Modeling of Long-Term Evolution of Hydrophysical Fields of the Black Sea

The long-term evolution of the Black Sea dynamics (1980–2020) is reconstructed by numerical simulation. The model of the Black Sea circulation has 4.8 km horizontal spatial resolution and 40 levels in z-coordinates. The mixing processes in the upper layer are parameterized by Mellor-Yamada turbulent model. For the sea surface boundary conditions, atmospheric forcing functions were used, provided for the Black Sea region by the Euro mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) from the COSMO-CLM regional climate model. These data have a spatial resolution of 14 km and a daily temporal resolution. To evaluate the quality of the hydrodynamic fields derived from the simulation, they were compared with in-situ hydrological measurements and similar results from physical reanalysis of the Black Sea.     

Thermal evolution of the lithosphere of buried structures of the deep-water basin of the Black Sea

The GALO system for basin modeling is applied for numerical reconstruction of the thermal history of the lithosphere of the Western Basin and the Shatsky and Andrusov rises in the Black Sea. The modeling showed that the variant of the thermal evolution of the lithosphere of the region that was used by us for the Eastern Basin in our previous study is also applicable to the thermal evolution of the lithosphere of various tectonically different structures of the deep-water part of the Black Sea. These structures include both the Western and Eastern basins of the sea characterized by a granite-free crust formed in the course of the back-arc spreading and the Shatsky and Andrusov rises with the continental type of crust. The proposed version of the lithosphere evolution in the deep-water part of the Black Sea implies the initial stage of quasi-rift heating in the Upper Cretaceous and the three-staged thermal activation of the plate in the Cenozoic accompanied by three successive stages of crustal thinning. The latter resulted in the gradual deepening of the sea down to the present-day depth of 2.2 km.     

Seasonal variability of acoustic characteristics in the northern Black Sea continental slope area

The peculiarities of seasonal variability of the calculated sound speed and elements of its vertical stratification in the northern Black Sea continental slope are considered. Typical acoustic structures have been identified. The impact of seasonal variability of the sound speed upon the ray characteristics of acoustic fields is studied. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Black spots produced by buried macroalgae in intertidal sandy sediments of the Wadden Sea: Effects on the meiobenthos

The effects of buried decaying macroalgae on meiobenthos were examined in intertidal sandy sediments of the Wadden Sea of Lower Saxony. In situ experiments confirmed that one of the principal causes of the formation of reduced surface sediments or ‘black spots’ on the tidal flats is the increasing occurrence and subsequent decomposition of filamentous green algae (Enteromorpha spp.) buried in the sediment. Five to fifteen days after algal material had been buried, the sediment surface turned black. The impact of these black spots on meiobenthos was dramatic: the changed chemical conditions in the sediment resulted in long and drastic reductions in meiofaunal abundance and number of taxa. A multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis of data on meiobenthic abundances revealed that samples from black-spot areas were clearly separated from those of control and reference areas. Re-oxidized black spots showed recolonization by meiofaunal animals, with numbers of individuals and taxa similar to those of oxidized surface sediments. The use of abundances of members of higher meiobenthic taxa to monitor changes in the sediment's chemistry, especially those caused by biomass overload, is discussed.     

安达曼海东部凹陷渐新世以来断裂–构造演化特征及其成因探讨

本文研究内容为印度洋东北部边缘海安达曼海的构造演化。利用安达曼海域东部大范围二维地震数据资料及钻井数据,结合区域地质概况以及前人研究成果,选取8条具有代表性的断层并将其划分为一级和二级断裂,运用生长指数法和古落差法对断层进行定量分析,再通过计算安达曼海东部凹陷4条主测线的构造沉降量,探讨构造演化过程。结果表明：选取的生长断层中3条属于一级断裂,跨度大,几乎切穿整个地层,属于控制安达曼海域地区沉降的大断裂;另外5条属于二级断裂,控制构造带的展布情况,属于构造带的分界线。渐新世时期,印度–澳大利亚板块与欧亚板块之间处于软碰撞阶段,断层发育缓慢,上下盘落差较小,生长指数与构造沉降量也处于低值;中新世时期,板块之间的耦合效应不断增强,断层发育速度加快,此时上下盘厚度最大,是形成多处断裂带以及多种断裂样式的关键时期,各地层生长指数和构造沉降量也达到峰值。上新世至今,安达曼海沟–弧–盆体系逐渐稳定,断层活动减弱,断裂上下盘厚度差基本一致,生长指数差异较小,构造沉降量基本稳定在 1 km 左右。     

Mechanism of horizontal mass- and salt-exchange between the waters of continental slope and central part of the Black Sea

Estimation of horizontal salt transfer from the central part of the Black Sea to the continental slope is carried out based on numerical modeling. A box hydrodynamic model of the Black Sea based on the POM model is used. Horizontal transport caused by seasonal variability of vertical velocity in the central part of the Black Sea and horizontal turbulent diffusion is considered. In this work we demonstrate that, in the 0- to 30-m layer on average for the year, there is an outflow of salty water under the impact of both factors. In the surface layer, the transport caused by seasonal variability contributes significantly (30%). In the 80- to 150-m layer on average over the year, the waters from the continental slope arrive into the central part of the basin; they are characterized by higher salinity due to the inflow of the Marmara Sea waters across the Bosporus Strait.     

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.     

Vertical structure of currents in the upper part of the continental slope of the Black Sea in the Region of Gelendzhik

The results of a joint analysis of the synchronous-profile ensemble of density and current velocity measured using the autonomous moored Aqualog profiler at the Gelendzhik experimental site of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in 2013–2015 are presented. The distribution of probability density of current velocity by directions reveals the presence of two well-pronounced maxima in the southeastern and northwestern sectors at all depths of measurements, which confirms the bimodal direction of the currents in the study site. We consider in detail the vertical structure of the density stratification and the current velocity corresponding to the modes determined from the maximum of the probability density distribution of the current velocity by directions. The averaged profiles of the kinetic, potential, and total energies are given. The results of isopycnic averaging over the entire ensemble of profiles indicate that possible self-similarity exists in the dependence of the vertical distribution of density and kinetic energy.     

Seafloor and buried mounds on the western slope of the Niger Delta

Seafloor mounds are potential geohazards to offshore rig emplacement and drilling operations and may contain evidence of underlying petroleum systems. Therefore, identifying and mapping them is crucial in de-risking exploration and production activities in offshore domains.A 738 km² high resolution three-dimensional seismic dataset was used to investigate the occurrence, seismic characteristics and distribution of features interpreted as seafloor and buried sediment mounds, at water-depths of 800–1600 m, on the western Niger Delta slope. Fifteen seafloor mounds and eighteen shallowly buried mounds were identified. The seafloor mounds are characterised by lower seismic amplitude anomalies than the surrounding seabed sediments, and overlie vertical zones of acoustic blanking. The buried mounds in contrast are characterised by high amplitude anomalies; they also directly overlie sub-vertical zones of acoustic blanking. Seismic evidences from the features, their distribution patterns and tectono-stratigraphic associations suggest that their formation was controlled by the juxtaposition of buried channels and structural highs and their formation caused by focused fluid flow and expulsion of entrained sediments at the seabed.Considering the acoustic and geometrical characteristics of the mounds and comparing them with mound-shaped features from around the world, we conclude that the mounds most likely comprise heterolithic seafloor extrusions of muds and sands from the Agbada Formation with gas and possibly oil in some of the pore space giving rise to the acoustic characteristics.     

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.     

Black Sea bora modeling

The development of a severe bora during the winter period near the South Coast of Crimea has been reproduced using the regional atmospheric circulation numerical model. Characteristic features of the velocity and temperature fields responsible for the formation of an intense surface current above the lee slope of a mountain range, such as internal wave breaking and air-flow blocking, have been considered. The evolution of the thermodynamic field during the severe bora development and damping, which is accompanied by a sharp decrease in the air-flow temperature, the formation of a surface jet stream, and a considerable spatial-time variability in a wide scale range, has been considered.     

