Statistical description of the Black Sea near-surface circulation using drifters in 1999–2003

The near-surface circulation in the Black Sea is studied with the data of 54 satellite-tracked drifters in the period 1999–2003. The drifter trajectories confirm the prevalence of the Rim Current trapped on the continental slope (between water depths of 400 and 1800 m) along the periphery of the basin where sub-inertial speeds can reach 1 m/s. Some drifters were found to complete an entire basin loop with the Rim Current in 90–180 days. Meanders and loops in the tracks prove the existence of mostly anticyclonic circulation features inshore of the Rim Current, including strong signatures of the Batumi and Sevastopol eddies. They also reveal the presence of cyclonic and anticyclonic currents in most areas of the Black Sea. Pseudo-Eulerian statistics (averaged in 50-km bins), that is, mean currents and the corresponding velocity variances, show a strong and highly fluctuating signature of the Rim Current and the enhanced variability associated with the Batumi and Sevastopol eddies. The latter is also collocated with the branching of the Rim Current southwest of the Crimean Peninsula. It is shown that the kinetic energy is mainly in the mean for the Rim Current and in the velocity fluctuations elsewhere. Seasonal variability is also explored. The Rim Current tends to form a stronger single loop trapped on the continental slope in winter/spring, whereas in summer/fall the mean circulation is more meandering, recirculation cells appear in the central areas and the bifurcation southwest of Crimea is enhanced. There is some evidence of the reversal of sense of rotation of the currents in the Batumi Eddy region, changing from mainly anticyclonic in summer/fall to cyclonic in winter/spring. Mean residence times were calculated in the 50-km bins, with values ranging from a few days in the central basin to 8 days in the northwestern coastal area. Globally, the kinetic energy levels were found higher in winter–spring and lower in summer–fall, with a significant maximum in March. Single-particle Lagrangian statistics were computed for the entire basin, for the two extended seasons, and in selected local areas. Velocity variance, diffusivity and Lagrangian integral time scales are generally larger in the zonal direction. Globally, the velocity variance is 174 and 127 cm²/s² in the zonal and meridional directions, respectively, after the removal of the pseudo-Eulerian mean circulation. For the zonal direction, a diffusivity value of 4.5×10⁷ cm²/s and Lagrangian integral time and space scales of 3 days and 34 km were found. For the meridional direction, these statistics amount to 4.5×10⁷ cm²/s, 1.2 days and 12.2 km. Seasonal and geographical variations of these Lagrangian statistics were also assessed, showing variations between 1.9 (0.9) 10⁷ and 8.3 (2.0) 10⁷ cm²/s for the diffusivity in the zonal (meridional) direction. Integral time and space scales vary between 1 and 4.7 days, and 8.8 and 58 km, respectively. Seasonal differences are significant only in the zonal direction, where the diffusivity increases from 3.1×10⁷ to 5.9×10⁷ cm²/s and the integral scales vary from 2.1 days (24 km) to 3.8 days (44 km) from summer/fall to winter/spring.     

Satellite monitoring of oil slicks on the Black Sea surface

This paper summarizes the results of perennial combined satellite monitoring of the Black Sea conducted in order to detect sea-surface oil and oil-product pollution, as well as biogenic and anthropogenic surfactant films. A joint analysis of data obtained by various remote sensing techniques has been performed. The large amount of data has resulted in generalizations and reliable statistics on the spatial and temporal variability of different film manifestations in radar images of the sea surface. Regions most severely polluted by petroleum products have been identified. A hypothesis is suggested linking the surface manifestations of certain types of polluting films with natural gas and oil seeps and mud volcanism in the Black Sea. Improvements in the reliability of interpreting satellite data are discussed.     

Climatic investigations of the Black Sea using hydrological observations

Results of numerical experiments on the hydrodynamic diagnosis and adaptation of the Black Sea climatic hydrological fields are briefly summarized. The principal features of the water dynamics for each season are discussed. The intra-annual variability of the Black Sea rim current is indicated, along with the existence of an array of anticyclonic eddies at its periphery and anticyclonic vorticity below the halocline in the central basin where a flow, opposite in direction to the surface flow, is generated at large depths.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Experience of remote monitoring in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in the optical spectrum band

The methodology of regional remote monitoring of the ocean on the basis of complex largescale studies carried out by the Marine Hydrophysical Institute of the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in 1987–1988 is considered. The collection of controlled parameters, ground facilities, methods of collecting and processing of satellite and subsatellite data, and features in the compilation of composition maps of the sea surface radiation temperature are discussed.Translated by Mikahil M. Trufanov.     

