Conditions of sand spits formation at the Northern Sea of Azov coast

Term “spits of the Azov type” is encountered in the description of morphological features of sandy accumulative forms of sea coasts. This term is related to a system of several parallel spits in the form of narrow strips extended into the open sea over a few kilometers and formed under the influence of wind waves with acute incidence angles to the coastline. Term “spits of the Azov type” was introduced into everyday life by V.P. Zenkovich, who actively studied the shores of the Black Sea-Azov basin, as applied to the spit system of the northern coast of the Sea of Azov. It is shown in our work, based on a detailed analysis of the hydrodynamic regime of the Sea of Azov over the past four decades that wind waves with acute angles do not determine the features of the wave climate of the northern coast. The main factor in the development of spits from the open sea is wind waves that are normal to the coast, while the factor on the mainland side are coastal currents that are formed over the background of storm surges. Thus, the application of term “spits of the Azov type” to sea spits of the other coasts of the World Ocean formed by wind waves with acute angles of wave approach does not seem justified.