ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2017, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 237-245

Variability of the temperature field and temperature fronts in the northwest Black Sea inferred from satellite data

Yu.V. Artamonov 1 , R.V. Kolmak 1 , E.A. Skripaleva 1 , A.V. Fedirko 1 
1 Marine Hydrophysical institute RAS, Sevastopol, Russia
Accepted: 03.04.2017
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2017-14-3-237-245
The features of variability of sea surface temperature (SST) and temperature fronts in the northwest part of the Black Sea are investigated using the modern high spatial-temporal resolution SST satellite data. Separate branches of the Northwest frontal zone – the Coastal, Central and Southern ones – are revealed. Basic regularities of a climatic intraannual cycle of the fronts’ characteristics are defined. It is shown that the fronts are most clearly expressed in a winter season when the level of SST synoptic variability is minimal. In late spring, when the level of SST synoptic variability increases sharply, the fronts’ intensity weakens greatly. In summer, the frontal system almost completely vanishes. The tendency of time delay of the fronts’ intensity maximum in the southern direction is revealed to be 1-2 months. The Coastal branch is most intensive from November till January, the Central – in January and the Southern – in February–March. Qualitative relation between the fronts’ position and the bottom topography is analyzed. It is shown that each branch of the Northwest frontal zone is characterized by depths range over which it is located during the year. For the Coastal branch it is 10–20 m, for the Central – 20–40 m and for the Southern – 45–80 m.
Keywords: Black Sea, northwest shelf, satellite data, sea surface temperature, hydrological front, temperature gradient, seasonal variability, synoptic variability, bottom relief
Full text

References:

  1. Artamonov Yu.V., Belokopytov V.N., Skripaleva E.A., Osobennosti izmenchivosti gidrologicheskikh i bioopticheskikh kharakteristik na poverkhnosti Chernogo morya po dannym sputnikovykh i kontaktnykh izmerenii (The features of variability of hydrological and biooptical characteristics on the Black Sea surface according to satellite and contact measurements), In: Ustoichivost' i evolyutsiya okeanologicheskikh kharakteristik ekosistemy Chernogo moray (Stability and evolution of oceanologic characteristics of Black Sea ecosystem), Sevastopol': EKOSI-Gidrofizika, 2012, pp. 88–115.
  2. Artamonov Yu.V., Skripaleva E.A., Mezhgodovaya izmenchivost' temperaturnykh frontov na poverkhnosti Chernogo morya po sputnikovym dannym (Interannual variability of surface temperature fronts in Black Sea by satellite data), Sistemy kontrolya okruzhayushchei sredy, Sevastopol': EKOSI-Gidrofizika, 2008, pp. 212–215.
  3. Artamonov Yu.V., Skripaleva E.A., Babii M.V., Sezonnaya izmenchivost' temperaturnykh frontov na poverkhnosti Chernogo morya po sputnikovym dannym (Seasonal variability of surface temperature fronts in Black Sea by satellite data), Sistemy kontrolya okruzhayushchei sredy, Sevastopol': EKOSI-Gidrofizika, 2005, pp. 234–236.
  4. Babii M.V., Bukatov A.E., Stanichnyi S.V., Atlas temperatury poverkhnosti Chernogo morya po sputnikovym dannym 1986–2002 gg. (Atlas of Black Sea surface temperature by satellite data), Sevastopol': EKOSI-Gidrofizika, 2005, 265 p.
  5. Ivanov V.A., Belokopytov V.N., Okeanografiya Chernogo morya (Oceanography of Black Sea), Sevastopol': EKOSI-Gidrofizika, 2011, 209 p.
  6. Tuzhilkin V.S., Sezonnaya i mnogoletnyaya izmenchivost' termokhalinnoi struktury vod Chernogo i Kaspiiskogo morei i protsessy ee formirovaniya: dis. dokt. geogr. nauk (Seasonal and long-term variability of thermohaline waters structures of the Black and Caspian Seas and processes of its formation. Dr. geogr. sci. thesis), Moscow, 2008, 313 p.
  7. Capet A., Barth A., Beckers J.-M., Marilaure G., Interannual variability of Black Sea’s hydrodynamics and connection to atmospheric patterns, Deep-Sea Research, 2012, Part II, 77–80, pp. 128–142.
  8. Ginzburg A.I., Kostianoy A.G., Sheremet N.A., Sea surface temperature variability, In: The Black Sea Environment (Hdb. Env. Chem. Vol. 5, Part Q (2008): DOI 10.1007/698_5_090), Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 255–276.
  9. Kazmin A.S., Zatsepin A.G., Long-term variability of surface temperature in the Black Sea, and its connection with the large-scale atmospheric forcing, Journal of Marine Systems, 2007, Vol. 68, pp. 293–301.