Russia
Russia: P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences (SIO RAS, Moscow) together with its Southern Branch, located at the Black Sea coast (SB SIO RAS,Gelendzhik, Golubaya bay) provide multi-disciplinary sea-going annual investigations of the Black Sea. The basic sientific goal of these investigations are to obtain the better kowledge of
- interannual and seasonal variability of the general water circulation in the Black Sea and its mesoscale components (eddy structures);
- influence of mesoscale eddy structures on the water exchange between the shelf and the deep basin;
- role of nearshore anticyclonic eddies (NAE) in ventilation of nearshore zone;
- processes of formation of the cold intermediate water (CIW) in winter and its transformation during spring-autumn seasons of the year;
- interannual variability of the cold intermediate layer (CIL) water characteristics, of the upper part of pycnocline ventilation and of hydrogen sulphide zone upper boundary position;
- influence of mesoscale eddy structures of different sign on distribution, transport and transformation of the Black Sea water chemical parameters;
- biochemistry of interaction of the aerobic and anaerobic waters in dynamically different zones of the sea including the mesoscale eddy structures of different sign;
- chemical exchange at the boundary «water - bottom»;
- seasonal dynamics of composition and biomass of plankton communities;
- spatial distribution of plankton in connection with basinscale and mesoscale circulation pattern;
- vertical and horisontal distributions and structure of sediments in the continental shelf/slope zone, fluxes of sediments; dynamical and morphological features of the coastal zone.
Hydrometeorological Stations and Posts (17):
Adler, Achuevo, Anapa, Azov, Doldzanskaia, Dzuba, Eisk, Gelendzik, Iasenskaia pereprava, Novorosisk, Ochakovskaia kosa, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Sochi, Taganrog, Taman, Tempiuk, Tuapse.
Observational Type:
Standard meteorological parameters; Seawater temperature; Temperature of the depths; Seawater salinity; Significant height of wind waves; Direction of wind waves; Mean period of wind waves; Sea level measurement.
Ship Surveys:
R/V "Akvanavt": length - 34 m, load displacement - 273 m 3 , cruising speed - 7.5 kn, crew -12 members number of scientists on board - 10. The ship has the laboratory apartment with area of 16 m 2 . It is equipped by two winches (one with the slip ring) for lowering oceanographic probes biological nets and other devices to the depth of 2500 m. The ship is based in Gelendzhik
Motor boat "Ashamba " : length - 15 m, load displacement - 23,5 m 3 cruising speed - 7,5 kn, crew -3 members number of scientists on board - 5. The vessel has the laboratory apartment with area of 4 m 2 . It is equipped by a winch for lowering oceanographic probes biological nets and other devices to the depth of 500 m. It is based in Gelendzhik.
Stationary buoys and platforms:
The standard stationary wave measuring buoy «Directional Waverider» Number of buoys: 1 Manufacture: the buoy is manufactured by DATAWELL company, Netherlands. Composition: an anchored measuring buoy, receiving system installed at shore in the Southern Branch of the P.P. Shirshov Institute, personal computer (PC) connected to the receiving device and running special control software that maintains the measuring system's functioning Location: 44°30,42 ' N latitude and 37° 58,81' E longitude, water depth - 85 meters, approximately 4 miles offshore (near the Gelendzhik bay).
Drifters: Pilot drifter experiment in the Black Sea were started in 1999 - 2000 and continued during the period of 2001-2003. The total quantity of 49 Lagrangian meteorological drifters produced by Navoceano (USA) and Marlin-Yug ( Ukraine ) was deployed from October 2001 to April 2003.
Satellite Observations:
Receiving facilities in operation in Russia are relatively few. Research institutions that do possess such stations include "Planeta" corporation associated with the Hydrometeorological Center, Institute for Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Geophysical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and some others. Generally, interested users can obtain remote sensing data from these organizations, but this is often done on a commercial basis or implies other special arrangements. The data available are those from conventional foreign instruments (AVHRR/NOAA and MODIS broadband radiometry, SeaWiFS ocean color, TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason altimetry, QuikScat scatterometry, and others) and from a number of Russian satellited. The national spacecraft data are, potentially, an important and not fully exploited additional source of information. However, for administrative and technical reasons, these data are less readily accessible to a general oceanographic community. Many national users find it easier to work with foreign remote sensing data freely available on the Internet or distributed otherwise.
Data Basis, GIS, Data Flow:
The management system for oceanology database and geo-information system with the Web-interface for the Internet access are developed. The database contains data on hydrophysics, hydrochemistry and hydrobiology of the Black sea for the period 1978-2004 years assembled by the 
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Science (SIO RAS) and Southern Branch of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Science (SB SIO RAS). Bathymetric map of the Black sea is based on the data received by SB SIO RAS. In the database were also used data from a database TU-BSDB, developed by Institute of Marine Sciences of Middle East Technical University (Turkey) and Marine Hydrophysical Institute (Ukraine) within the framework of the NATO TU-Black Sea project 1994-1997, where SIO RAS and SB SIO RAS also participated.
The server part of system is realized in PHP and XML/XSLT languages on a basis of Apache Web-server, RDBMS MySQL and operating system QNX Neutrino 6.2 Real Time Platform. Thus, the Web site without any changes can be transferred on any other platform. In the following versions the migration from RDBMS MySQL on PostgreSQL is planned.
On the client side, in Web-browser the back-end interface consists of the basic window (Cruises and Others) and affiliated windows - Main Menu, Query Form, Map, Stations, Data and Chart. For convenience of users, all windows have mobility and could be removed from a field of the basic window, remaining active and accessible. The user can carry out flexible inquiries to the database and receive result as the tables, maps and diagrams. The result of inquiry can be saved as a text table. The map and chart can be viewed in "fit-to-screen" mode as well as in zoom mode; the section of selected parameters through the chosen set of stations can be plotted. On the plot it is possible to add or to delete parameters and to change binding coordinate axes without the repeated inquiries to server.
The content of the site network traffic satisfies to a criteria of high level safety in Web-browser of the user. The dynamic loading of Java-applets and ActiveX-components from Internet is not required. For viewing vector maps and charts in MSIE special VRML-plugin "Cortona VRML-Client" is necessary, it can be downloaded from the Web site (http://odbs.coast.ru) and installed on the computer of the user. On the site are also available "Electronic library", where all users can publish articles, and "Forum" for various discussions. In section "Modeling" the results of hydrophysical processes in the Black sea modeling are being submitted.
Section "World Ocean" is kept in reserve for other objects.
Human Resources:
Hydro-meteorological Centre of Russia
There is no special department in t he Hydrometcenter of Russia for preparation of products designated for the Black Sea . The total number of specialists involved in relevant data collection and preparation of products for World Ocean may be estimated as 40-50.
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology together with its Southern Branch has about 50 well-qualified researches, 25 engineers and technicians and a few (less than 10) young scientists involved in Black
Sea data collection and preparation of products (papers, reports, data-bases, etc.). The human resources are distributed approximately uniformly between physical, chemical, biological and geological-geophysical fields of study.
The institute is responsible for evaluation of hydro-meteorological and hydrochemical regime of 5 European seas (Black, Azov, Caspian, Baltic and White). Thus the majority of personnel work for several seas. The number of researchers dealing with the Black Sea is 10.