Spatio-temporal variability of the relative transparency of Black Sea waters

The Black Sea relative transparency database covering the period from 1922 to 1993 is described. Seasonal and interannual variabilities of the Secchi disc depthz _σ are studied, along with the meteorological, hydrophysical and biological parameters affecting it. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

The effect of observational conditions upon the accuracy of determination of water transparency, using a Secchi disc

Equations are derived for calculating the depth of the Secchi disc, and the effect of various optical properties and observational conditions upon the accuracy of measurements is estimated. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Modelling of the Sea of Azov ecosystem

The method of mathematical model self-organization is applied to handle observations of the hydrological, chemical and biological parameters of the Sea of Azov, conducted from 1926 through to 1985, in order to identify model equations of the latter's ecosystem. A set of 43 evolutionary equations have been employed to generate a picture of the ecosystem parameters' continuous variability and to identify relationships between them. Model calculations of the total catch of freshwater fishes, primary productivity, zoobenthos, phytoplankton, and other characteristics have demonstrated their being in good agreement with the observations conducted from 1950 to 1985. A prediction of the ecosystem parameters' evolution for the period from 1985 to 1995 has been made. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Long-term changes in the benthic communities of the Sea of Azov related to the sedimentation and hydrological regime

The following periods reflected in the composition and distribution of benthic communities are distinguished in the development of the Sea of Azov during the last 80 years: (1) prior to the regulation of the Don River discharge, (2) after its regulation, (3) stabilization of the Don River hydrological regime, and (4) desalination of the sea. The distribution of benthic communities in the Sea of Azov is characterized by concentric patterns, which are distorted due to the changes in the hydrological and oxygen regimes after oxygen depletion. The basic factors that influence the distribution of macrozoobenthic communities are the aeration regime of the sea and the character of the sediment accumulation. The steady distribution of benthic communities composed largely of euryhaline species adapted to the conditions of an unstable salinity in the Sea of Azov shows no correlation with the salinity fluctuations from 9 to 14‰ during the 80-year-long period.     

由现场离水辐亮度估算黄海透明度几种方法的比较

本文根据黄海现场离水辐亮度及遥感反射比,采用４种统计算法估算海水透明度（Ｓｅｃｃｈｉ　Ｄｉｓｃ　Ｄｅｐｔｈ）。前２种算法中海水透明度作为因变量,两不同波段辐亮度之比及两辐亮度之和与第三者之比分别作为自变量,进行一元回归分析,前者相关系数ｒ２为０．９３３５。后者相关系数ｒ２为０．９４８３。第３种算法中,所有波段的遥感反射比做因子分析形成的主因子作为自变量,透明度作为因变量进行多元回归分析,子样全相关系数ｒ２为０．９６４９。第４种算法中,遥感反射比作为自变量,透明度作为因变量进行逐步回归分析,复相关系数ｒ２为０．９８１５。计算结果表明,多元统计分析的估算精度高于一元回归分析。     

Long-term tendencies in the variability of characteristics of the Black Sea pycnocline

The rise of the waters of the main pycnocline in the central part of the western cyclonic gyre at the end of the winter in the 1960s–1970s and their deepening in the eastern cyclonic gyre from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s were revealed on the basis of archival hydrologic data obtained on the standard sections of the Black Sea in 1957–1992. It is shown that, simultaneously, the waters of the pycnocline descended in the Sevastopol anticyclone and rose in the Yalta and Batumi anticyclones. These tendencies indicate that the water circulation intensified in the region of the western cyclonic gyre (off the southwestern coast of the Crimea) and weakened in the vicinity of the eastern cyclonic gyre at the end of the winter season in the 1960s–1970s and in the 1960s–1980s, respectively. It is shown on the basis of NCEP reanalysis data and archival hydrometeorological data that all major circulation factors, such as a decrease in the cyclonic vorticity in the wind field during the winter season, changes in its spatial structure, an increase in the river discharge, and a decrease in the turbulent heat fluxes at the Black Sea surface, affect the energy redistribution between the gyres. The role of each of these factors is analyzed.     

Some statistical properties of the inter-annual variability of the relative transparency of Black Sea waters

