Analysis of Seasonal Energy Characteristics of the Marmara Sea Upper Layer Dynamics

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of the work is to assess the role of the basic forces in formation of the dynamic structures of the upper layer in the Marmara Sea in different hydrological seasons. Methods and Results. The numerical model developed in Marine Hydrophysical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, was used to calculate the hydrodynamic and energy characteristics of the sea circulation. The horizontal spatial resolution was 1.22 × 0.83 km, 18 horizons were used vertically, and the time step was 0.5 min. The characteristics of the waters inflowing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits corresponded to the available observational data. On the sea surface, the daily average fields of tangential wind stress, heat fluxes, precipitation and evaporation for 2008 were preset; these parameters were calculated using the regional atmospheric model MM5. Spatial distributions of the vortex structures and the corresponding energy flows in the upper sea layer for different seasons were considered. Having been analyzed, the average seasonal spatial distributions of the current velocity fields and the components of the kinetic energy budget showed that during the year, the vortices in the upper sea layer were formed mainly by two mechanisms. In the central part of the sea, generation of a large-scale anticyclone and its seasonal variability are basically conditioned by the wind forcing, whereas formation and evolution of coastal cyclonic eddies are caused by the buoyancy force. In the fields where the buoyancy, pressure and friction forcing takes place, the zones of local extremes are distinguished. Two of them are the areas of water inflow through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. The strongest variability is observed in the Bosporus region that is certainly conditioned by the fact that the inflowing Black Sea waters have a decisive influence on seasonal nature of the Marmara Sea circulation. The extreme values in the other zones are the result of the coastline structure heterogeneities, that leads to formation of the coastal eddies, the energy source for which is the available potential energy. Conclusions. Analysis of the results of the performed numerical experiment makes it possible to conclude that in the upper layer of the Marmara Sea, formation and variability of the central anticyclone are conditioned by the wind forcing, while those of the coastal cyclones – by the buoyancy effect.