Evaluation of the coefficients of horizontal exchange in the Black Sea according to the data of drifter experiments

We generalize the method used for the evaluation of the coefficients of horizontal diffusion of Brownian particles to the nonstationary case, as applied to the drifter experiments. The limits of applicability of the proposed procedure are determined. The coefficients of horizontal exchange are computed with an aim to compare them with the estimates obtained earlier by using the generalized Taylor theory. The mutual agreement of these estimates is demonstrated. It is shown that the difference between the values of the zonal (0.19⋅10⁴ m²/sec) and meridional (0.11⋅10⁴ m²/sec) coefficients of exchange in the Black Sea cannot be explained by the effect of increase in the longitudinal component of pulsations of the velocity as a result of its transverse shear relative to the mean current. A conclusion is made that the processes of horizontal exchange in the Black Sea are geographically anisotropic.     

Thermal structure of the crust in the Black Sea: comparative analysis of magnetic and heat flow data

This paper presents the first study of mapping of the Curie point depth (CPD) from magnetic data for the Black Sea and a comparison with a classical thermal modeling from heat flow data. The provided relationship between radially averaged power spectrum of the magnetic anomalies and the depths to the magnetic sources of the Black Sea vary from 22 to 36 km. Deepening of CPDs observed in the western and eastern Black Sea basins correspond with the thickest sediment areas, whereas the shallow CPDs are related to the Mid-Black Sea Ridge and thin sediment areas at the costal side of the Black Sea. For comparison, the temperature field was also modeled from heat flow data from the Black Sea along three approximately north–south directed profiles corresponding to known DSS soundings. The Curie isotherm along the profiles occurs at depths of 22–35 km. A comparison of the results of the two independent methods reveals only 8–10 % discrepancy. This discrepancy is equal to an accuracy of temperature determination from heat flow data.     

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.     

南海北部海盆三分量磁测结果分析

1994年,中日双方合作在南海北部开展了海洋三分量磁测实验工作,采用日本东京大学地震研究所新研制的船载三分量磁力仪（Shipboard Three Component Magnetmeter,STCM）在南海北部海盆成功获得了6条共约2 500km的三分量磁测资料。本文根据前人的研究思路实现了对实测三分量磁测资料的处理分析,改进了补偿圆滑滤波算法,首次提出了比原方法更加综合直观表示测区各种磁边界状况的磁边界走向图（Magnetic boundary strike diagram, MBSD）法,并且将处理结果与南海北部海盆已识别的磁条带及其他一些典型地质现象进行了对比分析,发现本方法所揭示出的二维及三维磁边界与南海的实际地质状况有良好的吻合关系,这表明该方法可以有效处理所采集的三分量磁测资料并对研究海底磁性构造体性质有帮助。     

Late Quaternary chronology of the southern Black Sea basin

During New Euxinian time when sea level dropped below the sill connecting the Black and Marmara seas, the Black Sea became isolated and freshwater sediments were deposited. Now it is a semieuxinic basin with the oxic/anoxic boundary at 100–150 m. The seasonal changes in sedimentation are preserved in the form of laminated sequences. The counting of varves in southeastern Black Sea cores show the chronology of the O₂/H₂S interface. The age of the Holocene sapropel along the eastern margin ranges from 4000 to 1000 yr BP in deep water and 2500—1000 yr BP in shallower water. Sapropel formation started at 3650 yr BP at a water depth of 2200 m.     

Seasonal and long-term dynamics of the chlorophyll concentration in the Black Sea according to satellite observations

The spatial and temporal variability of the chlorophyll (Chl) concentration in the surface water layer of the Black Sea in 1998–2008 has been analyzed using the data obtained by the SeaWiFS satellite sensor. In the deep-sea areas, the seasonal pattern of the Chl concentration is represented by a U-shape curve. The maximal concentrations are observed in the winter-spring and autumn periods, while the minimal, in the summertime. In the northwestern Black Sea, the maximal concentrations are registered in mostly the summer and autumn periods. Pronounced interannual variability is found for the summer concentrations of Chl observed for an 11-year period. After a cold winter, the concentration of Chl in the spring period is 3–5 times higher compared to the mild-winter years. In December–March, a negative correlation between the water temperature and the average Chl concentration is registered.     

