Modern studies of water dynamics in the north-western part of Black sea from LADCP measurements

Abstract

In this work a result of preliminary analysis of current measurements collected in fourteen large-scale expeditions of the Marine Hydrophysical Institute in 2016–2019 in the north-eastern part of the Black Sea is presented. It is shown that the use of the Lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (LADCP) significantly increases the information content of the expedition materials, opening up new opportunities in the experimental study of water dynamics. Based on the materials of the expeditions, it was found that the upper layer of shear baroclinic currents in the measurement area is limited by the isopycnic depth with a potential density of ~16.75 kg/m3 (~350 m). At this depth, the variability of the buoyancy frequency with the depth changes from a power-law to an exponential dependence. The same depth limits the penetration of seasonal variations of the average kinetic energy into the water column. The highest values of the average kinetic energy are observed in April-May and November–December, the lowest—in June–August. The ratio of the maximum energy values (summer) to its minimum values (spring, late autumn, winter) was ~3. The Rim Black Sea Current is most pronounced near the Crimean Peninsula in the spring and winter seasons. In summer and autumn, the horizontal distribution of the current velocity in depths of 30–80 m is less structured, which is caused by the seasonal intensification of mesoscale processes. At a number of stations, the current velocity profiles contain fragments with a well-defined harmonic variability of the current velocity components with depth, which can be interpreted as the manifestation of near-inertial internal waves. In most cases, the rotation of the current velocity vector with depth occurs clockwise, which determines the main direction of propagation of the inertial internal waves into the water column. The example of one of the stations shows the significant contribution of such waves to the value of shear. This fact suggests a significant influence of near-inertial internal waves on the processes of vertical turbulent exchange in the water column.