The Features of Transparency Field Generation in the Upper Sea Layer of the Northwestern Black Sea in the Winter-Spring Period

The features of transparency field generation in the upper sea layer of the northwestern Black Sea in the winter-spring period are analyzed on the basis of long-term data of specific marine observations from 1978-1995. The statistical assessments of the seasonal variations of the beam attenuation coefficient associated with fluctuations of river discharge and open sea water characteristics are calculated for the region under study. It is shown that the amount of suspended matter, which is most responsible for seawater transparency, depends both on rivers' discharge volumes, the area of their interaction with seawater over the northwestern Black Sea shelf, and regional hydrometeorological conditions, which in turn depend on the hydrometeoro-logical conditions in the catchment areas of the European rivers of the Black Sea basin.