Parameters of the sediments of the deep-water basin of the Black Sea

The methodology and the first results of the computations of the volumes, masses, and growth rates of the sedimentary body of the buried Black Sea basin are presented. Their temporal evolution reflects the regional paleogeodynamics, in particular, the reorientation of the vector of the relative movement of the Arabian and Eurasian lithospheric plates and the related intensification of their collision in the late Miocene-Pliocene.     

Heat flow and thermal evolution of the lithosphere of the Black Sea basin

In most of the studies devoted to the analysis of the thermal regime of the Black Sea basins, the high sedimentation rate is regarded to be the principal reason for the low values of the surface heat flow as compared to the deep flow. We used the basin modeling technique for a more detailed assessment of this issue with regard to the new geological and geophysical data on the age and structure of the sedimentary cover and basement of the Black Sea basins. The use of enhanced seismic data, together with a more accurate estimation of the age limits of the sedimentary sequences in the region, allowed us to refine the results of the previous studies. Based on the calculations performed for an actual cross section with actual properties of the sedimentary rocks under compaction and the basement rocks, it is shown that any version of the sedimentation and evolution of the basin compatible with the geological and geophysical data available lead to heat flow values that are significantly greater than those actually observed. Our analysis proves that the sedimentation alone, as was implied in the previous studies, cannot explain the decrease in the deep heat flow at the floor surface down to values of about 34 mW/m². It is shown that the temperature influence of the invasion of dense though heated waters of the Mediterranean Sea that occurred about 7000 years ago helps one to explain the low present-day heat flow values in the deep-water parts of the Western and Eastern basins of the Black Sea. The application of the basin modeling technique allowed us to pose a version of the thermal evolution of the lithosphere in the Western basin of the Black Sea compatible with the high heat flow at the end of the Cretaceous, with three stages of subsidence of the sea floor down to its present-day depths, and with the low heat flow values measured in the basin. According to the geophysical data, this version implies a relatively high-temperature present-day thermal regime in the basin’s lithosphere with a lithosphere thickness of about 60 km.     

Some peculiarities of the Black Sea palaeohydrology in various geological periods

Deep drilling data, palaeobiological indicators, evidence on the sea-level, and mathematical modelling have been used to reconstruct the Black Sea palaeohydrological regime during the Karangat transgression, the new Euxinic regression, and Holocene. The mechanism responsible for salting of the sea and the accompanying processes during the inter-glacial period are studied.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Seismic expression of gas and gas hydrates across the western Black Sea

This study is a synthesis of gas-related features in recent sediments across the western Black Sea basin. The investigation is based on an extensive seismic dataset, and integrates published information from previous local studies. Our data reveal widespread occurrences of seismic facies indicating free gas in sediments and gas escape in the water column. The presence of gas hydrates is inferred from bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs). The distribution of the gas facies shows (1) major gas accumulations close to the seafloor in the coastal area and along the shelfbreak, (2) ubiquitous gas migration from the deeper subsurface on the shelf and (3) gas hydrate occurrences on the lower slope (below 750 m water depth). The coastal and shelfbreak shallow gas areas correspond to the highstand and lowstand depocentres, respectively. Gas in these areas most likely results from in situ degradation of biogenic methane, probably with a contribution of deep gas in the shelfbreak accumulation. On the western shelf, vertical gas migration appears to originate from a source of Eocene age or older and, in some cases, it is clearly related to known deep oil and gas fields. Gas release at the seafloor is abundant at water depths shallower than 725 m, which corresponds to the minimum theoretical depth for methane hydrate stability, but occurs only exceptionally at water depths where hydrates can form. As such, gas entering the hydrate stability field appears to form hydrates, acting as a buffer for gas migration towards the seafloor and subsequent escape.     

Black Sea Intrapycnocline Lenses according to the Results of a Numerical Simulation of Basin Circulation

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The exact scenario of the propagation of highly saline Marmora Sea waters in the Black Sea basin is not clear. Together with river runoff, they form the...     

