Formation features of the cold intermediate layer in the shelf slope zone of the northeastern part of the Black Sea during the period 2019-2022

Abstract

The article presents the results of monitoring of the hydrologic structure development in the northeastern Black Seashelf slope zone during 2019–2022. Over the study period, the cold intermediate layer (CIL) in its classical definition (a water layer bounded by isotherms of 8°C) did not form. A number of anomalies in its dynamics were identified. Warm winters and a background trend of temperature and salinity increase in the upper layer of the Black Sea are the reasons for the observed phenomena.