Investigation of the spatio-temporal variability of the Black Sea upper mixed layer thickness based on the results of numerical calculations

Seasonal variability is a powerful component of the spatio-temporal dynamics of plankton communities, especially in the regions with oxygen-depleted waters. The Arabian Sea and the Black Sea are typical representatives of these regions. In both, the dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid & Swezy, 1921, is one of the abundant plankton species which forms algal blooms. Sampling on coastal stations in the upper mixed layer by the plankton nets with the 120-140 &#181;m mesh size was carried out in 2004-2010. Monthly data were averaged over years. A comparison of seasonal patterns of Noctiluca abundance pointed to the persistence of a bimodal seasonal cycle in both regions. The major peak was observed during spring in the Black Sea and during the winter (Northeast) monsoon in the Arabian Sea. The timing of the second (minor) peak was different over regions as well. This peak was modulated by advection of seasonally fluctuating velocity of coastal currents which transport waters enriched by nutrients by coastal upwelling. The abundance of Noctiluca of the major peak (with the concentration around 1.5*106 cells m-3) was from one to two orders as much high in the western Arabian Sea compared to the northern Black Sea. The remotely sensed chlorophyll-a concentration during the time of the major seasonal peak exhibited a fivefold difference over these regions. In terms of nutrientconcentration in the upper mixed layer (in particular, nitrates and silicates), a difference of about one order of magnitude was observed.

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Interannual Variability of the Wind-Wave Regime Parameters in the Black Sea

Physical Oceanography ◽

10.22449/1573-160x-2020-5-445-459 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (5) ◽

Author(s):

P. N. Lishaev ◽

V. V. Knysh ◽

G. K. Korotaev ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Black Sea ◽

Mixed Layer ◽

Mixed Layer Depth ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Temperature Fields ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Layer Depth ◽

Upper Mixed Layer

Purpose. The investigation is aimed at increasing accuracy of the temperature field reconstruction in the Black Sea upper layer. For this purpose, satellite observations of the sea surface temperature and the three-dimensional fields of temperature (in the 50–500 m layer) and salinity (in the 2.5–500 m layer) pseudo-measurements, previously calculated by the altimetry and the Argo floats data, were jointly assimilated in the Marine Hydrophysical Institute model. Methods and Results. Assimilation of the sea surface temperature satellite observations is the most effective instrument in case the discrepancies between the sea surface and the model temperatures are extrapolated over the upper mixed layer depth up to its lower boundary. Having been analyzed, the temperature profiles resulted from the forecast calculation for 2012 and from the Argo float measurements made it possible to obtain a simple criterion (bound to the model grid) for determining the upper mixed layer depth, namely the horizon on which the temperature gradient was less or equal to ≤ 0.017 °C/m. Within the upper mixed layer depth, the nudging procedure of satellite temperature measurements with the selected relaxation factor and the measurement errors taken into account was used in the heat transfer equation. The temperature and salinity pseudo-measurements were assimilated in the model by the previously proposed adaptive statistics method. To test the results of the sea surface temperature assimilation, the Black Sea hydrophysical fields were reanalyzed for 2012. The winter-spring period (January – April, December) is characterized by the high upper mixed layer depths, well reproducible by the Pacanowski – Philander parameterization, and also by the low values (as compared to the measured ones) of the basin-averaged monthly mean square deviations of the simulated temperature fields. The increased mean square deviations in July – September are explained by absence of the upper mixed layer in the temperature profiles measured by the Argo floats that is not reproduced by the Pacanowski – Philander parameterization. Conclusions. The algorithm for assimilating the sea surface temperature together with the profiles of the temperature and salinity pseudo-measurements reconstructed from the altimetry data was realized. Application of the upper mixed layer depths estimated by the temperature vertical profiles made it possible to correct effectively the model temperature by the satellite-derived sea surface temperature, especially for a winter-spring period. It permitted to reconstruct the temperature fields in the sea upper layer for 2012 with acceptable accuracy.

