The main current observed in the Black Sea is called the "main Black Sea current". It spreads along all shores along the perimeter of the sea, directed counterclock-wise and folds into two vortex flows called rings. These rings, reminiscent of giant glasses and the name of the hydrologist who first noticed and described them, gave the name to this phenomenon - “Knipovich glasses”.

The basis for the direction of movement of the Black Sea current is the acceleration obtained sea ​​water due to the rotation of the planet. Physicists call this effect the “Coriolis force.” In addition to cosmic forces, the movement of surface water on the map of the Black Sea is also influenced by the force of the wind. This explains the variability of the main Black Sea current: sometimes it is barely noticeable against the background of other, smaller currents, and sometimes its speed reaches one meter per second.

In coastal areas Black Sea anticyclonic gyres are observed - vortex flows directed opposite to the main flow. They are most noticeable off the coast of the Caucasus and Anatolia. In these areas of the Black Sea, the direction of alongshore currents is usually determined by the direction of the prevailing wind and can change several times a day.

Vacationers on the Black Sea should know about the existence of such a type of local Black Sea currents as “ draft" Most often, this current forms during a storm near sandy, gently sloping shores. Water flowing onto the shore does not return evenly, but in streams along channels spontaneously formed in the sandy bottom. Getting caught in a current is dangerous: even an experienced swimmer, despite all his efforts, can be carried into the open sea far from the shore. To get out of the tug, you need to swim to the shore not directly perpendicular, but at an angle in order to reduce the counter resistance of the receding water.

A type of draft “in action” can be seen in the Black Sea ports. From time to time, ships moored to the pier begin movement along the shore, as if controlled by a huge natural force. Sometimes this movement is so powerful that the metal mooring ends cannot withstand the pressure, and the ships have no choice but to stop loading operations and lie down in a roadstead away from the shore.

The nature of the occurrence of “port” draft differs from the draft that occurs during a storm. It is caused by special waves, invisible to the naked eye, approaching the port gates. They are called long-period - the period of oscillations created by them is much longer than the periods of oscillation of ordinary waves.

Scientists in our country and abroad are studying the nature of this phenomenon. The result of their work is scientific and practical recommendations on the correct mooring of ships during “thrusts” and advice on designing safe ports capable of extinguishing the “evil” energy of long-period waves.

Map of Black Sea currents - cold and warm currents

What is a geographic map

A geographic map is an image of the Earth's surface with a plotted coordinate grid and symbols, the proportions of which directly depend on the scale. A geography map is a landmark by which you can identify the location of an array, object, or place of residence of a person. These are indispensable assistants for geologists, tourists, pilots and military personnel, whose professions are directly related to travel and trips over long distances.

Types of cards

Conditionally divide geographic Maps There are 4 types:

• in terms of territory coverage and these are maps of continents and countries;
• by purpose and these are tourist, educational, road, navigation, scientific and reference, technical, tourist maps;
• content - thematic, general geographical, general political maps;
• by scale – small-scale, medium-scale and large-scale maps.

Each of the maps is dedicated to a particular topic, thematically reflecting islands, seas, vegetation, settlements, weather, soils, taking into account the coverage of the territory. A map can only represent countries, continents or individual states plotted on a certain scale. Taking into account how much a particular territory has been reduced, the scale of the map is 1x1000.1500, which means a decrease in distance by 20,000 times. Of course, it’s easy to guess that the larger the scale, the more detailed the map is drawn. And yet, individual parts of the earth's surface on the map are distorted, unlike a globe, which is capable of conveying the appearance of the surface without changes. The Earth is spherical and distortions occur, such as: area, angles, length of objects.

From 35 million years ago to the present time, a basin was formed. The Black Sea is an internal sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean. The Bosphorus Strait connects with the Sea of ​​Marmara, then, through the Dardanelles, with the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. The Kerch Strait connects with the Sea of ​​Azov. From the north, the Crimean Peninsula cuts deep into the sea. The water border between Europe and Asia Minor runs along the surface of the Black Sea.

