CONDITIONS FOR THE TRANSITION FROM TWO-LAYER TO THREE-LAYER WATER STRATIFICATION IN THE SOUTHWESTERN PART OF THE BALTIC SEA ON THE EXAMPLE OF 2005

A study was conducted based on data from the MARNET automatic buoy station Arkona Becken, meteorological observations for 2005 and satellite data, with the aim of analysing the conditions of the transition from two-layer to three-layer stratification in the southwestern part of the Baltic Sea. As the southwestern part of the sea is the source region of the Cold Intermediate Layer (CIL) core waters, the thermohaline structure of the waters in this area in early spring is of particular importance for determining the properties of the CIL core waters throughout the year. The analysis of the thermohaline structure of the waters in this area in the early spring of 2005 revealed that during the period of maximum cooling of the surface waters, their characteristics exhibited a range of values for salinity (S) between 7.5 and 8.0 and for temperature (T) between 1.4 and 2.0 degrees Celsius. The transition from two-layer to three-layer water stratification lasted for 16 days (from 15 to 30 March) and was accompanied by prolonged easterly winds.