Spatial and temporal variability and monitoring of hydrophysical fields of the Black Sea

As part of the Russian-Ukrainian program “The Black Sea as a Simulation Model of the Ocean,” the monitoring of the marine environment is considered using modern measuring systems. On the basis of historical and contemporary observation data, we estimate the spatial and temporal scales of dominant processes in the Black Sea. We describe the main measuring systems used to monitor the structure and variability of the hydrophysical fields. Examples characterizing the specific features of the Black Sea processes are presented.     

Climatic satellite monitoring of the external heat balance of the oceans and Black Sea

The long-wave outgoing radiation, effective cloudiness equal to the product of the total cloud amount by their optical density, and the sea-surface temperature determined from the satellites are used to determine the annual course of the components of external heat balance on the sea surface whose climatic anomalies, parallel with the meridional heat and water transfer in the ocean-atmosphere system, specify the intraannual and interannual large-scale variations of weather in different regions of the Earth. The development of these studies is connected with the progress of satellite hydrophysics because the data obtained from the space become sufficiently exact, regular, and global. The increase in the existing data array on the external heat balance of the oceans from ∼15–20 to 100 yr and more would promote the solution of the problem of oscillations of Earth's climate. We present examples of coordinated numerical analysis of the heat balance of the upper (0–100 m ) layer of the Black Sea performed on the basis of the shipborne and satellite data. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 59–75, November–December, 2007.     

Surface current structure of the Tsushima Warm Current region in the Japan Sea derived by satellite-tracked surface drifters

We examined the surface current structure in the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) region of the Japan Sea based on a dataset from satellite-tracked surface drifters, including our new deployments during 2004–2008. The gridded mean current velocity and mean kinetic energy (KE) fields calculated from all available drifter data revealed the structure and seasonality of the three branches of the TWC. By comparing the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) field to the KE field, we found four regions where the ratio of EKE to KE was high. In particular, this ratio became extremely high east of the Oki Islands located between the first branch of the TWC (FBTWC) and the second branch of the TWC (SBTWC). Our analysis suggests that the generation of alternate warm and cold eddies east of the Oki Island induced this high ratio. The occurrence of a warm or cold eddy was related to the route—either nearshore or offshore—of the SBTWC. When the offshore route of the SBTWC became dominant, a warm eddy was frequently generated east of the Oki Islands. In contrast, when the nearshore route of the SBTWC became dominant, a cold eddy was more likely to be generated.     

Analysis of the surface circulation in the Black Sea performed by using drifting buoys with satellite communications

We present the results of drift experiments with 14LOBAN-TM buoys carried out for the first time in the Black Sea in 1987–1997. We analyze the specific features of application of buoys in summer and winter. We present the main results of investigation of the Main Black Sea Current by drift methods and joint processing of drift contact and remote infrared observations. We demonstrate the possibility of enhancement of the quality of observations due to the application of SVPB drifters of new generation equipped with underwater sails and meters of atmospheric pressure in the near-surface atmospheric layer. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Variations of the Black Sea level

The annual course of sea level at various sections of the coastline is derived from the interpretation of empirical observations. The paper evaluates the effect of continental discharge, atmospheric pressure, and density distribution upon the local sea level vacillations, and the tendency to multi-annual sea level variability is determined. During this century, against the background of broad spectral oscillations, the Black Sea mean level is rising at the rate of 1.6 mm year⁻¹. The paper examines Man's impact upon the erosion of the shore and the departure of the coastline. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Use of a problem-oriented database for statistical analysis of the hydrochemical characteristics of the redox layer of the Black Sea

A problem-oriented database (PODB) was developed for the statistical analysis of the hydrochemical characteristics of the redox layer of the Black Sea. The paper describes the features of the PODB, including the algorithm of interpolation and the location of the levels of the appearance and disappearance of hydrochemical parameters (the so-called onset levels) based on Akima’s spline. The application of the PODB allowed us to obtain a series of biogeochemical estimates, in particular, (1) to reveal the constancy of the vertical gradients of the hydrochemical parameters at selected density levels; (2) to calculate the seasonal variability of the degree of manifestation of the phosphate minimum in the near-shore and open sea areas; and (3) to calculate the interannual variability of the level of the disappearance of the hydrogen sulfide, ammonium, total manganese, and methane, as well as the oxygen content in the cold intermediate layer, and to find out their relations with the climatic variations.     