Length 1150 km

Width 580 km

Area 422,000 km²

Volume 547,000 km³

Coastline length 3400 km³

Maximum depth 2210 m

Average depth 1240 m

The catchment area is more than 2 million km²

Black Sea Map

Black Sea salinity map

The salty taste of sea water is given by sodium chloride, and the bitter taste is given by magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate. The water contains 60 various elements. But it is assumed that it contains all the elements found on Earth. Sea water has a number of healing properties. Water salinity is about 18%.

Rivers flowing into the Black Sea

Due to the excess inflow of fresh water from the rivers Agoy, Ashe, Bzugu, Bzyp, Veleka, Vulan, Gumista, Dnieper, Dniester, Danube, Yeshilyrmak, Inguri, Kamchia, Kodor, Kyzylyrmak,

Kyalasur, Psou, Reprua, Rioni, Sakarya, Sochi, Khobi, Chorokhi, Southern Bug.

(more than 300 rivers) above evaporation it has less salinity than the Mediterranean Sea.

Rivers contribute 346 cubic meters to the sea. km of fresh water and 340 cubic meters. km of salt water flows from the Black Sea through the Bosporus.

Current of the Black Sea

International experts claim that the natural cyclonic circulation of water in the Black Sea - the so-called “Knipovich glasses” - cleans the sea naturally.

Of particular interest is the issue of Black Sea currents. In the Black Sea there is a main closed ring of current from 20 to 50 miles wide, running 2-5 miles from the coast counterclockwise, and several connecting jets between its individual parts. average speed The current in this ring is 0.5-1.2 knots, but in strong and stormy winds it can reach 2-3 knots. In spring and early summer, when rivers bring to the sea a large number of water, the flow intensifies and becomes more stable.

The current in question originates at the mouths big rivers and in Kerch Strait. River waters, flowing into the sea, go to the right. Then the direction is formed under the influence of wind, shore configuration, bottom topography and other factors. From the Kerch Strait the current runs along the Crimean shores. At the southern end there is a division. The main current goes north to the mouth of the Dnieper-Bug estuary, and part of it goes to the Danube shores. Having received the Dnieper and then the Dniester waters, the main current goes to the Danube and then to the Bosphorus. Strengthened by the Danube waters and the Crimean branch, it gains its greatest strength here. From the Bosphorus, the main branch of the current, having given part of the water to the Sea of ​​Marmara, turns towards Anatolia. Prevailing winds here favor an easterly direction. At Cape Kerempe, one branch of the current deviates north to the Crimea, and the other goes further to the east, absorbing the flow of the rivers of Asia Minor. At the Caucasian coast the current turns to the northwest. Near the Kerch Strait it merges with the Azov Current. And off the southeastern coast of Crimea, division is occurring again. One branch descends to the south, diverges from the current coming from Cape Kerempe, and in the Sinop area connects with the Anatolian current, closing the Eastern Black Sea circle. And the other branch of the current from the southeastern coast of Crimea goes to its southern tip. Here the Anatolian current flows into it from Cape Kerempe, which closes the Western Black Sea circle.

Underwater river in the Black Sea

An underwater river in the Black Sea is a bottom flow of highly salty water from the Sea of ​​Marmara through the Bosphorus and along the seabed of the Black Sea. The trench through which the river flows is about 35 m deep, 1 km wide and about 60 km long. The water flow speed reaches 6.5 km/h, that is, 22 thousand m³ of water passes through the canal every second. If this river flowed on the surface, it would be sixth in the list of rivers in terms of fullness. The underwater river has elements characteristic of surface rivers, such as banks, floodplains, rapids and waterfalls. Interestingly, the whirlpools in this underwater river swirl not counterclockwise (as in ordinary rivers of the Northern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis force), but along it.

The channels at the bottom of the Black Sea were presumably formed 6 thousand years ago, when the sea level was approaching its current position. Water Mediterranean Sea broke through into the Black Sea and formed a network of trenches that are still active today.

