Study of Water Exchange in the Kerch Strait Based on Historical Data and Contact Measurements in 2019

摘要

Results of the study of water exchange between the Azov and Black seas based on the data of contact measurements in 2019 are presented. Estimates of the scale of the Sea of Azov plume were obtained under conditions of a strong northeasterly wind (9-10 m/s). The results of field measurements confirmed the determining role of wind in water exchange through the Kerch Strait, which made it possible to form statistics on the flow of the Sea of Azov waters into the Black Sea based on wind reanalysis data over the past twenty years. A new method for calculating the flow of the Sea of Azov water through the Kerch Strait based on the comparison of satellite and field data is proposed and applied. The calculation of the Sea of Azov water transport is generally based on the assessment of the spatial characteristics of the Sea of Azov plume in the Black Sea and, in particular, on the determination of the dependence of its area on wind parameters. The average annual transport of the Sea of Azov water estimated using the new method practically coincides with the average value of all estimates of water exchange through the Kerch Strait, obtained using other calculation methods. We also considered the reverse case of the inflow of the Black Sea waters into the Sea of Azov after the end of the period of intense flow of the Sea of Azov waters into the Black Sea.