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Modeling the influence of the Dardanelles outflow on the Aegean Sea dynamics
Villy H. Kourafalou, Ioannis Androulidakis, Dionisios Raitsos, Konstantinos Tsiaras, Alan J.Wallcraft and Ole Martin Smedstad
University of Miami, RSMAS
(Abstract received 04/21/2009 for session X)
ABSTRACT
The Northeastern Aegean Sea, a marginal basin with complex topography, is the part of the Mediterranean where coupling with the Black Sea effectively takes place. The relatively oligotrophic Aegean Sea receives low salinity, eutrophic and generally cooler waters of Black Sea origin through the Dardanelles Strait. The buoyant outflow overwhelms all Aegean river sources combined and substantially contributes to increased biotic production and to reduction in salinity. The low density characteristics of the outflow result on a buoyant plume that exhibits intense seasonal and episodic variability, influenced by seasonal basin stratification, atmospheric forcing and changes in outflow volume and properties. A high resolution (1/50 degree) implementation of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model has been nested within the coarser (1/25 degree), data assimilative Mediterranean HYCOM model to study the plume development and evolution. The assessment of transport pathways of the waters of Black Sea origin in the North Aegean employs simulations with high frequency forcing and satellite derived patterns of SST. Uncertainties in the outflow characteristics and topographic complexity impact the model predictions.
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2009 LOM Workshop, Miami, Florida Jume 1 - 3, 2009