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.     

Numerical Modeling of Meteorological Sea Level Oscillations in the Black Sea

Oceanology - To study the features of short-period meteorological sea level oscillations, adaptation of the numerical Princeton Ocean Model (POM) to the Black Sea conditions was performed. The...     

Modelling subsurface dynamics in the Black Sea

Dependency of major hydrophysical/chemical features of highly stratified basins on density surfaces in the vertical makes isopycnic models an attractive tool for simulating the dynamics of marginal marine environments such as the Black Sea because of the ability of these models to restrict vertical transport to some desirable degree. In the present work the seasonal variations of the subsurface dynamics of the Black Sea are investigated using an isopycnic model. Particular attention is given to the interfaces of the Cold intermediate layer and Suboxic layer and finally, the deep layer circulation in the basin is studied. It appears that although the depth range of the base of the Cold intermediate layer and the lower Soboxic layer interface do not change seasonally, their horizontal distribution is defined by the upper layer dynamics of the basin. Cyclonic surface circulation diminishes with increasing depth and the deep layer circulation is characterised by an anti-cyclonic rim current driven by density gradients created from river runoff and the influx of Mediterranean water.     

Simulation of the Evolution of Wave Fields Induced by a Moving Cyclone over the Northwest Shelf of the Black Sea

The wave fields generated by cyclonic atmospheric disturbances in the region of the northwest shelf of the Black Sea are studied by using a σ-coordinate model. The problem is solved in the hydrostatic approximation with regard for nonlinearity and turbulent viscosity. To improve the space resolution of the model, we realize the procedure of embedded grids. It is shown that the action of a cyclone results in the formation of domains of pronounced surges whose shapes and location reflect the changes in the wind situation. The vertical structure of wave currents first depends only on the location of the atmospheric disturbance over the water area but, in the course time, begins to reflect specific features of the bottom topography.__________Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 1, pp. 42–54, January–February, 2005.     

Joint Soviet-Turkish expedition in the Black Sea

The hydrological and hydrochemical structures of the upper 300 m water column of the Black Sea in autumn 1988 have been studied. Regularities in the distribution of the physico-chemical characteristics in the zone of interaction between aerobic and anaerobic waters as well as the topography of the H₂S zone boundary and its connection with a certain density gradient have been found.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Evolution of the western Barents Sea

Information from multichannel seismic reflection data complemented by seismic refraction, gravity and magnetics forms the basis for a regional structural and evolutionary model of the western Barents Sea during post-Caledonian times. The western Barents Sea contains a thick succession, locally > 10 km, of Upper Paleozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary rocks covering a basement of probably Caledonian origin. The area is divided into three regional geological provinces: (1) an east-west trending basinal province between 74°N and the coast of Norway; (2) an elevated platform area to the north towards Svalbard; and (3) the western continental margin. Several structural elements of different origin and age have been mapped within each of these provinces. The main stratigraphic sequence boundaries have been tentatively dated from available well information, correlation with the geology of adjacent areas, and correlation with the interregional unconformities caused by relative changes of sea level. The main structural elements were developed during three major post-Caledonian tectonic phases: the Svalbardian phase in Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous times, the Mid and Late Kimmerian phase in Mid Jurassic to Early Cretaceous times and Cenozoic tectonism related to the progressive northward opening of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. The sediments are predicted to be of mainly clastic origin except for a thick sequence of Middle Carboniferous — Lower Permian carbonates and evaporites. Salt diapirs have developed in several sub-basins, especially in the Nordkapp Basin where they form continuous salt walls that have pierced through > 7 km of sediments.     

Some peculiarities of the Black Sea inertial currents

By treating observations involving long-term buoy moorings, numerical characteristics of the periods, amplitudes, phases and orbits of inertial currents in some Black Sea areas have been obtained. The inertial component's contribution to the total velocity field and turbulent exchange has been determined. As a result, the maximal heights of the internal waves generated by the inertial currents have been estimated. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.