Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2009. Issue.6. Vol.1. P. 349-358
Variability of sea surface temperature and level of the Black,
Marmara and Aegean Seas as derived from satellite measurements
А.И. Гинзбург
1, А.Г. Костяной
1, Н.А. Шеремет
1, С.А. Лебедев
21 Институт океанологии им. П.П. Ширшова РАН, 117997 Москва, Нахимовский проспект, 36
2 Геофизический центр РАН, 119296 Москва, ул. Молодежная, 3
Investigation of seasonal and interannual variability of sea surface temperature (1985-2006) and
level (Оctober 1992-August 2007) of the interconnected Black, Marmara and Aegean seas was carried
out on the base of satellite dataset of Pathfinder project (mean monthly values of temperature with spatial
resolution of 4 km) and altimeter data from the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 satellites, respectively. A
similar character of sea surface temperature (SST) variability in these seas during the 22 years period
under consideration was found: small variations of SST in 1985-1993, its marked increase in 1993-2001
and a tendency to decrease after 2001, at the background of sea warming in the average. Regional
differences in temperature variability in the seas considered were revealed. It was shown on the Black
Sea example that winter SST anomalies better correspond to winter indices of the East Atlantic - West
Russia pattern than to winter indices of the North Atlantic Oscillation. An increase of sea level (on the
average) in the three seas in 1992-2007 was established with the use of altimeter measurements. In the
southwestern part of the Black Sea and in the Sea of Marmara, sea level increased in 1992-1999 and
2003-2005 and dropped in 1999-2003 and 2005-2007; in the eastern region of the Central Aegean, more
slow level rise (in comparison with the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara) in 1992-1999 and drop after
2002 were observed, with small change in sea level in 1999-2002. Ranges of interannual variability of
mean sea level were 12 сm in the Black Sea, 11 сm in the Sea of Marmara, and 7 сm in the Aegean Sea.
Keywords: Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, sea surface temperature, sea level, interannual variability, atmospheric forcing
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