The North Pacific Marine Science Organization
(PICES), the Pacific Scientific Research Fisheries
Centre (TINRO-Centre), and the Census of Marine Life
(CoML) announce a workshop on "Okhotsk Sea and Adjacent
Areas", to be held June 4-6, 2003, at TINRO-Centre
in Vladivostok, Russia. The 12 page PROGRAMME
SCHEDULE and POSTER LIST can be downloaded as a
pdf file (0.5mb). The workshop will bring together a
team of international scientists with an interest in
the Okhotsk Sea and adjacent areas to review what is
known, to learn of recent investigations and new knowledge,
and to consider their meaning. The first two workshops
were organized by PICES in 1995 and 1998 and generated
important publications in the PICES Scientific Report
Series [Vol. 6 (1996)] and Vol. 12(1998)]. The desirability
of publishing selected papers from the workshop in
the primary literature will be discussed at the close
of the workshop. Since the mid-1990s an unprecedented
number of expeditions have taken place in the Sea of
Okhotsk, adding in major ways to the scientific understanding
of the physics, chemistry, and biology of the Sea.
New short- and long-term observations of the physical
state of the Sea of Okhotsk resulting from such programs
have provided evidence of dense water formation on
the northern continental shelf of the Sea in winter;
this water eventually enters the North Pacific Ocean
through the Kurile straits as prototype North Pacific
Intermediate Water. Chemical studies have shown that
it is likely that this water is the conduit for a major
flux of carbon into the deep Pacific. Estimates of
the volume flux of this water from the Okhotsk to the
Pacific have been constrained by new measurements.
At the same time, a modern examination of historical
atmospheric and sea ice observations from the Sea of
Okhotsk suggests that there is a delicate balance of
large-scale atmospheric patterns over the subarctic
Pacific that is maintained via ocean-atmosphere-ice
interactions in the Sea of Okhotsk-Bering Sea region.
Relatively small changes in this balance appear to
be strongly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation,
which is known to affect climate, fisheries, and oceanographic
properties across a vast region of the North Pacific.
Both the new observations of the Sea of Okhotsk circulation,
and the reanalysis of older climate data from this
area, have yielded results that highlight the growing
importance of the Sea of Okhotsk region in climate-related
studies. The Sea of Okhotsk is the primary
fishery region in the Russian Far East, providing 65-70%
of total Russian catch. Walleye pollock, herring, Pacific
salmon, cod, flatfish and crab are the main commercially
important species. Recent assessments suggest that
there are about 230 million tons (mt) of benthic biota
in the Okhotsk Sea, 35 mt of fishes, 3.5 mt of squids
and 0.5 mt of marine mammals. Dramatic changes have
occurred in total fish biomass with declines from 10.1
million tonnes to approximately 5.1-5.4 million tonnes
in the upper pelagic layer in the northern Sea of Okhotsk.
With the collapse of the Japanese sardine stocks, the
pelagic fish biomass declined from 3 million tonnes
in the latter half of the 1980s to 0.4 million tonnes
in the southern part in recent years. There are rising
concerns about declines in Kamchatka crab stocks, about
health of the grey whale population, about present
and potential impact from Amur River discharge and,
last but not least, about impacts related to oil and
gas developments. The latter includes not only drilling
and production facilities but also seismic explorations,
pipeline construction (both marine and land based,
i.e. affecting salmon spawning rivers) and so on. The purpose of the Workshop is to
provide a forum to discuss new observational, modelling,
and theoretical results concerning physical, chemical,
and biological (including human impacts) processes
in the Okhotsk Sea, their interactions with the North
Pacific, and their bio-physical linkages through all
trophic levels of the Okhotsk Sea ecosystem. The Workshop
will include 2½ days of plenary sessions, posters,
and informal opportunities for discussion. The afternoon
of the final day will synthesize what has been learned
during the workshop and to capture the main points
of interest for the Okhotsk Sea chapter of the PICES
North Pacific Ecosystem Status Report. This session will consider long-term
changes in the factors affecting the Okhotsk Sea ecosystem(s)
and adjacent areas, especially those changes that are
caused by climate change. Special attention will be
given to talks that consider changes that have occurred
within the recent period (1999-2003) and their relevance
to historical observations. This session will consider new information
on physical and chemical oceanographic processes in
the Sea of Okhotsk and adjacent subarctic Pacific.
