ANTICYCLONIC EDDIES OVER THE NORTHWESTERN CONTINENTAL SLOPE IN THE BLACK SEA AND TRANSPORT OF CHLOROPHYLL-RICH WATERS INTO ITS ABYSSAL BASIN

Abstract

A series of infrared NOAA satellite images of the northwestern Black Sea (resolution 1 km) and corresponding maps of chlorophyll “a” (SeaWiFS data, resolution 9 km) are analyzed for the period 1 June-28 August 1998. A major objective was detection of the movement of three synoptic-scale anticyclonic eddies over the continental slope and the entrainment of photopigment-rich coastal waters by them. The study examines the effects of wind direction on the visibility of eddies in the chlorophyll field, and attempts to identify conditions favoring the transport of chlorophyll-rich shelf waters into the sea's abyssal basin.