Abstract
Abstract. A simulation of the Turkish Straits System (TSS) using a high-resolution, three-dimensional, unstructured mesh ocean circulation model with realistic atmospheric forcing for the 2008–2013 period is presented. The depth of the pycnocline between the upper and lower layers remains stationary after 6 years of integration, indicating that despite the limitations of the modelling system, the simulation maintains its realism. The solutions capture important responses to high-frequency atmospheric events such as the reversal of the upper layer flow in the Bosphorus due to southerly severe storms, i.e. blocking events, to the extent that such storms are present in the forcing dataset. The annual average circulations show two distinct patterns in the Sea of Marmara. When the wind stress maximum is localised in the central basin, the Bosphorus jet flows to the south and turns west after reaching the Bozburun Peninsula. In contrast, when the wind stress maximum increases and expands in the north–south direction, the jet deviates to the west before reaching the southern coast and forms a cyclonic gyre in the central basin. In certain years, the mean kinetic energy in the northern Sea of Marmara is found to be comparable to that of the Bosphorus inflow.
Highlights
The Turkish Straits System (TSS) connects the Marmara, Black and Mediterranean seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits
Hydraulic controls have since been found by modelling at the southern contraction-sill complex and the northern sill, confirming a unique maximal exchange regime adjusted to the particular topography and stratification (Sözer and Özsoy, 2017a; Sannino et al, 2017)
We will include results demonstrating the response of the system to daily atmospheric events, we focus on the interannual changes in the TSS
Summary
The Turkish Straits System (TSS) connects the Marmara, Black and Mediterranean seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. Hydraulic controls have since been found by modelling at the southern contraction-sill complex and the northern sill, confirming a unique maximal exchange regime adjusted to the particular topography and stratification (Sözer and Özsoy, 2017a; Sannino et al, 2017) These findings support the notion that the Bosphorus is the more restrictive of the two straits in controlling the outflow from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The interannual variability of the Sea of Marmara has been examined by Demyshev et al (2012) using open boundary conditions at the strait junctions in the absence of atmospheric forcing They reproduced the S-shaped jet current traversing the basin under the isolated conditions of a net barotropic current, which with appropriate parameterisation successfully preserved the sharp interface between the upper and lower layers when the model steady state was reached after 18 years of simulation.
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