Dynamics of the Caspian Sea Waters over the Apsheron Sill in 2003

Purpose. The paper is aimed at studying water exchange between the Middle and South Caspian, at assessing its intensity, spatial-temporal structure and variability. Methods and Results. The study includes the numerical model of the Caspian Sea general circulation; it is of sufficiently high resolution for reproducing mesoscale structure of the currents – 2 km. Due to the model, the Caspian Sea circulation in 2003 was reconstructed and the basic characteristics of water transfer between the Middle and the South Caspian were calculated. This specific year was chosen since in all its months, the wind fields in the Middle and South Caspian water areas were in good agreement with the average climatic ones. The simulated structure of the currents over the Apsheron Sill represents the following pattern: the northward currents are most often formed over the eastern shelf slopes, and the southward ones – over the western shelf slope. The latter are usually more intense and regular. From mid-July to October, the easterly winds regularly occur over the Caspian Sea strengthening the northward currents, which, in their turn, transfer relatively salty and warm South Caspian waters to the Middle Caspian along the eastern coast. A fairly stable southward stream resulted from the density gradient between the cold Middle and the warm South Caspian, is located along the western shelf slope at the depths 100–150 m. On the whole, the water flow above the sill is directed from north to south. At that the southward flows are distributed rather evenly throughout the year, whereas the major part of the northward currents’ flow is observed from late July to December. Conclusions. Since the South Caspian waters on all the depths are warmer and more salty than those in the Middle, water exchange between the two basins in course of the whole year, contributes to increase both of temperature and salinity in the Middle Caspian, and to their decrease in the South Caspian. The current-originated salt flows in the region are sufficient to make salinity grow in the Middle Caspian upper layer by 0.5 psu within 100 days, at that the corresponding temperature increase does not exceed 0.01–0.03 °C per day. The reverse southward currents transfer relatively fresh water to the South Caspian that lowers salinity of its upper layer by 0.2 psu per month. However, such intense intrusions are noted only in March and December. The impact of these currents on the South Caspian heat balance is more uniform throughout the year and does not exceed 0.17 °C/day.