Energy Characteristics of the Marmara Sea Water Circulation in 2008

Purpose. The main objectives of the study consisted in analyzing the Marmara Sea energy and in identifying the basic reasons for formation of its circulation features in 2008. Methods and Results. The numerical experiment on modeling the Marmara Sea circulation and evaluating its energy characteristics on the example of 2008 was carried out based on the eddyresolving nonlinear hydrodynamic model of Marine Hydrophysical Institute, RAS. The horizontal resolution of the model was 1.22 × 0.83 km, 18 horizons were used over vertical and the time step was 0.5 min. Temperature, salinity and water discharge through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles were preset according to the available measurement data. The applied fields of atmospheric forcing were obtained from the calculation by the regional atmospheric model MM5. The volume-integrated and year-averaged contributions of the terms in the equations of the kinetic and potential energy budgets were analyzed. The basic factors of change in the Marmara Sea kinetic energy consisted in the buoyancy force action, wind, and vertical and horizontal mixing. Having been analyzed, the volume-average summands in the equation of rate of the kinetic energy change have shown that the wind-induced energy influx was compensated mainly by vertical friction, and the buoyancy force action – by horizontal friction. On the average, in course of a year the potential energy changed mainly due to its horizontal transport conditioned by the effect of the currents located in front of the straits, vertical diffusion and the buoyancy force impact. The results of analysis of the energy transitions permitted to reveal that in the upper sea layer, the mesoscale vortices were formed directly under the wind influence and as a result of the currents’ baroclinic instability. Generation of the submesoscale vortices in the coastal regions was affected predominantly by the processes of baroclinic instability. In the region near the Bosporus, increase of the horizontal gradients in the density field and, consequently, intensification of dynamic processes are the results of inflow of the Black Sea waters with lower density. Conclusions. Study of the energy characteristics of the Marmara Sea water circulation permitted to conclude that baroclinic instability and wind are two of the basic sources of eddy formation in this basin.