Abstract
We investigated the interannual variation of the sea ice over the Sea of Okhotsk by using radar observation data and gridded ice-coverage data for the years 1969-1994. It became evident that the abrupt decrease of sea ice over the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk occurred in 1989, and that this reduced-ice condition has continued since then. In addition, the winter time Aleutian low has abruptly weakened since 1989. According to the lag-correlation analysis, this weakening has brought about the reduction in extent of the ice-coverage.
