title: Geostrophic currents and kinetic energies in the Black Sea estimated from merged drifter and satellite altimetry data
abstract: Abstract. Drifter measurements and satellite altimetry data are merged to reconstruct the surface geostrophic circulation of the Black Sea in the period 1999–2009. This combined dataset is used to estimate pseudo-Eulerian velocity statistics for different time periods. Seasonal and interannual variability of currents and kinetic energy fields are described with particular attention to the mesoscale and sub-basin coastal eddies. The mean currents are generally stronger in winter and enhanced spee