The water in the river has a higher salinity and concentration of sediments than the surrounding water, so it flows under gravity and possibly supplies nutrients to abyssal plains that would otherwise be lifeless.

The river was discovered by scientists from the University of Leeds on August 1, 2010, and is the first such river to be discovered. Based on sonar sounding, it was previously known about the existence of channels on the ocean floor, and one of the largest such channels stretches from the mouth of the Amazon to Atlantic Ocean. The assumption that these channels may be rivers was confirmed only with the discovery of an underwater river in. The strength and unpredictability of such flows makes it impossible to study them directly, so scientists used autonomous underwater vehicles.

Sea water transparency

Transparency sea ​​water, that is, the ability to transmit light rays, depends on the size and quantity of suspended particles of various origins in the water, which significantly change the depth of penetration of light rays. There is a distinction between absolute and relative transparency of sea water.

Relative transparency refers to the depth (measured in meters) at which a white disk with a diameter of 30 cm disappears. Absolute transparency refers to the depth (measured in meters) to which any ray of light from the solar spectrum can penetrate. It is believed that in clear sea waters this depth is approximately 1000 to 1700 m.

Table of relative transparency of the waters of the World Ocean

Atlantic Ocean, Sargasso Sea to 66

Atlantic Ocean, equatorial zone 40 - 50

Indian Ocean, trade wind zone 40 - 50

Pacific Ocean, trade wind zone up to 45

Barents Sea, southwestern part to 45

Mediterranean Sea, off the African coast 40 - 45

Aegean Sea up to 50

Adriatic Sea about 30 - 40

Black Sea about 30

Baltic Sea, near the island of Bornholm 11 - 13

North Sea, English Channel 6.5 - 11

Caspian Sea, southern part 11-13

Results of expeditions on the research vessel “Professor Vodyanitsky” (2002-2006)

If the methane outlet is deep enough underwater, the gas becomes bound in the composition " warm ice" But sometimes the thickness of gas hydrates is broken through by free, very powerful gas emissions.

Sometimes such a “methane fountain” flows for days, months... or even begins to “work” periodically, then dying down, then breaking through to the surface of the sea again. Such phenomena are called mud volcanoes, because gas, rushing upward from the bottom, takes with it masses of bottom soil, stones, water...

In many places, much more modest streams of methane rise from the bottom, spreading into clouds. We call them vultures. Some of them emit gas in an even, constant stream, others pulsate, reminiscent of a smoker's puffing pipe... There are quite a lot of seeps in the Kerch-Taman region, and off the coast of the Caucasus, and off the coasts of Georgia, Bulgaria...

Methane gas plume on the Black Sea shelf emerging on the water surface

This phenomenon is scientifically called “Knipovich glasses”. Nikolai Mikhailovich Knipovich was the first hydrologist who noticed and described this phenomenon in detail.

The acceleration imparted to seawater by the rotation of the planet is the basis for the characteristic direction of this movement. In physics, this effect is called “Coriolis force”. But, due to the fact that the Black Sea has a relatively small water area, significant influence to the main The strength of the wind also has an effect. Due to this factor, the main flow The Black Sea is very changeable. Sometimes it happens that it becomes faintly noticeable against the background of other sea currents of a smaller scale. And it happens that the speed of the main Black Sea current exceeds one hundred centimeters per second.

In the coastal Black Sea waters, eddy currents are formed with the opposite direction to the main one. Black Sea current direction - the so-called anticyclonic gyres. Such eddies are especially pronounced near the Anatolian and Caucasian coasts. In these regions, longshore currents in the surface layer of the Black Sea are usually determined by the wind. The direction of such currents can change during the day.

There is a special type of local Black Sea current called the draft. Tyagun is formed during a storm (strong sea waves) near gently sloping sandy shores. The principle of this currents lies in the fact that the sea water flowing onto the shore does not retreat equally evenly over the entire area of ​​the tide, but along channels formed in the sandy bottom. Getting caught in the current of such a jet is very dangerous, since, despite all the efforts of the swimmer, he can be carried far from the shore directly into the open sea.

