Non-stationary eddies in the Black Sea as seen by satellite infrared and visible imagery

Examination of non-stationary eddies in the Black Sea is presented based on satellite visible and infrared imagery. The images were obtained by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) since September, 2004 to December, 2010. As a result of the analysis performed it was discovered that there are four main non-stationary eddy types which can be frequently observed in such imagery: near-shore anticyclonic eddies, mushroom-like currents, eddies of the Anatolian coast, and eddy chains. For each type of eddies, spatio-temporal parameters were retrieved such as areas of the most frequent generation and typical length scale as well as their seasonality. Every non-stationary eddy type showed to have its own area of location. Analysis of eddy spatial scale revealed that anticyclonic eddies of all types were greater in size than cyclonic ones (in average 52 km for anticyclones and 36 km for cyclones).