title: What drives water exchanges between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait?
abstract: The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea with the shallow Sea of Azov. The latter receivessignificant continental discharges from the Don and the Kuban rivers, and the Strait is animportant pathway for exchanges of water, salt, suspended matter, nutrients, and pollutantsbetween the two seas. The mechanisms forming water circulation through the Kerch Straitare complex and combine wind forcing, barotropic and baroclinic geostrophic flows, and theadvection of extensive freshwater runoff. However, th