Topics of special interest include:
- Water mass formation
- Circulation
- Exchange with the North Pacific
- The role of ice processes
- Mesoscale eddies and tides based on observations
and modeling
This session will consider the response
of the Okhotsk Sea ecosystem to the key physical, chemical
and biological processes - generally focusing on interannual
and longer temporal scales. The session will be subdivided
ecologically covering topics such as:
- Observations and models of primary and secondary
production and lower trophic level variability [NPZ:
nutrient, phytoplankton, zooplankton]. New findings
from satellite/observational intercalibration studies
will be important. Advances in modelling lower tropic
levels in the Okhotsk Sea and adjacent areas
- Ecology of commercial and non-commercial fishes
and squids and associated fauna
- Observations of variability at higher trophic levels
(seabirds and marine mammals) and their effects
This session will consider topics
concerning commercially harvested species and other
human effects on Okhotsk Sea ecosystem(s) including:
- The abundance and exploitation of living marine
resources
- Observations of the effects of oil and gas development
on marine ecosystems
- The development and effects of aquaculture in coastal
areas
- Changes in contaminant levels
- Other impacts
PICES has begun to compile observations
and descriptions of long-term changes throughout the
North Pacific Ocean and its marginal seas into a comprehensive
North Pacific Ecosystem Status Report. The report attempts
to address questions such as:
- What is the current status of the Okhotsk Sea ecosystem
and why?
- How does it differ from historical observations?
- How does this compare with other regions in the
North Pacific?
This session will attempt to synthesize what was presented
at the workshop and to facilitate a discussion with
a view to reaching consensus on the status of the Okhotsk
Sea ecosystem; what is known and what needs to be learned. Members of the Scientific Program
Committee for this workshop were nominated by PICES
Committees and include: Tatiana
Belan (Russia/MEQ), Elena
Dulepova (Russia/FIS), Vyacheslav.
B. Lobanov (Russia/POC), Skip
McKinnell (PICES), Keiichi
Mito (Japan/FIS), Yutaka
Nagata (Japan/POC), Vladimir
Radchenko (Russia/BIO), Stephen
C. Riser (U.S.A./POC) and Sei-Ichi
Saitoh (Japan/CCCC-MONITOR) Gennady
Khen (TINRO), Sergei Klushin (POI), Vyacheslav.
B. Lobanov (POI), Viktor
Markotsev (TINRO), Svetlana
Anikeeva (TINRO) Sessions will include invited speakers
and contributed talks and posters. All interested persons
should provide extended abstracts (2-3 pages including
important figures and tables) of their presentation by
May 1, 2003 (note the earlier deadline for Registration/visa
application). Abstracts should include a title, names
of all authors, institute, mailing address, and email
address of each of the contributing scientists. Using
a sample abstract
header file (in MS Word with correct fonts and
format) will help. These abstracts should be submitted
as an MS Word attachment by e-mail (with subject "Okhotsk
Sea abstract") to PICES (ecostatus@PICES.int).
Please name the file with your family name (e.g. mckinnell.doc). Indicate
a session number (from list of sessons) for your abstract
and indicate your preference for oral or poster. The poster boards at TINRO-Centre
are 115 cm x 85 cm, and some are 100 cm x 80 cm. The
longer dimension is the height, not the width. Since
the boards are made of plastic, the posters should
be taped to the boards. Any person who wishes to participate
in the symposium should send the registration
form by April 14, 2003 to the Local
Organizing Committee by e-mail (preferred) or by
fax (+7 4232-300-752). No registration fee is required.
Foreigners must also include the data page of their
passports (scanned or faxed) The language for oral and poster presentations
at the workshop is English. Limited funds are available to assist
scientists to attend the meeting. Priority will be
given to applicants requiring only partial support
(e.g. airfare or hotel/allowance). Candidates should
apply for financial support to ecostatus@PICES.int (using
the phrase "Financial Support" as the email
Subject). The city of Vladivostok is served
by airlines operating from China, Japan, and Korea.
Travel from North America to Vladivostok via Japan
requires taking domestic transportation from your port
of arrival in Japan to either Niigata or Toyama, and
then Vladivostok Air to Russia. Travel from North America
to Vladivostok via Korea can be done entirely on Korean
Air via Seoul, on Tuesdays and Saturdays only. Information about airport<>hotel
transportation will be posted on this site at a later
date. Hotels in Vladivostok have variable
prices and facilities for international guests. A block
of 20 rooms has been reserved by TINRO-Center for foreign
travelers at the Hyundai
Hotel (US$150/night, breakfast included, confirmatio
number (confirmation # 800613). Other less expensive
hotels include the Versailles
Hotel and the Vladivostok
Hotel. To make reservations and/or for other
hotel information, contact the Local
Organizing Committee. Foreigners require a visa to enter
Russia. In addition to a fully completed Registration
Form, bona fide foreign participants to
the workshop must provide a fax copy of the photograph/data
page of their passport to Okhotsk Sea Workshop Local
Organizing Committee (fax: +7-4232 300 752). Deadline
is April 14, 2003. Please ensure that the mailing
address is complete as the letter of invitation will
be mailed to that address. Participants should keep in mind that
only hotels, airlines, some big stores and restaurants
accept credit cards (Visa and MasterCard are most widely
used). For all other purposes, e.g. souvenir shopping
and daily expenses, US dollars (cash) is the best choice
(the current exchange rate is about 31 Roubles for
1 USD). There are banking machines around the city
(though not very many of them) if someone needs cash. The average temperature in Vladivostok
in June is 13.8ºC. Prevailing temperatures are about
16ºC during the day and 11ºC at night although these
can vary from 4.4 to 30ºC. |