Lagrangian flow patterns north of Cape Hatteras using near-surface drifters

Lagrangian flow patterns in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras are examined using the tracks of 42 drifters drogued at 10 m depth and initially deployed over Georges Bank. The drifters predominantly move southwestward over the continental shelf and slope. North of Cape Hatteras, the drifters become entrained in the Gulf Stream and are carried eastward into the central Atlantic Ocean. There are two types of entrainment, abrupt and gradual. The first is characterized by a rapid change in drifter speed and an abrupt shift in drifter direction to the east. During such entrainment events, the radius of curvature of the drifter track is less than 30 km. The second type of entrainment is characterized by a gradual change in drifter direction with little change in speed. The radius of curvature of drifter tracks during such entrainment events is large (typically 50 km). The latter type occurs more frequently in summer and fall, when stratification is stronger. The drifter tracks further reveal that entrainment from the shelfbreak front/slope water system into the Gulf Stream may occur a significant distance north of Cape Hatteras, occasionally as far north as 38 °N, 200 km north of Cape Hatteras. Only two drifter tracks extend along the shelf past Diamond Shoals into the South Atlantic Bight. Four drifters are ejected from the Gulf Stream and recirculate over the slope. The observed time scale of recirculation ranges over 1–3 months. These results suggest that there are a variety of processes that determine the maximum southward penetration of Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf water before entrainment into the Gulf Stream as well as the cross-slope speed of entrainment.     

Seasonal characteristics of the near-surface circulation in the northern South China Sea obtained from satellite-tracked drifters

The surface circulation of northern South China Sea (hereafter SCS) for the period 1987–2005 was studied using the data of more than 500 satellite-tracked drifters and wind data from QuikSCAT. The mean flow directions in the northern SCS except the Luzon Strait (hereafter LS) during the periods October~March was southwestward, and April~September northeastward. A strong northwestward intrusion of the Kuroshio through the LS appears during the October~March period of northeasterly wind, but the intrusion became weak between April and September. When the strong intrusion occurred, the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the LS was 388 cm²/s² which was almost 2 times higher than that during the weak-intrusion season. The volume transport of the Kuroshio in the east of the Philippines shows an inverse relationship to that of the LS. There is a six-month phase shift between the two seasonal phenomena. The volume transport in the east of the Philippines shows its peak sis-month earlier faster than that of the LS. The strong Kuroshio intrusion is found to be also related to the seasonal variation of the wind stress curl generated by the northeasterly wind. The negative wind stress curl in the northern part of LS induces an anticyclonic flow, while the positive wind stress curl in the southern part of LS induces a cyclonic flow. The northwestward Kuroshio intrusion in the northern part of LS happened with larger negative wind stress curl, while the westward intrusion along 20.5°N in the center of the LS occurred with weaker negative wind stress curl.     

Vertical transport in the Black Sea

Investigations of the vertical exchange coefficientK _z , considering turbulent and advective transport, are summarized. The values ofK _z are determined from the climaticT, S characteristics, heat and salinity fluxes, and the rate of the low-Bosporus water transformation over the entire Black Sea water column; namely, in the upper mixed layer, the active layer, the cold intermediate layer, the halocline, and in the deep and near-bottom waters. A characteristic for annual fluctuations ofK _z in the active layer is given; it is noted that the coefficient tends to grow in transit from the centre of the cyclonic gyre toward its periphery.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Seasonal anomalies of water salinity in the Gelendzhik region of the Black Sea according to shipborne monitoring data

The paper presents results of analyzing the data on the variability of salinity in the upper layer of the coastal zone (including the seasonal thermocline) of the Black Sea during the 2010–2013 warm seasons (April–November). The data for the analysis were obtained from the regularly conducted CTD probing the by R/V Ashamba on a cross section abeam the Golubaya Bay (Gelendzhik). The relationship between salinity anomalies, coastal precipitation, and wind forcing is analyzed. It is shown that the contribution of thermal stratification to the density stratification in the seasonal thermocline is almost always greater than the contribution of salinity stratification, and the ratio of the former to the latter increases from April to November.     

