Small-scale vortex formation on the North-Western shelf of the Black Sea

Abstract

The results of a joint analysis of satellite color-synthesized optical images of the sea surface of the North-West shelf of the Black Sea (NWSWCH) with the 2017 marine oceanographic observations are presented. Small-scale vortex fields and other regions of the World Ocean are considered. The results of theanalysis allowed us to obtain some comparative characteristics of small-scale and mesoscale vortex formations, in particular, in all the studied areas — the predominant development of small-scale vortices of cyclonic vorticity. A number of coastal vortices are orographic and thermohaline-related. The nature of the vortexes of the open shelf is not completely clear. It is assumed that one of the possible mechanisms for their generation is trapped shelf waves with deformation radii equal to or less than the radius of Rossby waves.