Abstract
Simulation results of the Black Sea dynamics for two periods when the annual mean circulation corresponded to the basin-scale and eddy regimes (2011 and 2016) are considered in the paper. Numerical experiments are carried out using the MHI model and considering the realistic atmospheric forcing from SKIRON. The seasonal variability of dynamic and thermohaline fields, as well as the kinetic and available potential energy, and their conversion rates are estimated. According to the model data on the seasonal mean distribution of currents velocity, it is found that in 2011 the RIM Current is detected in all seasons, and the most intense mesoscale eddies developed on its periphery over the continental slope in the warm period of the year; in 2016, separate cyclonic jets in the area of the continental slope are observed in the northern and southwestern parts of the basin during cold seasons, and mesoscale eddies are propagated in the central part of the sea throughout the year. The change in the mean current kinetic energy is determined by the circulation regime: energy maxima are revealed in the spring of 2011 and in the winter of 2016, when the mean current was the most intense. The distribution of the mean available potential energy is predominantly seasonal, the time variability is qualitatively similar for both modes and is provided by an increase in the density anomaly due to seawater heating. The eddy kinetic energy characterizing the mesoscale variability depends both on the circulation regime and on the season. In the spring 2011, the mean current and eddy kinetic energies are comparable; in 2016, the maximum eddy energy exceeded the mean current kinetic energy. In autumn and winter, for both calculations, the increase in eddy energy occurs due to the energy transfer from the wind and the mean current through the barotropic instability mechanism. In summer when wind activity weakens, in the basin-scale circulation mode, mesoscale variability is supported by commensurate contributions from barotropic and baroclinic instability; in the eddy circulation mode – mainly due to the conversion of available potential energy through baroclinic instability.
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