Sochi Club

Hydrology

The temperature of the Black Sea's upper layer has a marked yearly periodicity. In winter, water temperature ranges from 31° F (-0.5° C) in the northwest to about 48° to 50° F (9° to 10° C) in the southeast. The winter cooling forms an upper mixed layer extending to depths of about 160 to 330 feet, with temperatures at the lower boundary of about 44° to 46° F (6.5° to 8° C). In summer the surface layer is warmed to between 73° and 79° F (23° and 26° C). At depths of about 160 to 240 feet, a cold layer remains at 45° F (7° C), and lower depths do not change from their winter levels.

The salinity of the surface waters in the open sea averages between 17 and 18 parts per thousand, which is approximately half that of the oceans. A marked increase in salinity, up to 21 parts per thousand, occurs at depths of 160 to 500 feet, below which the salinity increase is much more gradual. The sea's deepest parts (below 1,300 feet) are distinguished by highly stable temperatures between 47° and 48° F (8.5° and 9° C) and salinities of 28 to 30 parts per thousand. Salinity increases to 38 parts per thousand at the Bosporus, where waters from the Sea of Marmara intrude. The chemical composition of Black Sea water is almost the same as that of the oceans.

A most important feature of the Black Sea is that oxygen is dissolved (and a rich sea life is made possible) only in the upper water levels. Below a depth of about 230 to 330 feet at the centre and 330 to 500 feet near the edge, there is no oxygen; in those reaches the sea is contaminated by hydrogen sulfide, which results in a saturated, gloomy, “dead” zone frequented only by adapted bacteria.

Currents in the Black Sea are wind-generated, with the main current running counterclockwise, its branches forming gyres (eddies) and sometimes large closed rotations. The current is relatively slow on the surface in the open sea, but near shore it reaches 16 to 20 inches (40 to 60 centimetres) per second; its speed is a mere inch or so per second in the depths. Flows in the Bosporus are complex, with surface Black Sea water going out and deep, saltier water coming in from the Sea of Marmara. Surface winds are an important complicating factor, especially in the shallow sill, or threshold, between the two basins. This situation also holds for flows to and from the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. Water exchange through the Bosporus is relatively slow, and a complete recycling of Black Sea waters takes about 2,500 years.

The overall water balance of the sea results from a combination of the factors of precipitation, inflow from the continental mass and the Sea of Azov, surface evaporation, and exit through the Bosporus. The annual water level, therefore, varies slightly according to factors influencing any one or more of these components. Tides are virtually nonexistent, their range being exceeded by the foot or so variation induced by seiches (the changes in water level resulting from rapid movements of atmospheric pressure).

Vertical intermixing of water, except at or near the wind-whipped surface, is limited because of the compact, and hence stratified, nature of the sea. It has been estimated that hundreds of years are required to bring water in a cycle from depth to surface, although there is some limited bottom turbulence caused by the warmth of the Earth's crust and by chemical reactions in the seabed.