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Light Absorption by Phytoplankton in the Upper Mixed Layer of the Black Sea: Seasonality and Parametrization

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2017.00090 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Tanya Churilova ◽

Vyacheslav Suslin ◽

Olga Krivenko ◽

Tatiana Efimova ◽

Nataliia Moiseeva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Sea ◽

Mixed Layer ◽

Light Absorption ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Upper Mixed Layer

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Simulation modelling of wind-induced sea level fluctuations at the ports of the Odesa Region in the North-Western part of the Black Sea

Ukrainian hydrometeorological journal ◽

10.31481/uhmj.23.2019.10 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 109-120

Author(s):

Yu. S. Tuchkovenko

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Black Sea ◽

Hydrodynamic Model ◽

Temporal Variability ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Sea Level Fluctuations ◽

The North ◽

Allowable Error ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

North Western

The paper is devoted to discussion of the prospects of simplified 2D hydrodynamic model use aimed at forecasting the wind-induced sea level fluctuations within the area of sea ports (Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhnyi) of the Odesa Region in the North-Western part of the Black Sea. Spatio-temporal variability of wind conditions at the sea-atmosphere division is specified based on the data of the global numerical weather prediction model of the Global Forecast System (GFS). The research includes the description of the mathematical structure of the hydrodynamic model and the results of its adaptation to the conditions of the simulated sea area. It presents the results of model verification in the version which implies adoption of wind data from the archives of GFS-analysis and GFS-forecasts for 2010, 2016 and 2017. The verification was performed by comparing wind-induced denivellations of the sea level at the ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhnyi calculated over the course of modelling and those established on the basis of observational data (with the discreteness of 6 hours). A quantitative assessment of the calculation accuracy was performed for the cases where, according to the observational data, level denivellations exceeded the value of the standard deviation for the entire series. New series of the observed and calculated model-based significant wind-induced denivellations of sea level were formed for each of the ports from the sets of samples that met this condition. Using these series estimates of the mean square error of the calculations, allowable error of calculations, correlation coefficient between the actual and calculated values of the level denivellations, the probability of the calculation method under the allowable error were obtained. It was established that in the case of use of the data from wind GFS-analysis (with spatial resolution of 0.5° both latitudinally and longitudinally) over the course of modelling the probability of calculation of significant sea level denivellation constitutes 84-85%, and in case of using the data from the GFS-archive of wind forecasts (with spatial resolution of 0.25°) – 88-91%. This allowed making a conclusion that the model has good prospects of use for operational forecast of the sea level fluctuations caused by storm wind in the version implying assimilation of the predicted information on the spatio-temporal variability of wind conditions obtained by means of the GFS global weather forecast model.

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Reconstructing the Black Sea Hydrophysical Fields Including Assimilation of the Sea Surface Temperature, and the Temperature and Salinity Pseudo-Measurements in the Model

Morskoy gidrofizicheskiy zhurnal ◽

10.22449/0233-7584-2020-5-485-500 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

Author(s):

P. N. Lishaev ◽

V. V. Knysh ◽

G. K. Korotaev ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Black Sea ◽

Mixed Layer ◽

Mixed Layer Depth ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Temperature Fields ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Layer Depth ◽

