FACTORS OF MESOSCALE VARIABILITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARTICULATE MATTER AND CHEMICAL ELEMENTS IN THE AMUR RIVER ESTUARY-SEA OF OKHOTSK WATERS

Abstract

The characteristics and composition of particulate matter and water mass were determined within the Amur River estuary-Sea of the Okhotsk system during the summers of 1992 and 1993 using a variety of techniques including weighing, ignition, grain-size analysis, X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy, atomic emission and absorption, neutron activation, data on temperature and salinity, and cluster diagrams. The extent of temporal and spatial variations of the oceanic and chemical parameters in the system was established, and the reasons for these variations are discussed.