The Black Sea Hydrophysical Fields Computation Based on Integration of the Vertical Turbulent Exchange Coefficients Determined from the In-Situ Measurements and the MHI Numerical Model

Abstract

The analysis of the results of numerical experiments on the calculation of hydrophysical fields in the north-eastern part of the Black Sea was carried out based on the Marine Hydrophysical Institute (MHI) three-dimensional ocean dynamics model. The fundamental novelty of the simulations presented is the use of vertical turbulent exchange coefficients, derived from the experimental data based on the velocity and temperature fluctuations microstructural profiles obtained from “Sigma-1.5” sounding complex field observations. The measurements were carried out in the upper stratified sea layers during expeditionary research on the R/V Professor Vodyanitsky. A comparison of some simulations with the MHI model and the hydrological data obtained using SeaBird SBE-911plus CTD complex synchronously with the microstructural measurements shows greater reliability in the temperature and salinity fields simulated using the experimentally determined coefficients compared to simulations carried out with the use of Pacanowski–Philander turbulence parameterization. The presented results show the prospects of the proposed approach with the use of experimentally determined turbulent exchange coefficients for the stratified sea layers in the model.