Was amused to see this thread resurrected... when I first saw the thread subject, I didn't remember that I had started it. I wish I had visited Okinawa on the several occasions I was invited to go there with my ex GF's father. He visits his family there every year or two and asked several times if I'd go with him.
Now I'm interested in diving cooler Japanese waters to see how some of the exotic introduced Asian algae and kelp function in their native habitats... and how many of our species have entered their waters.
Dr Bill,
Japan should be of great interest in your Kelp studies in California. Oceans rotate clockwise. Just like the gulf stream comes out of the caribbean and warms the East Coast of the USA. In Japan the Kuroshio Current or Black current flows north to Okinawa, and Japan from the Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, however the Pacific Ocean is four times bigger than the Atlantic. This is why Okinawan waters are so warm eventhough Okinawa is so far north (86F in the summer) The Pacific ocean continues to rotate clockwise and cools in Alaska and then comes down to California. I believe the kelp spawn in the water of Japan could make it to California.
This current also helps the migration of young beutiful Japanese nurse divers that come mainland Japan to Okinawa, to bath in our warm waters.
The Kuroshio (Japanese for "Black Tide") is a strong western boundary current in the western north Pacific Ocean. It begins off the east coast of Taiwan and flows northeastward past Japan, where it merges with the easterly drift of the North Pacific Current. It is analogous to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, transporting warm, tropical water northward towards the polar region. It's also sometimes known as the Black StreamÍÕhe English translation of kuroshio, and an allusion to the deep blue of its waterÍÂnd also as the Japan Current.
The path of Kuroshio south of Japan is reported every day.[1]
Its counterparts are the North Pacific Current to the north, the California Current to the east, and the North Equatorial Current to the south.
The warm waters of the Kuroshio Current sustain the coral reefs of Japan, the northernmost coral reefs in the world. The branch into the Sea of Japan is called Tsushima Current.
It boosts the fishing industry in Japan.
The Japan Current is also responsible for the mild weather experienced around Alaska's southern coast. Cited from Wikipedia
