Skip to main content
Log in

Evolution of mixed layers in a stratified region of the Black Sea anticyclonic eddy

  • Published:
Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A detailed analysis of hydrology, hydrodynamics, and microstructure of an anticyclonic eddy is performed. We use the field data obtained in May 2004 at the shelf edge in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. We study the spatial distributions of the Brunt-Väisäl number, and regions of mixing with a vertical scale on the order of 2 m. Possible mechanisms of generation and maintenance of the observed mixed layers are analyzed. A conclusion is made that the investigated eddy in the northwestern part of the Black Sea (possibly similar to the other natural eddies in the northwestern part of the Black Sea) is able to modify the fine layered structure of the scalar hydrophysical fields in the upper 150-m layer forming and maintaining the layers of low vertical gradients with vertical scales of ∼2 m and up to 50–100 km in the horizontal direction owing to the local shear instability of the horizontal flow.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. M. C. Gregg, “Scaling turbulent dissipation in the thermocline,” J. Geophys. Res. 94(C7), 9686–9698 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. A. S. Samodurov, A. A. Lyubitskii, and N. A. Panteleev, “Contribution of disturbing internal waves to the structure formation, energy dissipation, and vertical diffusion in the ocean,” Morsk. Gidrofiz. Zh., No 3, 14–27 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  3. A. S. Samodurov and L. I. Ivanov, “Mixing and energy dissipation rate in Mediterranean seas: An intercomparison of existing models,” in Oceanography of the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea: Similarities and Differences in Two Interconnected Basins, Ed. by A. Yilmaz (Tubitak, Ankara, 2003), pp. 369–375.

    Google Scholar 

  4. A. E. Gargett and G. Holloway, “Dissipation and diffusion by internal wave breaking,” J. Mar. Res. 42(1), 15–27 (1984).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. A. E. Gargett, “Vertical eddy diffusivity in the ocean interior,” J. Mar. Res. 42, 359–393 (1984).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. A. S. Samodurov and L. V. Globina, “Energy dissipation and vertical exchange in stratified basins due to shear instability in the field of quasi-inertial internal waves,” Morsk. Gidrofiz. Zh., No. 6, 16–27 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  7. A. S. Samodurov and L. V. Globina, “Dependence of the rate of turbulent energy dissipation and vertical exchange on stratification on the basis of generalized experimental data (comparison with existing models),” Morsk. Gidrofiz. Zh., No. 6, 17–34 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  8. V. A. Ivanov, A. S. Samodurov, A. M. Chukharev, and A. V. Nosova, “Intensification of the vertical turbulent exchange in areas of interface between the shelf and continental slope in the Black Sea,” Dopovidi Nats. Akad. Nauk Ukr., No. 6, 108–112 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  9. A. S. Samodurov and A. M. Chukharev, “Experimental estimation of the vertical turbulent exchange coefficient in the stratified layer of the Black Sea near a depth decline,” Morsk. Gidrofiz. Zh., No. 6, 14–24 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. E. Pogrebnoi.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © A.E. Pogrebnoi, A.S. Samodurov, 2014, published in Izvestiya AN. Fizika Atmosfery i Okeana, 2014, Vol. 50, No. 6, pp. 704–713.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pogrebnoi, A.E., Samodurov, A.S. Evolution of mixed layers in a stratified region of the Black Sea anticyclonic eddy. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 50, 621–629 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433814060127

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433814060127

Keywords

Navigation