Currents in the Taiwan Strait as observed by surface drifters

The trajectories of 110 satellite-tracked surface drifters from 1989 to 2007 were analyzed to elucidate near-surface circulation in the Taiwan Strait. Although the summer circulation observed generally agrees with previous studies, several aspects of the winter circulation were revealed by the analyses. Unlike many earlier studies, which have suggested that a northward (southward) current prevails in the eastern (western) part of the Taiwan Strait during the northeast monsoon season, this study shows that almost all winter drifters that entered the Taiwan Strait eventually moved southward. Inside the Taiwan Strait, northward moving tracks can only be found in the Penghu Channel. After passing the Penghu Channel, the drifters were blocked by the northeast monsoon wind and the Yun-Chang Rise, and turned southward. None of the drifters flowed persistently northward through the Taiwan Strait in winter. In the southern Taiwan Strait, three typical patterns of circulation were observed for the winter trajectories—the “throughflow” pattern that enters the South China Sea flowing westward along the slope; the loop current pattern that circulates anticyclonically and returns to the Kuroshio; and the blocked intrusion pattern that penetrates into the Taiwan Strait through the Penghu Channel.     

Modelling of the Black Sea seasonal variability

The paper discusses the results of numerical experiments on response of the Black Sea to the ‘real’ (mean monthly) atmospheric forcing. A new version of the multi-layer quasi-isopycnic model is applied which does not use the rigid-lid approximation and allows for a salt flux through the sea surface. Ways of obtaining quantitative agreement between the calculated data due only to the external forcing, without invokingin situ temperature/salinity observations are suggested. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Spatial patterns of biodiversity in the Black Sea: An assessment using benthic polychaetes

The current study broadens the biodiversity information available for the Black Sea and neighbouring regions and improves our knowledge about the polychaete biogeographic patterns to be discerned in them. There appears to be a well-defined zoogeocline from the Marmara Sea and Bosphorus Strait to the inner parts of the region (Azov Sea), depicted both as a multivariate pattern and in terms of species (or taxa) numbers. The emergent multivariate pattern complies, to a certain extent, with Jakubova’s (1935) views: three main sectors can be defined in the basin: (a) Prebosphoric, (b) the Black Sea and, (c) the Azov Sea, whereas the Bosphorus Strait and Marmara Sea show less faunal affinities with the afore-mentioned sectors. Patterns derived both from the cosmopolitan and Atlanto-Mediterranean species closely follow the one coming from the polychaete species and genera inventories. As a general trend, species numbers decrease along with the decrease in salinity towards the inner parts of the region. The trend is homologous to that seen in the benthic invertebrate inventories of all the major European semi-enclosed regional seas. Salinity and food availability appear to be the dominant abiotic factors correlated, though weakly, with the various patterns deriving from the taxonomic/zoogeographic categories. With the exception of the Anatolia, polychaete inventories from all sectors appear to be random samples of the total inventory of the region, in terms of taxonomic distinctness values. Therefore, these sectoral inventories can be used for future biodiversity/environmental impact assessment studies. A massive invasion of Mediterranean species after the opening of the Black Sea, in the lower Quaternary period, appears to be the likely biogeographic mechanism through which the old Sarmatic fauna was almost completely replaced by species of marine origin.     

Acoustic monitoring using bamboo set net in the Southern Sea of Korea

High-temporal resolution profiles of acoustic backscatter were collected from a traditional bamboo set net along the coast of the Southern Sea, Korea, using sideward-looking multi-beam imaging sonar. These data were used to examine the impact of variations in tidal cycles and current speeds on the bamboo set net. The relatively high influx of fish during the nighttime compared to the low influx and high outflux of fish during the daytime suggests visual avoidance of the net by the fish during the daytime. The observed diel variation in the captured fish flux was significantly correlated with the current speed (day: r = 0.35, p = 0.002, night: r = 0.60, p < 0.001). The ratio of influx and outflux of fish, and current speed were correlated in a linear relationship (day: r = 0.45, p < 0.001; night: r = 0.56, p < 0.001). The fish activity of those inhabiting the bamboo set nets appears to be greatly influenced by day-night differences and current speed. The present study enhances understanding of fish behavior via utilization of a bamboo set net in the coastal zone.