The Sea of Japan, with temperatures hitting a June-record 19 degrees Celsius in some areas, has brought a climate surprise to Vladivostok. Since all seas and oceans are interconnected, large-scale climate changes are shifting current systems worldwide. This planetary circulation has driven massive amounts of heat into the region, causing abnormally warm waters in Primorye. Marine research regarding this phenomenon is being conducted by scientists from the Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute (POI FEB RAS) using satellites, mathematical models, and historical data. According to their findings, this year's sudden warming is driven by a complex combination of natural factors.
Sergey Prants, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Head of the Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Laboratory of POI FEB RAS:
"Very warm water from the Pacific's Kuroshio Current penetrates through the Tsushima Strait into our Sea of Japan. Then, it branches out. Part of this water follows a complex, zigzag path toward the coast of Japan and flows back out into the Pacific Ocean."
