title: Water exchange between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait
abstract: Abstract. The Sea of Azov is a small, shallow and freshened sea that receives a large freshwater discharge and, therefore, can be regarded as a large river estuary. Under certain external forcing conditions low-saline waters from the Sea of Azov inflow to the northeastern part of the Black Sea through the narrow Kerch Strait and form a surface-advected buoyant plume. Water flow in the Kerch Strait also regularly occurs in the opposite direction, which results in spreading of a bottom-advected pl