Satellite altimetry observations of the Black Sea level

Abstract

IntroductionRecent years have seen the broad application of remote sensing from space to oceanography. Altimetric missions that are designed for observations of surface geostrophic currents through the determination of dynamical topography of the sea surface (dynamical sea level) are of special importance. However, a wide variety of corrections needs to be applied to the raw altimeter measurements before retrieving the dynamical sea level. These corrections have a precision of a few centimeters, permitting the determination of dynamical sea level and surface geostrophic currents in the open ocean with reasonable accuracy. However, the geoid height, which must be subtracted from the altimeter sea surface, is only known to an accuracy of 10 cm at scales >1000 kin. At shorter scales this uncertainty is even worse. Therefore either temporal variability of geostrophic currents or their large-scale component is usually considered.There

Development of Black Sea nowcasting and forecasting system

“…Sea level anomalies provided by AVISO service were converted into the sea level height (SSH) according to the algorithm described by Korotaev (Korotaev et al, 2001). It is then assimilated into the model using the optimal interpolation approach and permits to correct the simulated fields by observations.…”

Geostrophic currents and kinetic energies in the Black Sea estimated from merged drifter and satellite altimetry data

“…The organised winter circulation gradually disintegrates into a series of interconnecting eddies in summer and fall, when the RC exhibits more pronounced and complex mesoscale activity (Korotaev et al, 2003). The mesoscale variations are strongest in the RC and in large quasi-permanent nearshore sub-basin-scale anticyclonic eddies (Stanev et al, 2000), such as the Batumi Eddy (BE) and the Sevastopol Eddy (SE), and off the Crimean Peninsula (Korotaev et al, 2001). Mesoscale eddies induce the process of exchange between shelf and open sea waters (Shapiro et al, 2010).…”

“…The BS surface circulation has a strong seasonal variability, with intensification of the cyclonic alongslope Rim Current (RC) in winter and attenuation in summer and fall (Stanev et al, 2000;Korotaev et al, 2001;Poulain et al, 2005). The organised winter circulation gradually disintegrates into a series of interconnecting eddies in summer and fall, when the RC exhibits more pronounced and complex mesoscale activity (Korotaev et al, 2003).…”

“…Oguz et al, 1992), cyclonic gyres in the basin interior (Korotaev et al, 2001) and quasi-stationary or recurrent anticyclonic eddies along the coast (Korotaev et al, 2003). The interaction among these different and multi-scaled features contribute to the mixing of coastal water with the open sea and results in a high spatiotemporal variability of the current field.…”

“…The most exhaustive descriptions of the interannual, seasonal and mesoscale variability in the BS were obtained with satellite altimetry products (Stanev et al, 2000;Korotaev et al, 2001Korotaev et al, , 2003 and Lagrangian observations (Poulain et al, 2005). The BS surface circulation has a strong seasonal variability, with intensification of the cyclonic alongslope Rim Current (RC) in winter and attenuation in summer and fall (Stanev et al, 2000;Korotaev et al, 2001;Poulain et al, 2005).…”