Description: The distribution of diatoms, radiolarians, planktonic and benthic foraminifers, and sediment components in the fraction 〉0.125 mm was analyzed in the core obtained from the central Sea of Okhotsk within the frameworks of the Russian-German KOMEX project. The core section characterizes the period 190–350 ka, which corresponds to marine-isotopic stages (MIS) 7 to 10. During glacial MIS 10 and MIS 8, the basin accumulated terrigenous material lacking microfossils or containing them in low abundance, which reflects, along with their composition, heavy sea-ice conditions, suppressed bioproductivity, and bottom environments aggressive toward calcium carbonate. Interglacial MIS 9 was characterized by elevated bioproductivity with accumulation of diatomaceous ooze during the climatic optimum (328 to 320 ka). The water exchange with the Pacific was maximal from 328 to 324 ka ago. Environments became moderate and close to the present-day ones at the end of the optimum exhibiting the possible existence of a dichothermal layer with substantial amounts of the surface Pacific water still flowing into the basin. Similar to interglacial MIS 5e and MIS 1, the “old” Pacific water determined near-bottom environments in the central Sea of Okhotsk during that period, although the influx of terrigenous material was higher, probably reflecting a more humid climate of the region. Slight warming marked the terminal MIS 8 (approximately 260 ka ago). The paleoceanographic situation during interglacial MIS 7 was highly variable: from warm-water to almost glacial. The main climatic optimum of MIS 7 occurred within 220–210 ka, when the subsurface stratification increased and the dichothermal layer developed. Bottom environments during the studied time interval, except for the optimum of interglacial MIS 9, resembled those characteristic of glacial periods: the actively formed “young” Okhotsk water displaced the “old” Pacific deep water.

Description: Benthic foraminifera were studied in 117 sediment samples from a 1112-cm-long core obtained from the Kamchatka continental slope (52°02.514′ N, 153°05.949′ E) at a sea depth of 684 m. The section covers the last 180 ky, from marine isotopic stage (MIS) 6 to the present time. The substantial quantitative and taxonomic changes in the assemblages of benthic foraminifera reflect the climatic and paleoceanographic variations. The insignificant contents of foraminiferal tests in the sediments that accumulated during glaciations (MIS 6, MIS 5(d-a)-MIS 2) suggest a minimal organic flux to the sea bottom. During deglaciation and in the Holocene (MIS 1) and, particularly, in the interglacial optimum (MIS 5e), the organic flux to the bottom significantly increased. Sestonophagous species prevailed in the foraminiferal assemblages of glacial periods, when the production of the young Sea of Okhotsk Intermediate Water (SOIW) increased. The assemblages of warm periods (MIS 1 and 5e) are mainly composed of detritophagous species. Now, conditions favorable for these species exist in the bottom areas influenced by the old Pacific waters. During the warm interglacial optimum (MIS 5e), when the SOIW production decreased, its thickness became reduced and the boundary with the Pacific water mass substantially rose (probably by 200-400 m). During MIS 1, the decrease in the SOIW production and the rise of its lower boundary were less significant.