Hydrological Conditions in the Western Part of the Black Sea in November, 2015 (based on the Data Obtained in the 81st Cruise of R/V Professor Vodyanitsky)

Abstract

The results of the hydrological research carried out in November, 2015 nearby the Crimea coast and in the northwestern part of the Black Sea Western cyclonic gyre are presented. It is shown that the Rim Current is represented by its coastal branch over the continental slope and its southern branch located over the central part of the basic polygon. The south-eastern undersurface countercurrent is observed over the coastal shelf. In the southeastern part of the basic polygon the cyclonic meander was discovered. Within the whole research area the sea surface temperature exceeds the climate norm. High positive anomalies of actual temperature are observed nearby the Crimea coast in the area of maximum interannual variations and in the southern part of the research area where synoptic variability increases and the interannual one – decreases. Positive temperature anomalies in the cold intermediate layer core in November, 2015 (relative to the climate norm) are in good agreement with general tendency of sea surface temperature growth on the multi-year scale. Anomalously warm winters in the research area in the recent years have contributed to the cold intermediate layer thermal content increase. The salinity during the survey on the most of the research area was above normal. Only on the shelf, unlike the temperature, the weak negative salinity anomalies were observed. The highest positive salinity anomalies were monitored in the eastern part of the polygon.

Keywords

• the Black Sea
• thermohaline fields
• the Rim Current
• cold intermediate layer
• Western cyclonic gyre
• Chersonesos-Bosporus section
• spatial-temporal variability