[1] TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS altimeter data comprising the period from May 1992 to May 1999 are assimilated into a shallow water model for providing a dynamically consistent interpretation of the sea surface height variations and estimation of the temporal and spatial characteristics of the upper layer circulation in the Black Sea. These 7-yearlong observations offer a new capability for interpretation of major transient and quasipermanent features of the upper layer circulation. The instantaneous flow fields involve a complex, eddy-dominated system with different types of structural organizations in which the eddies and the gyres of the interior cyclonic cell interact continuously among themselves and with meanders, and filaments of the Rim Current. The circulation possesses a distinct seasonal cycle whose major characteristic features repeat every year with some year-to-year variability. An organized two-gyre winter circulation system disintegrates gradually into a series of interconnecting eddies in the summer and autumn months, which are also characterized by more pronounced and complex mesoscale activity in the peripheral flow system. Our analyses suggest a revised schematic circulation picture of the major quasi-permanent and recurrent elements of the Black Sea.

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The deterioration of the environmental conditions of human life, climate change and forced (climate) migration have become part of the most crucial global challenges over the past few decades. This article is devoted to the analysis of contemporary scientific studies of the impact of weakening environmental capacity and climatic changes on ethnic conflicts and their specific features in the world regions. Present paper provides research outlook on the base of comparative studies and country cases overview that define the influence of an unfavorable environment and climate hazards on the intergroup conflicts and ethnic violence. The research overview also focuses on the relationship between the development on research area itself with the contemporary public and political agenda of ecology and climate change. The main focus of attention is directed to the chain of relationships between the environmental changes and forced (climate) migration in relation to the processes of urbanization and internal migration within agricultural regions. Such studies overview geography of the environmental risks and identify countries of East and West Africa, as well as South Asia, as the most exposed to given climate risks. The number of studies on the countries of East and West Africa give the most evident perspective on the link between forced environment-driven migration and conflict. On the one hand, destabilization of inter-ethnic relations and the emergence of inter-ethnic violence are driven by the regional processes of urbanization that form the cities with "double fragility" with undeveloped infrastructure, economic and status inequality of ethnic groups and communities and weakened by the push-pull model of forced (climate) migration. On another — studies of forced agricultural migration in rural areas show the mechanisms of ethno-cultural differences, different status positions and in-group favoritism of the regional authorities as the conditions of ethnic grievance and violence. As a result, it is hard to underestimate the importance of justice as a condition and principle for robust strategies for adaptation to environmental changes and building of inter-ethnic trust.