Upper Mixed Layer

Purpose. The investigation is aimed at increasing accuracy of the temperature field reconstruction in the Black Sea upper layer. For this purpose, satellite observations of the sea surface temperature and the three-dimensional fields of temperature (in the 50–500 m layer) and salinity (in the 2.5–500 m layer) pseudo-measurements, previously calculated by the altimetry and the Argo floats data, were jointly assimilated in the Marine Hydrophysical Institute model. Methods and Results. Assimilation of the sea surface temperature satellite observations is the most effective instrument in case the discrepancies between the sea surface and the model temperatures are extrapolated over the upper mixed layer depth up to its lower boundary. Having been analyzed, the temperature profiles resulted from the forecast calculation for 2012 and from the Argo float measurements made it possible to obtain a simple criterion (bound to the model grid) for determining the upper mixed layer depth, namely the horizon on which the temperature gradient was less or equal to 0.017°C/m. Within the upper mixed layer depth, the nudging procedure of satellite temperature measurements with the selected relaxation factor and the measurement errors taken into account was used in the heat transfer equation. The temperature and salinity pseudo-measurements were assimilated in the model by the previously proposed adaptive statistics method. To test the results of the sea surface temperature assimilation, the Black Sea hydrophysical fields were reanalyzed for 2012. The winterspring period (January – April, December) is characterized by the high upper mixed layer depths, well reproducible by the Pacanowsci – Philander parameterization, and also by the low values (as compared to the measured ones) of the basin-averaged monthly mean square deviations of the simulated temperature fields. The increased mean square deviations in July – September are explained by absence of the upper mixed layer in the temperature profiles measured by the Argo floats that is not reproduced by the Pacanowsci – Philander parameterization. Conclusions. The algorithm for assimilating the sea surface temperature together with the profiles of the temperature and salinity pseudo-measurements reconstructed from the altimetry data was realized. Application of the upper mixed layer depths estimated by the temperature vertical profiles made it possible to correct effectively the model temperature by the satellite-derived sea surface temperature, especially for a winter-spring period. It permitted to reconstruct the temperature fields in the sea upper layer for 2012 with acceptable accuracy.

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Independent components of spatial-temporal structure of chlorophyll a patterns in the upper layer of the north-western shelf of the Black Sea

One Ecosystem ◽

10.3897/oneeco.6.e73269 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Natalya Kyrylenko ◽

Vladyslav Evstigneev

Keyword(s):

Black Sea ◽

Temporal Variability ◽

Temporal Structure ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Phytoplankton Succession ◽

Independent Components ◽

The North ◽

Component Decomposition ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

North Western

In the present study, the results of independent component decomposition of satellite-derived chlorophyll a (Chla) patterns for the north-western part of the Black Sea are presented. The study has been carried out on the basis of the DINEOF-reconstructed dataset of 8-day average log-transformed Chla (alChla) patterns for 1997-2016. The alChla patterns were decomposed into six independent components of its spatio-temporal variability in the north-western shelf of the Black Sea. The independent components reflect the spatial distribution of alChla anomalies which are likely to be formed under the influence of sea circulation factors driven by wind. The paper presents the results of the analysis of the intra-annual variability of independent components. The interpretation of the patterns of intra-annual independent components variability is given, taking into account the seasonal variability of the wind factor, the flow of the Danube, the Dnieper and Southern Bug rivers and the fact of modulation of independent components dynamics by seasonal phytoplankton succession.

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Seasonal and Vertical Variability of Currents Energy in the Sub-Mesoscale Range on the Black Sea Shelf and in its Central Part

Morskoy gidrofizicheskiy zhurnal ◽

10.22449/0233-7584-2021-1-41-56 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

Author(s):

O. S. Puzina ◽

A. A. Kubryakov ◽

A. I. Mizyuk ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Sea ◽

Mixed Layer ◽

Seasonal Variability ◽

Baroclinic Instability ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Spectral Energy ◽