To get out of such a current, you need to swim not straight to the shore, but diagonally, this way it is easier to overcome the force of the receding water.

The current of “dragons” is one of the little-studied phenomena that is associated with waves.

The flow of the "tyagun" is the most dangerous looking coastal currents, it is formed due to the outflow of sea water, which was brought to the coast by waves. There is a well-established opinion that the “dragon” is pulled under the water; this is not true; the waves carry it away from the shore.

The power of the tug is high; it can pull even very experienced and strong swimmers with it from the shore. A person caught in a “tyagun” should not fight it and try to swim straight to the shore by any means, in the most the best option salvation, there will be a diagonal movement. This way you will be able to gradually leave the range of action of the thruster, this will allow you to save energy and stay afloat, as well as wait for help. It is also possible for the victim himself to gradually reach the shore on his own, trying not to return to the area of ​​influence of this dangerous phenomenon.

This phenomenon can be observed; in many Black Sea ports, ships moored to the pier suddenly begin to move from time to time and move along the piers, seemingly under the influence of some force. It happens that such a movement is so powerful that the steel mooring ends cannot withstand the pressure, because of this, cargo ships are forced to stop loading and unloading operations and go to roadstead. Tyagun can form not only during a storm, but also in completely calm seas.

There are several hypotheses about the formation of the draft, but they all define the draft as a consequence of the approach of a special type of sea waves to the port gates, which are difficult to notice with the naked eye. These waves are called long-period, they create an oscillation period much longer than ordinary ones visible to people waves. By periodically creating strong fluctuations in the mass of water located in the port waters, these waves cause the movements of ships moored at the pier.

The formation of this phenomenon, which poses a danger to fleet vessels, is being studied both in our country and abroad. Conducted research papers give scientific and practical recommendations on the rules for mooring ships during the “thrust”, as well as advice on the construction of safe ports that will dampen the energy of this wave.

