ON THE ROLE OF MESOSCALE VORTICES IN THE OIL SPILL TRANSPORT IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN BALTIC SEA (SATELLITE INFORMATION)

In this paper, on the basis of an analysis of the successive satellite optical images (MODISAqua, TIRS Landsat-8, AVHRR NOAA-18) and radar images (SAR-C Sentinel-1A, SAR-C Radarsat-2) on June 8–11, 2015, the effect of the mesoscale vortex movement (anticyclone with diameter of 35 km and associated cyclone) on the transport of oil spots in the northern part of the Gdansk Bay was demonstrated for the first time. The velocities of this transport are estimated; the observed picture of the movement of the spots is compared with their transfer according to the Seatrack Web model. The largest (about 20 cm/s) drift velocity corresponded to the spot that appeared near the periphery of the anticyclonic vortex (the region of maximum velocities), the smallest one was at the spot near the center of the vortex. At a wind speed of not more than 5 m/s on June 10 and an assumed orbital velocity of the anticyclone of the order of 20 cm/s, the contribution of the vortex motion to the total transport of the spots under the influence of wind and vortex should be decisive. The observed drift of the spots did not correspond to the forecast of their movement by the Seatrack Web numerical model, which did not take into account the vortex dynamics of the waters.