Evolution of satellite derived mesoscale thermal patterns in the Black Sea

Abstract

Infrared image sequences covering the Black Sea are examined to investigate the evolution of mesoscale structures on the sea surface during the warm seasons of 1991-1993. Wind induced surface mixing and convective mixing are responsible for producing many features. The influence of seasonal evolution of the cold intermediate water (CIW) on the vertical and surface structures of eddies, including cold anticyclonic ones in summer, is examined. The annual variations of the short and long wave structures accompanying the meandering Rim Current are identified. The influence of river inputs to the western shelf area was traced more distinctly as evidence of the maximal outflow after the spring flood. Satellite data also helped in the interpretation of several peculiarities observed in vector distributions of the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) observations resulting from sub-mesoscale dynamic features that were insufficiently resolved by the in situ data. The ADCP velocity maxima coincide with the temperature gradient of the Rim Current and the Vector directions correspond to the satellite derived flow configuration in April 1993 implying a close correlation between both measurements. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. AU rights reserved.