The Secchi disk data-base compiled in the Black Sea from 1992 to 1993 has been investigated. The space-time variability of statistical properties (RMS deviations and trends) of the series of inter-annual anomalies of the relative water transparency is described. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Water masses and decadal variability in the East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Water masses in the East Sea are newly defined based upon vertical structure and analysis of CTD data collected in 1993–1999 during Circulation Research of the East Asian Marginal Seas (CREAMS). A distinct salinity minimum layer was found at 1500 m for the first time in the East Sea, which divides the East Sea Central Water (ESCW) above the minimum layer and the East Sea Deep Water (ESDW) below the minimum layer. ESCW is characterized by a tight temperature–salinity relationship in the temperature range of 0.6–0.12 °C, occupying 400–1500 m. It is also high in dissolved oxygen, which has been increasing since 1969, unlike the decrease in the ESDW and East Sea Bottom Water (ESBW). In the eastern Japan Basin a new water with high salinity in the temperature range of 1–5 °C was found in the upper layer and named the High Salinity Intermediate Water (HSIW). The origin of the East Sea Intermediate Water (ESIW), whose characteristics were found near the Korea Strait in the southwestern part of the East Sea in 1981 [Kim, K., & Chung, J. Y. (1984) On the salinity-minimum and dissolved oxygen-maximum layer in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), In T. Ichiye (Ed.), Ocean Hydrodynamics of the Japan and East China Seas (pp. 55–65). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers], is traced by its low salinity and high dissolved oxygen in the western Japan Basin. CTD data collected in winters of 1995–1999 confirmed that the HSIW and ESIW are formed locally in the Eastern and Western Japan Basin. CREAMS CTD data reveal that overall structure and characteristics of water masses in the East Sea are as complicated as those of the open oceans, where minute variations of salinity in deep waters are carefully magnified to the limit of CTD resolution. Since the 1960s water mass characteristics in the East Sea have changed, as bottom water formation has stopped or slowed down and production of the ESCW has increased recently.     

南黄海透明度的时空分异特征及影响因素分析

水体透明度（Z_sd）是评价水质状况的重要光学参数。本文针对南黄海海域,面向MODIS传感器校正了Z_sd遥感反演模型,进而利用MODIS近20年（2002–2020年）数据分析了南黄海Z_sd的时空变化特征及其驱动力,结果显示：建立的Z_sd反演模型具有良好的精度（决定系数为0.91,均方根误差为1.69 m,平均相对误差绝对值为25.1%）;南黄海Z_sd在空间上呈现外海高近岸低的特点、在时间上呈现冬低夏高的季节变化特征,近20年来南黄海中部、南黄海南部、长江口的Z_sd均在缓慢增加,而江苏近岸的Z_sd呈现出缓慢降低趋势;Z_sd受悬浮颗粒物浓度的负向驱动,其影响最大;此外,海表温度和光照强度对Z_sd都呈正向驱动,而风速呈负向驱动。     

Long-term trends in the variability of deep-water thermohaline characteristics of the Black Sea

By using the archival hydrological data for 1955–1998, we analyze the trends of deep-water thermohaline characteristics of the Black Sea and their interannual and decadal variability. It was discovered that the level of salinity increased at depths greater than 1000 m in the west part of the sea from the mid-1950-s till the early 1980s and the opposite trend was observed for the next 15–20 yr. The average rate of increase in the deep-water salinity between 1960 and 1980 and its decrease after 1980 was equal to 0.05‰ per 20 yr. These facts demonstrate that the water exchange through Bosporus was intensified for the first 25 yr of the analyzed period and weakened for the next 20 yr. The interannual variability with a typical period of 6.5 yr and a quasi-20-yr periodicity are detected against the background of the parabolic trend. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 18–30, July–August, 2006.     

Long-term bottom water warming in the north Ross Sea

We measured potential temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen profiles from the surface to the bottom at two locations in the north Ross Sea (65.2°S, 174.2°E and 67.2°S, 172.7°W) in December 2004. Comparison of our data with previous results from the same region reveals an increase in potential temperature and decreases in salinity and dissolved oxygen concentration in the bottom layer (deeper than 3000 m) over the past four decades. The changes were significantly different from the analytical precisions. Detailed investigation of the temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and σ ₃ value distributions and the bottom water flow in the north Ross Sea suggests a long-term change in water mass mixing balance. That is to say, it is speculated that the influence of cool, saline, high-oxygen bottom water (high-salinity Ross Sea Bottom Water) formed in the southwestern Ross Sea has possibly been decreased, while the influences of relatively warmer and fresher bottom water (low-salinity Ross Sea Bottom Water) and the Adélie Land Bottom Water coming from the Australia-Antarctic Basin have increased. The possible impact of global warming on ocean circulation needs much more investigation.     

Contemporary distribution of macrozoobenthic communities of the Yeisk estuary (Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov)

The contemporary distribution of macrozoobenthic communities of the Yeisk estuary is considered. Four basic types of communities are classified. Communities with domination of Tubificidae (Oligochaeta) occupy the greatest part of the estuary. Communities with domination of Amphipoda (Corophiidae) remained only in the northeast part of the reservoir. The unstable hydrological conditions and the absence of clearly expressed horohalinicum lead to mixing of Ponto-Caspian and Azov-Black Sea faunas in the Yeisk estuary.     

