Mediterranean Water Spreading and Isothermal Layer in the Black Sea Based on Ship Observations

Abstract— The article discusses the results of analyzing hydrological data collected during cruise 95 of the R/V Professor Vodyanitsky in the central sector of the northern Black Sea from June 14 to July 3, 2017. CTD measurements were conducted with a SBE911Plus probe. Significant temperature anomalies were observed in the southeastern part of the study area. The isothermal layer was located at depths from 450 to 750 m. The isopycnally averaged profile of the potential temperature in this layer was indicative of the local maximum and minimum. The maximum–minimum pair was the most contrasting in the southeastern part of the study area. In the northwestern part of it, the averaged potential temperature profile almost uniformly increased in value with depth. On the isopycnic surface, in the center of the isothermal layer, the potential temperature distribution revealed a structured dependence on longitude and latitude.