An area of about 40000 km2 of desalinated upper layer waters with a salinity of less than 25 psu was found during cruise 54 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldyshin the southwestern part of the Kara...

Latest data on the hydrophysical and biological state of the residual basins of the Aral Sea are presented and compared. Direct, quasi-simultaneous observations were carried out in the central part of the Western Large Aral Sea, the northern extremity of the Large Aral known as Chernyshev Bay, Lake Tshchebas, and the Small Aral Sea in October 2014. The Large Aral Sea and Lake Tshchebas transformed into hyperhaline water bodies with highly special taxocene structure. The Small Aral Sea was a relatively diverse brackish ecosystem, which was rather similar to the pre-desiccation environment. The Small Aral Sea and Lake Tshchebas exhibited a fully-mixed vertical structure, whereas the Western Large Aral Sea was strongly stratified. Our data show that during desiccation, different parts of the Aral Sea experienced different environmental conditions, resulting in qualitative and quantitative differences in the physical and biological regimes among the different residual basins.

This article focuses on the interaction between the Ob‐ and Yenisei‐dominated parts of the large Ob‐Yenisei buoyant plume formed in the southern part of the Kara Sea during ice‐free periods. It was shown that certain wind forcing and river discharge conditions cause the formation of a specific structure of the Ob‐Yenisei plume with significantly different properties of the Ob‐ and Yenisei‐dominated water masses. Under these conditions, the Yenisei runoff generates a narrow coastal current propagating northward from the Yenisei Gulf along the Taymyr Peninsula, which is isolated by the Ob‐dominated water mass from ambient sea water. As a result, the low‐salinity Yenisei‐dominated water mass occupies a relatively small area, while more saline Ob‐dominated water mass spreads over a wide area between the Gulf of Ob and the Taymyr Peninsula. The formation of the “isolation” configuration of the Ob‐Yenisei plume described above is presumed to be caused by the eastward Ekman transport and the resulting downwelling flow of the Ob‐dominated waters under the low‐saline and warm Yenisei‐dominated waters along the Taymyr Peninsula. Based on satellite imagery, wind reanalysis, and river discharge data collected and derived for the period of 2005–2011, it was estimated that the “isolation” configuration is regularly formed during late summer and autumn when the Ob discharge to the Kara Sea exceeds the Yenisei discharge and the local atmospheric circulation is dominated by the northerly wind regime. Assessment of the frequency and duration of the occurrence of the “isolation” configuration showed their synoptic time scale and significant interannual variability.

This work is focused on the seasonal and interannual variability of the freshened surface layer (FSL) in the Kara Sea during ice‐free periods. The majority of annual freshwater runoff inflows to the Kara Sea during the freshet period in June–July. As a result, a large low‐salinity and strongly stratified FSL is formed in the central Kara Sea at the beginning of the ice‐free period. Initially, this layer is fresh with salinities of less than 15. Then, in August–October, river discharge steadily decreases, the fresh (<15) and strongly stratified river plume remains limited to the inner part of the FSL adjacent to the Ob and Yenisei gulfs, which receives reduced freshwater discharge. The area of the fresh plume steadily decreases with decreasing of river discharge; in October, it remains only within the Ob and Yenisei gulfs. Area and position of the outer part of the FSL, on the opposite, remain stable until the end of ice‐free period. Salinities in the outer part steadily increase to 20–25, vertical salinity gradients at the boundary with the subjacent sea decrease, albeit remain prominent. Area and position of the FSL also have low interannual variability, because the volume of river runoff during freshet period in June–July is stable on interannual time scale. As a result, downward freshwater transport and the formation of the seasonal halocline occur in August–October at the stable area located in the central Kara Sea.

Measurements of velocity, hydrography, surface meteorology, and microstructure were made through several squall events during a westerly wind burst that occurred in the Western Pacific warm pool in December 1992. Sustained wind forcing generated a weakly stratified turbulent surface layer that extended to the top of the main thermocline. Following each rain event, freshwater formed a statically stable layer in the upper 4–12 m. The subsequent evolution of the mixing profile was strongly depth-dependent. Turbulence increased dramatically in the fresh layer adjacent to the surface but decreased in the underlying layer. The factor by which turbulence decreased following a given squall was strongly correlated with the net rainfall. The observed timescale for the decay of the turbulence was about 0.7 buoyancy periods, similar to decay times observed near the surface after sunrise. However, these decay times are significantly larger than those estimated indirectly (as the ratio of dissipation rate to t... Abstract Measurements of velocity, hydrography, surface meteorology, and microstructure were made through several squall events during a westerly wind burst that occurred in the Western Pacific warm pool in December 1992. Sustained wind forcing generated a weakly stratified turbulent surface layer that extended to the top of the main thermocline. Following each rain event, freshwater formed a statically stable layer in the upper 4–12 m. The subsequent evolution of the mixing profile was strongly depth-dependent. Turbulence increased dramatically in the fresh layer adjacent to the surface but decreased in the underlying layer. The factor by which turbulence decreased following a given squall was strongly correlated with the net rainfall. The observed timescale for the decay of the turbulence was about 0.7 buoyancy periods, similar to decay times observed near the surface after sunrise. However, these decay times are significantly larger than those estimated indirectly (as the ratio of dissipation rate to t...