Based on a wealth of primary data collected by expeditions as well as archive data from Russia, this fascinating book features a systematic description of the knowledge accumulated on the physical oceanography, marine chemistry and pollution, marine biology and geology, meteorology and hydrology of the Black Sea. It presents the principal characteristic features of the environmental conditions of the sea and their changes in the second half of the 20th century.

Inhalt

A.N. Kosarev and A.G. Kostianoy: Introduction.- A.N. Kosarev and I.S. Zonn: Brief History of the Black Sea Exploration and Oceanographic Investigation.- A.A. Svitoch: Quaternary Paeleogeography of the Azov-Black Sea Basin.- E.I. Ignatov: Coastal and Bottom Topography.- A.N. Kosarev, A.G. Kostianoy, and T.A. Shiganova: The Sea of Azov.- V.N. Mikhailov and M.V. Mikhailova: River Mouths.- A.N. Kosarev, V.S. Arkhipkin, and G.V. Surkova: Hydrometeorological Conditions.- V.S. Tuzhilkin: General Circulation.- A.I. Ginzburg, A.G. Zatsepin, A.G. Kostianoy, and N.A. Sheremet: Mesoscale Water Dynamics.- V.S. Tuzhilkin: Thermohaline Structure of the Sea.- A.I. Ginzburg, A.G. Kostianoy, and N.A. Sheremet: Sea Surface Temperature Variability.- E.V. Yakushev, V.K. Chasovnikov, J.W. Murray, S.V. Pakhomova, O.I. Podymov, and P.A. Stunzhas: Vertical Hydrochemical Structure of the Black Sea.- I.I. Volkov and L.N. Neretin: Hydrogen Sulfide in the Black Sea.- N.P. Nezlin: Seasonal and Interannual Variability of Remotely Sensed Chlorophyll.- Z.Z. Finenko: Biodiversity and Bioproductivity.- T.A. Shiganova: Introduced Species.- I.S. Zonn, D.Y. Fashchuk, and A.I. Ryabinin: Environmental Issues of the Black Sea.- I.S. Zonn and S.S. Zhiltsov: Socioeconomic, Legal and Political Problems of the Black Sea.- A.N. Kosarev and A.G. Kostianoy: Conclusions