Characteristics of the mixing effect of small-scale internal waves in the upper layer of the Black Sea according to the data of fine-structure sounding

A method of statistical separation of fine-structure fluctuations according to their origin is applied to the analysis of the characteristics of mixing in a layer located below the summer temperature minimum in the Black Sea. The simplification of the procedure of numerical evaluation of the coefficient of vertical wave exchange enabled us to perform the comprehensive fine-structure processing of the data of regular surveys of the Black Sea with an aim to determine the spatial distribution of the field intensity of small-scale internal waves and the intensity of mixing caused by these waves in the analyzed layer. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Statistical characteristics and the variability of currents over the western Black Sea shelf

Statistical characteristics and the parameters of the temporal variability of currents are analysed using data on current measurements conducted by five moored autonomous buoy stations over Bulgaria's shelf. Estimates of the specific contribution to the variability of synoptic (60%) and mesoscale (40%) oscillations are derived. The qualitative spectrum of the currents is defined, constituted by synoptic oscillations, short-period synoptic oscillations, inertial oscillations, and internal waves. Estimates of periods and oscillation amplitudes are also derived. The kinetic energy of the currents is calculated and the specific contribution of the energy of different-scale oscillations and their interrelations are determined.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Age of the Solomon Sea Basin from magnetic lineations

Magnetic anomalies measured in the central to western half of the Solomon Sea, when considered with other magnetic data, reveal the existence of linear patterns. Magnetic lineation anomaly models of the Cenozoic, 65 to 0 Ma, suggest that an age between 34 and 28 Ma and a half-rate spreading speed of 5.8 cm/yr for the northern flank of a former spreading center best fits our present magnetic data in the Solomon Sea Basin. Heat flow and bathymetry data support this preferred model.     

Age of the Solomon Sea Basin from magnetic lineations

Magnetic anomalies measured in the central to western half of the Solomon Sea, when considered with other magnetic data, reveal the existence of linear patterns. Magnetic lineation anomaly models of the Cenozoic, 65 to 0 Ma, suggest that an age between 34 and 28 Ma and a half-rate spreading speed of 5.8 cm/yr for the northern flank of a former spreading center best fits our present magnetic data in the Solomon Sea Basin. Heat flow and bathymetry data support this preferred model.     

Velocity structure in the South Yellow Sea basin based on first-arrival tomography of wide-angle seismic data and its geological implications

The South Yellow Sea basin is filled with Mesozoic–Cenozoic continental sediments overlying pre-Palaeozoic and Mesozoic–Palaeozoic marine sediments. Conventional multi-channel seismic data cannot describe the velocity structure of the marine residual basin in detail, leading to the lack of a deeper understanding of the distribution and lithology owing to strong energy shielding on the top interface of marine sediments. In this study, we present seismic tomography data from ocean bottom seismogra...     

New data about the structure of the anomalous magnetic field in the central part of the Kuril-Kamchatka island arc

New data about the structure of the anomalous magnetic field in the central part of the Kuril-Kamchatka island arc were obtained during cruise 37 of R/V Akademik Lavrent’ev in 2005. In order to study the deep geological and tectonic structure of this seismically hazardous area, calculations of the depths of the sources of magnetic anomalies with the use of the method of space-frequency analysis of the field were carried out. Transformations of the magnetic field were executed and a part of the samples dredged were petromagnetically examined. An analysis of the data obtained suggests the mainly block-wise structure of the research area. The fracture zones that border the blocks were recognized; the width of the tectonic blocks varies from 10 to 100 km. The most typical extension of the blocks is 25–30 km. In the central part of the region, an extensive V-shaped zone of a negative anomalous field is distinguished together with conjugated intensive positive magnetic anomalies that represent the boundaries of a tentative zone of extension. At the flanks of this zone and on its central rise, areas of manifestations of volcanic activity are outlined.     

南黄海西部地区浅层气的浅部埋藏地质背景

根据南黄海西部地区6000km多的浅地层剖面解释成果,对浅层气埋藏的载气地质体和地层时代两方面进行了分析。结果表明,南黄海西部地区浅层气主要存在于埋藏三角洲相、古湖泊相、古河道相、古潮沟相地质体中,在中更新世晚期以来的两期海相地层（全新世和晚更新世）和两期陆相地层（玉木冰期、里斯冰期）中都存在浅层气的地震反射。