Dynamics and Thermohaline Structure in the Contact Zones of the Azov Sea

The results of instrumental measurements of the thermohaline structure and currents in the areas where fresh river waters (Taganrog Bay and Temryuk Bay) and the Black Sea waters (Kerch Strait) mixed with the waters of the Sea of Azov during the period 2018–2021 are presented. A preliminary classification of the currents of the Taganrog Bay and the Kerch Strait has been constructed on the basis of data on the water exchange. The highest velocities of currents in the Kerch Strait were recorded under north and south winds. During west and east winds, a mosaic hydrodynamic pattern is formed. In the Taganrog Bay, there is a complex system of self-induced oscillations of the water basin, which is swayed by east and west winds and fed by the Don River runoff. The currents of the Sea of Azov have a more complicated structure than has been previously considered. Everywhere, in addition to the drift, there is also a gradient (seiche) component, due to which the observed currents are often directed against the wind cyclically changing direction and velocity to the opposite.