Upper Mixed Layer ◽

Mesoscale Currents ◽

Vertical Variability

Purpose. The study is aimed at investigating seasonal variability and vertical distribution of the submesoscale currents energy (scales L = 1 ... 10 km, T = 1 ... 10 days) in the deep and shelf zones of the Black Sea. Methods and Results. The study is based on the spectral analysis of the results obtained from the NEMO model numerical calculations performed with high spatial resolution 1 km. The analysis shows that in the areas under investigation, seasonal variability of the sub-mesoscale currents energy is significantly different. At that, in both regions, seasonal variation of energy of the sub-mesoscale currents whose scale is less than 10 km (Esp) is in good agreement with that of the density fluctuations on the same scales. In the central part of the sea, the high values of (Esp) are concentrated in the upper mixed layer throughout the whole year. The (Esp) peak is observed in winter at the depths 0–40 m, which indicates the important role of baroclinic instability (induced by the inhomogeneous distribution of the upper mixed layer during this period) in generation of sub-mesoscale processes in the Black Sea. At the same time, in February in the central part of the northwestern shelf, an absolute minimum of (Esp) is observed due to complete mixing and barotropization of the water column. The (Esp) maximum values are noted in September – October, that is related to intensification of the desalinated water cross-shelf transport from the river mouths being affected by the synoptic eddies. At the same time, in the autumn period in this region, the (Esp) high values are observed in the layer, the thickness of which is higher than that in summer (as well as in the central part of the sea). Dynamics of the (Esp) values distribution corresponds to the time variation of the upper mixed layer thickness. Variability of the sub-mesoscale currents energy is of a pulsating character with the short-term intensifications and weakenings. Such variability is significantly related to passing of the synoptic fronts and the cross-shelf water transport being influenced by the eddies and upwellings, which lead to baroclinic instability of waters. Conclusions. Seasonal and vertical variability of the spectral energy in the Black Sea deep and shelf zones testifies in favor of the decisive role of the water baroclinic instability arising due to heterogeneity of the upper mixed layer.

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Feature of formation of the Black Sea surface layer temperature during air cold intrusions

Доклады Академии наук ◽

10.31857/s0869-56524874443-447 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 487 (4) ◽

pp. 443-447

Author(s):

A. A. Sizov ◽

T. M. Bayankina

Keyword(s):

Surface Layer ◽

Black Sea ◽

Mixed Layer ◽

Sea Surface ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Intermediate Water ◽

Seasonal Thermocline ◽

Upper Mixed Layer ◽

Surface Layer Temperature

Application of the results of the drifter observations performed in the western Black Sea permitted to show that during air cold intrusions (CI) in winter accompanied by the wind (10 m/c and more), the upper mixed layer (UML) was cooled by 0,1-0,2 °C in course of a day. At that the seasonal thermocline (ST) and the cold intermediate water (CIW) sink deeper; after CI is over these layers rise to the depths smaller than their previous ones. It results in decrease of temperature in UML and its increase, as compared to the period preceding CI, in the layer below ST. The process of the sea upper layer mixing is explained by the fact that anti-cyclonic mesoscale vortices are involved in it.

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A New Solar Radiation Penetration Scheme for Use in Ocean Mixed Layer Studies: An Application to the Black Sea Using a Fine-Resolution Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM)*

Journal of Physical Oceanography ◽

10.1175/jpo2677.1 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 13-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

A. Birol Kara ◽

Alan J. Wallcraft ◽

Harley E. Hurlburt

Keyword(s):

Solar Radiation ◽

Optical Depth ◽

Black Sea ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Mixed Layer ◽

Ocean Model ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Atmospheric Forcing ◽

