March 3, 2026

Using Profiling Float Drift Data to Estimate Current Parameters in the Black Sea

Key Points

Average current velocities have significantly decreased in the Black Sea from 2018 to 2023, compared to the previous five years.
Maximum velocities at a depth of 200 m were evaluated across various months, revealing critical insights into ocean dynamics.
Data from ARGO profiling floats were utilized to assess the currents in both the Black Sea Rim Current and additional mesoscale features.
The research underscores the importance of quasistationary gyres and eddies that form over timescales of months in shaping the Black Sea's current field.

Abstract

On the example of the Black Sea, the study has revealed a possibility of using data on the trajectories of ARGO profiling floats to estimate current parameters. For various time periods, average monthly and maximum current velocities at a horizon of 200 m in the deep part of the Black Sea have been evaluated. A significant decrease in average current velocities in the period from 2018 to 2023 has been noted as compared to the previous five years. It has been shown that a field of currents in the active layer of the Black Sea, in addition to the Black Sea Rim Current, which is well manifested in all seasons, is a set of quasistationary gyres and mesoscale eddies that arise on timescales of up to several months.

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Cite This Study

A. M. Bulygin (Mon,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a75e05c6e9836116a285e1 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3103/s1068373925120052

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