Mathematical modeling of the terrigenous sedimentation in the Sea of Azov

Based on balance calculations with the use of a spatially detailed mathematical model for transport and sedimentation of the particulate matter adjusted to the conditions of the Sea of Azov, particular spatiotemporal features of the terrigenous sedimentation in the second half of the 20th century are recognized. The general tendency for the deceleration of the accumulation of terrigenous sediments and for the decrease in the areas with a negative balance of the terrigenous matter is related to the 2.5-fold fall in the volumes of the matter supplied from land. During the period considered, the intensity of the sedimentation decreased from 1000 to 400 g/m²/year. The accumulation of terrigenous sediments proceeds in the regions where the sources of the matter supply are concentrated and where features of the bottom morphology and hydrodynamical activity are favorable for the sedimentation: in Taganrog and Temryuk bays. In the central part of the sea, the intensity of the sedimentation comprises a value of about 300 g/m²/year. In Taganrog Bay and in the sea proper, areas with a negative balance of terrigenous sedimentary matter increased up to 30%.     

Numerical study of the Azov Sea level seiche oscillations

Seiche oscillations of the Azov Sea level are studied on the basis of the developed two-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic model grounded on the shallow water theory and recent data on the morphometric characteristics of the Sea of Azov. Frequency and spatial characteristics of the first five modes corresponding to seiche oscillations of the Azov Sea level are computed. It is shown that the frequency and spatial characteristics of the first five modes obtained for the Sea of Azov level changes correspond to seiche oscillations. The calculated parameters are compared with the field observations, which show their realistic character.     

Comprehensive studies in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the Summer of 2012

The shelf zones of the Black Sea, Taman Bay, and the Sea of Azov are currently subjected to gross load related to the impact of invasive species, large-scale construction activities near the coast, intensive recreation activity, water pollution in large cities and ports, active navigation, unreasonable coastal arrangement, and dam construction. Another factor substantially affecting the composition of bottom sediments and, thus, the benthos environment is the terrigenous material carried by rivers in the course of catastrophic overflows. An example is the Kubansk flood in 2012, which significantly affected the sea coast near Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, and Divnomorsk. The intensive onshore dumping results in the delivery of abundant allochthonous material, bottom silting causing changes in the dominants in the benthos associations, a decrease in the photic layer and the death of the phytobenthos, and also debris formation at the bottom. Debris can play the role of artificial reefs contributory for the formation of periphytic biocoenoses.     

Temporary ice microalgae community in Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea

The temporary ice algae community in the mixing zone of brackish and fresh waters of the Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea is described. A high abundance and biomass of planktonic algae and a high chlorophyll a concentration have been registered in samples of under-ice water taken on February 2013. The mass development of the diatom Stephanodiscus hantzschii Grunow blooming on the ice in the eastern part of Taganrog Bay is described for the first time. The quantitative data on the under-ice microalgae community and the related hydrochemistry are published. The obtained results could be used in total productivity estimates in the Azov Sea.     

Investigation of the characteristics of surge phenomena in the Sea of Azov

We present the results of numerical simulation of currents and sea level for the Sea of Azov. In calculations, we use a three-dimensional nonlinear mathematical model taking into account the tangential wind stresses. We present the results of numerical analysis of the fields of currents and the amplitudes of oscillations of the sea level at the coastal stations as functions of the maximum velocity and the period of constant action of the west wind. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 1, pp. 12–25, January–February, 2008.     

Exploring thermocline and water masses variability in southern South China Sea from the World Ocean Database (WOD)

Study about water characteristics(temperature and salinity) from the World Ocean Database(WOD) was conducted in the area of southern South China Sea(SSCS), covering the area of 0°–10°N, 100°–117°E. From interannual analysis, upper layer(10 m) and deep water temperature(50 m) increased from 1951 until 2014. Monthly averaged show that May recorded the highest upper layer temperature while January recorded the lowest. It was different for the deep water which recorded the highest value in September and lowest in February. Contour plot for upper layer temperature in the study area shows presence of thermal front of cold water at southern part of Vietnam tip especially during peak northeast season(December–January). The appearances of warm water were obviously seen during generating southwest monsoon(May–June). Thermocline study revealed the deepest isothermal layer depth(ILD) during peak northeast and southwest monsoon. Temperature threshold at shallow area reach more than 0.8°C during the transitional period. Water mass study described T-S profile based on particular region. Water mass during the southwest monsoon is typically well mixed compared to other seasons while strong separation according to location is very clear. During transitional period between northeast monsoon to southwest monsoon, the increasing of water temperature can be seen at Continental Shelf Water(CSW) which tend to be higher than 29°C and vice versa condition during transitional period between southwest monsoon to northeast monsoon. Dispersion of T-S profile can be seen during southwest monsoon inside Tropical Surface Water(TSW) where the salinity and temperature become higher than during northeast monsoon.     

东海透明度特征探讨

利用 １９６１～１９９０ 年 ３０ 年间东海的水文观测资料, 以 １°×１°经纬网格为单位, 统计计算累年各月透明度的平均值和大于等于 ２０ ｍ 的大透明度出现频率值, 并绘制了各月透明度分布图和大透明度出现频率分布图, 从而揭示了该海区透明度分布和变化的基本特征。