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Oka Lab (Ocean General Circulation Research Group)
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The lab studies the ocean currents of the North Pacific, such as the Kuroshio and Oyashio, through ship-based observations.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the unknown physical phenomena of the ocean
The Oka Lab (Ocean General Circulation Research Group) studies the "ocean general circulation," the large-scale ocean currents that circulate around the world's oceans.
The ocean general circulation transports heat, salt, nutrients, and more, and has a major influence on the Earth's climate and on marine ecosystems.
Centered on observations from research vessels, the lab investigates the actual state of ocean currents and the mechanisms that drive them.
The lab puts particular emphasis on research in the North Pacific, where the Kuroshio and Oyashio flow.
Key terms
- Ocean general circulation
- The large-scale flow of seawater around the world's oceans, including everything from near-surface currents to deep-sea flows
- Vertical mixing
- The stirring of seawater up and down. It is one of the causes of deep-ocean water rising toward the surface
- Mooring
- An observation instrument anchored to the seafloor by a rope. It keeps measuring currents at the same location over a long period
NewsLab news
Assistant Professor Yanagimoto receives the Franco-Japanese Oceanography Society Award
A paper by Associate Professor Yamaguchi and colleagues is published in Communications Earth & Environment
A paper by Assistant Professor Yanagimoto and colleagues is published in Journal of Oceanography
Assistant Professor Yanagimoto receives the Hidaka Award for Papers from the Oceanographic Society of Japan
Assistant Professor Yanagimoto receives the "Hidaka Award for Papers" (Oceanographic Society of Japan)
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to clarify the actual state and dynamics of ocean circulation, and the role that ocean circulation plays in the formation and distribution of water masses. Its research is centered on ship-based observations, particularly in the North Pacific.
*Illustrative imageVariability of the Upper Ocean in the Pacific
Variations in surface ocean currents and in the structure of temperature and salinity strongly affect climate and fishery resources. The lab investigates how these variations behave by analyzing data from global automated observation networks and from its own observations.
*Illustrative imageDeep Ocean Currents and Vertical Mixing
In the North Pacific, the end point of the deep circulation, the lab investigates how intermediate and deep waters upwell, and how the vertical mixing that causes this upwelling behaves. It combines long-term current measurements using moorings, turbulence observations, the development of new observation methods such as underwater gliders, research vessel observations, and model calculations.
*Illustrative imageLong-Term Variability of the Ocean, Climate, and Ecosystems
It has gradually become clear that the 18.6-year cycle of tidal change alters vertical mixing, which in turn causes long-term variability in the ocean, climate, and ecosystems through changes in the Oyashio and Kuroshio. The lab conducts observations in the Sea of Okhotsk and in the Oyashio and Kuroshio.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Oka Lab (Ocean General Circulation Research Group) consist of faculty members, administrative assistants, and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorEitarou OkaPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorRyohei Yamaguchi
- Assistant ProfessorDaigo Yanagimoto
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images.
- Top image: “Spring Bloom Colors the Pacific Near Hokkaido” Norman Kuring / Public domain (cropped)
- Variability of the Upper Ocean in the Pacific: “Western Boundary Currents - The Kuroshio Current” NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Deep Ocean Currents and Vertical Mixing: “July 2009, Carefully deploying the CTD and rosette water sampler at night ( )” USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency / Public domain (cropped)
- Long-Term Variability of the Ocean, Climate, and Ecosystems: “Swirling Sea Ice in the Sea of Okhotsk (MODIS)” MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Hasumi Lab): “Perpetual Ocean - Gulf Stream ( )” NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Oka Lab (Division of Climate System Research)): “Deciphering the Maud Rise Polynya in normal color” NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen. / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Watanabe Lab): “Blue Marble Western Hemisphere” NASA / Reto Stöckli / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Iga Lab (Dynamic Marine Meteorology Group, DMMG)): “Sea of Japan polar low Z” VIIRS image captured by NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite / Public domain (cropped)
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