The Black Sea ecosystem is a unique marine environment. Its isolation from the ocean and large catchment basin, covering industrial and rural parts of the European and Asian continents, render the Black Sea ecosystem extremely vulnerable to the imposed environmental burdens Complex scientific problems related to the recent evolution of the Black Sea ecosystem were tackled in the framework of the NATO TU BLACK SEA project `Ecosystem modelling as a management tool for the Black Sea', implemented between 1993 and 1997.
The primary results and the products of the TU BLACK SEA project were presented to the scientific community at a dedicated symposium held on 15-19 June, 1997 at Zori Rossii on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. The present two volumes contain 47 of the papers presented at the symposium, selected by peer review. Volume I contains 27 papers in all, two on the NATO TU Black SEA database and database management system, eight on the Black Sea biogeochemistry, and 17 on the biological structure of the basin. Of the 20 papers appearing in Volume II, nine are physical processes and 11 are on the modelling of the circulation and the ecosystems of the Black Sea.

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Volume 1. Database and Database Management System of the TU Black Sea Project; V.L. Vladimirov, et al. Physical, Chemical and Biological Data Sets of the TU Black Sea Data Base: Description and Evaluation; L. Ivanov, et al. Effects of Circulation on the Spatial Distributions of Principal Chemical Properties and Unexpected Short-and Long-Term Changes in the Black Sea; Ö. Bastürk, et al. A Comparative Study of Spectrophotometric and Iodometric Back Titration Methods for Hydrogen Sulfide Determination in Anoxic Black Sea Waters; S. Gokmen, et al. Some Remarks on the Removal Rates of H2S within the Suboxic Zone of the Black Sea; S. Gokmen, Ö. Bastürk. Redox Nepheloid Layer (RNL) of the Black Sea: Its Location, Composition and Origin; A.G. Rozanov, et al. Peculiarities of Seasonal Variability of Primary Production in the Black Sea; L.V. Stelmakh, et al. Unusual Temporal Variations in the Spatial Distribution of Chlorophyll-A in the Black Sea During 1990-96; A. Yilmaz, et al. Basic Characteristics of Biotic Nitrogen Cycle in the Open Western Part of the Black Sea; O.V. Krivenko, et al. Seasonal and Interannual Variations of Surface Chlorophyll Concentration in the Black Sea on CZCS Data; N.P. Nezlin, V.Yu. Dyakonov. Phytoplankton Patches Formed along the Southern Black Sea Coast in Spring and Summer 1996; Z. Uysal, et al. Production and Biomass of Acartia clausi in the Black Sea During Summer Before and After the Mnemiopsis Outburst; N.A. Ostrovskaya, et al. Changes in Species Diversity and Abundance of the Main Components of the Black Sea Pelagic Community During the Last Decade; T.A. Shiganova, et al. Distribution of Eggs and Larvae of Anchovy with Respect to Ambient Conditions in the Southern Black Sea During 1993 and 1996; A.E. Kideys, et al. Mediterranearization of the Black Sea Zooplankton is Continuing; A.-Ş. Kovalev, et al. Long-Term Changes in the Biomass and Composition of Fodder Zooplankton in Coastal Regions of the Black Sea During the Period 1957-1996; A.V. Kovalev, et al. Long-Term Changes in the Black Sea Zooplankton: The Role of Natural and Anthropogenic Factors; A.V. Kovalev, et al. Changes in the Larval Nutrition of the Black Sea Fishes with Respect to Plankton; A.V. Tkach, et al. The Ecological and Physiological State of the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi (Agassiz) in the Black Sea in Autumn 1996; B.E. Anninsky, et al. A Biochemical Approach for the Estimation of Food Provision for Heterotrophic Organisms of the Black Sea; G.E. Shulman, et al. Zooplankton Dynamics and Variability off the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast During 1991-1995; A. Konsulov, L. Kamburska. Spatial Structure of the Black Sea Benthic Communities: Influence of the Pelagic Process; V.E. Zaika. Changing of the Benthic Communities in the Sevastopol Bay Estuary During the Last Eighty Years; N. Shalovenkov. Studies of Structural Parameters of Planktonic Communities of the Open Part of the Black Sea Relevant to Ecosystem Modeling; E.A. Shushkina, et al. Vertical Distribution of Summer Phytoplankton in the Western Black Sea During 1991-1995 with Respect to Some Environmental Factors; S. Moncheva, et al. Physiological and Ecological Studies of Calanus euxinus (Hulsemann) from the Black Sea with Comments on its Life Cycle; E. Arashkevich, et al. State of Summer Ichthyoplankton in the Black Sea; A.D. Gordina, et al. Index. Volume 2. The Bosporus Strait: Exchange Fluxes, Currents and Sea-Level Changes; E. Özsoy, et al. Isotope Measurements in the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara; D. Rank, et al. Long-Term Variability of Cold Intermediate Layer Renewal Conditions in the Black Sea; V. Belokopytov. Regional Peculiarities of Physical and Chemical Responses to Changes in External Conditions within the Black Sea Pycnocline: Cooling Phase; L.I. Ivanov, et al. Circulation and Hydrographic Characteristics of the Black Sea During July 1992; T. Oğuz, et al. On the ADCP-Derived Rim Current Structure, CIW Formation and the Role of Mesoscale Eddies on the CIW Transport in the Black Sea: Results from April 1993 Observati