Experimental and field research: Vertical structure of the field of current velocities in the northwest part of the Black Sea based on the LADCP data for May 2004

The profiles of absolute current velocity obtained by using a lowered acoustic doppler current profiler (LADCP) are presented. In the course of the BSERP-3 expedition, the measurements were carried out in the regions of the Rim Current, anticyclonic eddy, and northwest shelf. In the core of the Rim Current, a unidirectional motion of waters is traced in layers below the main pycnocline down to depths greater than 500 m. Its characteristic velocity can be as high as 0.08 m/sec. It is shown that the direct action of the eddy is detected in the shelf region at distances larger than 20 km from the outer edge of the shelf in the zone bounded by an isobath of 100 m. The formation of multilayer vertical structures in the field of current velocities is revealed in the region of interaction of the anticyclonic eddy with irregularities of the bottom on the side of the shelf. A two-layer structure of currents with specific features in the layer of formed seasonal pycnocline is observed in the region of the shelf down to an isobath of 100 m. The profiles of the moduli of vertical shears of currents averaged over the casts ensemble are presented for the abyssal and shelf parts of the sea. It is shown that the shears induced by the geostrophic currents and wave processes in the region of the main pycnocline are comparable. Below the pycnocline, the shears are mainly determined by the wave processes. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc