Reconstruction of the three-dimensional salinity and temperature fields of the Black Sea on the basis of satellite altimetry measurements

Abstract

The methodology of joint processing of the satellite altimetry and occasional hydrological observations in the Black Sea for 1993–2012 is developed. The original technique for reconstruction of the 3D temperature and salinity fields in the deep-sea part is proposed and implemented. This technique makes it possible to identify the depths at which a contribution of adiabatic processes to the deformation of the temperature and salinity profiles of the sea is predominant. Daily-averaged 3D fields of the seawater temperature and salinity in a baroclinic layer on a regular grid are reconstructed. The evaluation of accuracy of the reconstructed temperature and salinity arrays is performed by comparing them with the data of hydrological exploration. Structures of the temperature and salinity fields are correlated naturally with topography of the altimetric level and clearly indicate the synoptic variability. Seasonal and interannual variabilities of the kinetic energy (averaged over horizons of the 63–400 m layer) of the geostrophic currents calculated using the dynamic method makes it possible to reveal a sharp increase in the kinetic energy of the currents in the winter season of 2002. A high correlation is found between the interannual variability of the ERA-Interim wind stress curl averaged over the surface of the deep sea part and the kinetic energy of the geostrophic currents in the 63–400 m layer.