up to 10 metres (33 ft)) in some areas – which further enhances the availability of nutrients. However, the Oyashio Current also causes Vladivostok to be the most equatorward port to seasonally freeze and require icebreaking ships to remain open in winter. Nonetheless, this has relatively little effect on the fish yield through the Sea of Okhotsk, because the large tides mean freezing does not occur so easily.

History During glacial periods, when lower sea level exposed the Bering land bridge, the current could not flow in the regions the Oyashio affects today. The level of cooling with the onset of glacial conditions (after an interglacial) was much less than in other areas of the Earth at similar latitudes. This allowed Tōhoku and Hokkaidō – the only areas of East Asia with enough snowfall to potentially form glaciers – to remain unglaciated except at high elevations during periods when Europe and North America were largely glaciated. This lack of glaciation explains why, despite its present climate being much colder than most of Europe, East Asia has retained 96 percent of Pliocene tree genera, whereas Europe has retained only 27%.

See also Oceanic gyres Physical oceanography

References

Reddy, MPM (2001): Descriptive physical oceanography. Taylor and Francis, ISBN 90-5410-706-5, pp 367–8.

External links Regional Definition page for the Oyashio Current, UNEP Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA), accessed 26 July 2018

Illustrations

Oyashio Current: The Oyashio Current colliding with the Kuroshio Current near Hokkaido. When two currents collide, they create eddies. Phytoplankton growing in the surface waters become concentrated along the boundaries of these eddies, tracing out the motions of the water.
The Oyashio Current colliding with the Kuroshio Current near Hokkaido. When two currents collide, they create eddies. Phytoplankton growing in the surface waters become concentrated along the boundaries of these eddies, tracing out the motions of the water.
Oyashio Current: The ocean currents surrounding the Japanese Archipelago: 1.Kuroshio 2. Kuroshio extension 3. Kuroshio countercurrent 4. The Tsushima Current 5. The Tsugaru Current 6. The Sōya Current 7. Oyashio 8. The Liman Current
The ocean currents surrounding the Japanese Archipelago: 1.Kuroshio 2. Kuroshio extension 3. Kuroshio countercurrent 4. The Tsushima Current 5. The Tsugaru Current 6. The Sōya Current 7. Oyashio 8. The Liman Current

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Oyashio Current

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Oyashio Current claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Oyashio Current before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Oyashio Current ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Oyashio Current

In research
Oyashio Current appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Oyashio Current in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Oyashio Current is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bering Strait, Currents of the Pacific Ocean, Temperate Northern Pacific, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Oyashio Current outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Oyashio Current in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Oyashio Current means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Oyashio Current out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oyashio Current in simple terms?

The Oyashio Current (親潮; "Parental Tide"), also known as the Okhotsk Current or Kurile Current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean and flow southward v…

Why does Oyashio Current matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Oyashio Current?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Oyashio Current.

Tags

  • Bering Strait
  • Currents of the Pacific Ocean
  • Temperate Northern Pacific

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