When measuring heights on land, the count starts from sea levels. This does not mean that sea level is exactly the same in all areas of the World Ocean. In particular, the level of the Black Sea near Odessa is 30 cm higher than that of Istanbul, for this reason water rushes from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean (via Mramornoe), and in the Bosphorus Strait there is a constant current carrying Black Sea water. It is known that the atmosphere is cold the air moves downwards towards warmer, lighter air. The water in the Bosphorus moves in exactly the same way - the heavy Mediterranean water flows below towards the Black Sea. It is interesting that Mediterranean water is warmer, but despite this, it is heavier: the density of water depends more on salinity rather than temperature. The smallest width of the Bosphorus is 730 m, and the depth in some places does not exceed 40 m, so the smallest section of the strait is only 0.03 sq. km. The two opposing currents are a bit crowded here. Foreign scientists took measurements in the Bosporus in the 40-50s of our century and stated that a constant lower current does not exist in the strait. Mediterranean water supposedly enters the Black Sea only occasionally, in small quantities. The materials used for such a “revolution in science” turned out to be clearly insufficient. The authors of the “discovery” did not pay attention to this obvious circumstance: the flow of river water into the Black Sea far exceeds evaporation from its surface. So, if the sea were not constantly salted with Mediterranean water, it would become fresh. This is typical specifically for the Black Sea, since in the Mediterranean, for example, evaporation exceeds river flow, and the dynamics of the salt balance there is different. Accurate Facts are decisive in scientific disputes, so Soviet scientists, starting in 1958, conducted many years of research, now no longer in the strait, but in the Bosphorus region of the Black Sea. The expedition work was led by hydrologists from the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, located in Sevastopol; Our scientific institutions, as well as Bulgarian and Romanian scientists, took part in them. Expeditions in the Bosphorus region made it possible to establish that Mediterranean water flows into the Black Sea in all seasons of the year. After leaving the strait, this heavy water goes at the bottom, to the east, forming a stream with a thickness of 2 to 8 m, after 5-6 miles it turns to the northwest, and in the area of ​​​​the continental slope it breaks up into separate streams, gradually descends to greater depths and mixed with Black Sea water. Research has shown that in the Bosphorus both currents have a speed of about 80 cm/sec. About 170 cubic meters enter the Black Sea annually. km of Mediterranean water, and about 360 cubic meters flow out. km of Black Sea water. To fully determine water balance Black Sea, we also need to take into account the exchange with the Sea of ​​Azov, the flow of river waters. precipitation and evaporation rates. Studying the water balance of the sea is reminiscent of solving a school problem about a swimming pool with pipes. Only the problem about the sea is incomparably more difficult. Nevertheless, it is already possible to quite accurately predict the changes that will occur to the sea during certain major transformations of nature. The regulation of rivers with dams, the creation of reservoirs and diversion canals leads to a decrease in river flow, since some of the water no longer reaches the sea. The scale of such transformations is enormous. If in the Black Sea salinity does not yet change very noticeably, then in the shallow Azov Sea salinity is already leading to a noticeable decrease in fish stocks. The Sea of ​​Azov is more salty black sea water comes through the Kerch Strait, which, like the Bosphorus, has opposite currents. Previously, the Sea of ​​Azov received about 33 cubic meters. km of Black Sea water per year and gave 51 cubic meters. km of its own, less salty water. After the regulation of the Don and Kuban, the ratio changed in favor of the Black Sea water, and the Sea of ​​Azov began to become saltier. Salinity exceeded 12‰. This led to a decrease in the food supply for gobies and other fish. The most valuable freshwater fish for fishing began to stay closer to the mouths of rivers, and immobile mollusks are destroyed by the saltier water going below. In order to improve the water balance of the Sea of ​​​​Azov, it was decided to regulate the exchange of water in the Kerch Strait. This will make it possible to control the sea level, its salinity, and create conditions for increasing the fish stocks of Azov. One of the difficulties is that with reduced river flow there is nothing to compensate for evaporation. There is no need yet to artificially change water exchange in the Bosphorus to regulate the salinity of the Black Sea. But perhaps this problem will someday have to be solved by countries interested in its fate. Near the mouths of rivers, the Black Sea water is less salty than in the central part of the sea. But in deep-sea areas, far from the coast, does the Black Sea water have the same composition throughout the entire thickness of the sea? Is the water here stagnant or is it mixing? It has long been established that in upper layers There are currents in the seas. They are caused by winds, level differences and differences in water density. Scheme of currents in the Black Sea Some currents are constant and resemble rivers, others often change speed and direction (for example, depending on the nature of the winds). In the Black Sea, one of the reasons causing currents is the difference in level between its northern and southern parts, which we have already discussed. Water from the northwestern region of the sea “flows” to the south. But the rotation of the earth causes this current to deviate to the west, and it flows along the coast counterclockwise. The width of the current is about 60 km, and the speed of water movement is 0.5 m/sec. Part of the water goes into the Bosphorus, and the rest of the mass moves further, turning north near the eastern shore of the sea. Where the current bends around the broad protrusion of the Anatolian coast, part of the stream forms a branch heading immediately to the north; a western ring current arises. IN eastern half The sea also has its own ring current, running counterclockwise. Currents in the Black Sea are often disrupted by strong winds, which move significant masses of water and can noticeably change the water level, sometimes by half a meter. When the wind blows offshore, it pushes warm surface water out to the open sea. The water level is falling. During such a driving wind, rocks covered with algae are exposed near the shore. Instead of the departed warm water At the surface it turns out to be cold, rising from the depths. The surge wind directed from the sea to the shore drives warm surface water and increases the water level near the shore. The ebbs and flows in the Black Sea are so small that water movements under the influence of the wind almost completely obscure them. (Tides arise in the World Ocean under the influence of lunar gravity, but in inland seas the tidal wave does not reach a great height.)