An Integrated Mathematical Model of the Large Marine Ecosystem of the Barents Sea and the White Sea as a Tool for Assessing Natural Risks and Efficient Use of Biological Resources

Doklady Earth Sciences - An integrated mathematical model of the Barents Sea and White Sea Large Marine Ecosystem proposed as a tool for assessing natural risks and efficient use of the biological...     

Spatial Distribution and Seasonal Dynamics of the Chlorophyll <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> Concentration in the Sea of Azov Based on MERIS Images

The chlorophyll a concentration (Cchl a) in the Sea of Azov is estimated by the two-band NIR-red algorithm [34] from MERIS images for 2002–2012. The sea-truth spectrophotometric measurements and MERIS remote estimates of Cchl a are compared. The monthly average Cchl a values are mapped from MERIS data for its lifetime for the first time. The features of the spatiotemporal distribution of Cchl a are ascertained. Differences between the seasonal dynamics of Cchl a in the Sea of Azov according to the literature data and the dynamics derived from MERIS data are found, namely: the summer–autumn phytoplankton growth period is longer than the spring period and is characterized by higher Cchl a values throughout the water area.     

Comparative analysis of water-use scenarios for lower don water management system

The major attention is paid to the methods and details of the development of complex water use scenarios. Comprehensive estimates of the state, formation, and use of water resources in Rostov province and Lower Don basin, taking into account socioeconomic trends, are given. Socioeconomic criteria are used to develop scenarios of water and land use and the procedure of their comparative analysis, taking into account environmental risks. The results of estimation of two most contrast scenarios are given.     

A New State in the Hydrological Regime of the Sea of Azov in the 21th Century

Doklady Earth Sciences - The dynamics of the state of the Sea of Azov during the 20th and early 21st centuries is described. The basic factors that form the hydrological regime of the sea are...     

Many-year variations of the average salinity of the Sea of Azov

A brief review of studies of the hydrological regime of the Sea of Azov and approaches to assessing the average salinity—a key indicator of the state of its ecosystem is given. A database of salinity measurements at 47409 oceanographic stations over hundred years (from 1913 to 2014) were used to evaluate the sea-averaged mean annual salinity. The obtained values of the average salinity were found to differ from those published before because of the different approaches used to its calculation and different volumes of data involved. The difference was most significant for Taganrog Bay because of the high variability of its hydrological regime. Anomalies of the average salinity over period 1922–2014 were constructed, and the start of one more period of salinity increase in the Sea of Azov was recognized.     

Long-term variability of the water transparency (Secchi Depth) in the Sea of Azov

The spatial, seasonal, and interannual variability of the water’s transparency (Secchi depth) in the Sea of Azov is studied using the database of long term transparency measurements for the 1922–2009 period and relevant materials on the meteorological, hydrological, and hydrobiological parameters of the environment. We identified four main types of seasonal variability of the water’s transparency depending on the local conditions. The mean values of the Secchi depth are calculated for the different periods, which are distinguished by the differences in the relative role of the water transparency factors associated both with the climatic variations and the human activities.