Model Simulations ◽

Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model

Abstract A 1/25° × 1/25° cos(lat) (longitude × latitude) (≈3.2-km resolution) eddy-resolving Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) is introduced for the Black Sea and used to examine the effects of ocean turbidity on upper-ocean circulation features including sea surface height and mixed layer depth (MLD) on annual mean climatological time scales. The model is a primitive equation model with a K-profile parameterization (KPP) mixed layer submodel. It uses a hybrid vertical coordinate that combines the advantages of isopycnal, σ, and z-level coordinates in optimally simulating coastal and open-ocean circulation features. This model approach is applied to the Black Sea for the first time. HYCOM uses a newly developed time-varying solar penetration scheme that treats attenuation as a continuous quantity. This scheme includes two bands of solar radiation penetration, one that is needed in the top 10 m of the water column and another that penetrates to greater depths depending on the turbidity. Thus, it is suitable for any ocean general circulation model that has fine vertical resolution near the surface. With this scheme, the optical depth–dependent attenuation of subsurface heating in HYCOM is given by monthly mean fields for the attenuation of photosynthetically active radiation (kPAR) during 1997–2001. These satellite-based climatological kPAR fields are derived from Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) data for the spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm (k490) and have been processed to have the smoothly varying and continuous coverage necessary for use in the Black Sea model applications. HYCOM simulations are driven by two sets of high-frequency climatological forcing, but no assimilation of ocean data is then used to demonstrate the importance of including spatial and temporal varying attenuation depths for the annual mean prediction of upper-ocean quantities in the Black Sea, which is very turbid (kPAR > 0.15 m−1, in general). Results are reported from three model simulations driven by each atmospheric forcing set using different values for the kPAR. A constant solar-attenuation optical depth of ≈17 m (clear water assumption), as opposed to using spatially and temporally varying attenuation depths, changes the surface circulation, especially in the eastern Black Sea. Unrealistic sub–mixed layer heating in the former results in weaker stratification at the base of the mixed layer and a deeper MLD than observed. As a result, the deep MLD off Sinop (at around 42.5°N, 35.5°E) weakens the surface currents regardless of the atmospheric forcing used in the model simulations. Using the SeaWiFS-based monthly turbidity climatology gives a shallower MLD with much stronger stratification at the base and much better agreement with observations. Because of the high Black Sea turbidity, the simulation with all solar radiation absorbed at the surface case gives results similar to the simulations using turbidity from SeaWiFS in the annual means, the aspect of the results investigated in this paper.

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Evaluation of the new high resolution unstructured grid Marmara Sea model

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-7194 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mehmet Ilicak ◽

Ivan Federico ◽

Ivano Barletta ◽

Nadia Pinardi ◽

Stefania Angela Ciliberti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Boundary Conditions ◽

Black Sea ◽

Mixed Layer ◽

Unstructured Grid ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Marmara Sea ◽

Lateral Boundary ◽

Lateral Boundary Conditions ◽

Forecasting System

Marmara Sea including Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits (i.e. Turkish Strait Systems, TSS) is the connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The exchange flow that occurs in the Straits is crucial to set the deep water properties in the Black Sea and the surface water conditions in the Northern Aegean Sea. We have developed a new high-resolution unstructured grid model (U-TSS) for the Marmara Sea including the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits using the System of HydrodYnamic Finite Element Modules (SHYFEM). Using an unstructured grid in the horizontal better resolves geometry of the Turkish Straits. The new model has a resolution between 500 meter in the deep to 50 meter in the shallow areas, and 93 geopotential coordinate levels in the vertical. We conducted a 4 year hindcast simulation between 2016 and 2019 using lateral boundary conditions from CMEMS (https://marine.copernicus.eu/) analysis, in particular Black Sea Forecasting System (BS-FS) for the northern boundary and Mediterranean Sea Forecasting System (MS-FS) for the southern boundary. Atmospheric boundary conditions fare from the ECMWF dataset.Mean averaged surface circulation shows that there is a cyclonic gyre in the middle of the basin due to Bosphorus jet flowing to the south and turning to west after reaching the southern Marmara coast. The U-TSS model has been validated against the seasonal in situ observations obtained from four different cruises between 2017 and 2018. The maximum bias occurs at around halocline depth between 20 to 30 meters. &#160;We also found that root mean square error field is higher in the mixed layer interface. We conclude that capturing shallow mixed layer depth is very in the Marmara Sea due to the interplay of air-sea fluxes and mixing parametrizations uncertainties. Maximum salinity bias and rms in the new U-TSS model are around 3 psu which is a significant improvement with respect to previous studies. This new model will be used as an operational forecasting system and will provide lateral boundary conditions for the BS-FS and MS-FS models in the future.

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