ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRANSPORT BOUNDARY CONDITIONS IN MODELLING BOSPHORUS EXCHANGE FLOW

The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles form together the Turkish Straits System (TSS). The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, which are long, shallow and narrow waterways, are the only connections between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Therefore, the TSS has ecological, financial, social and military significance, especially for the countries bordering the Black Sea. For this purpose, within the framework of the partnership between Kiel University and Yıldız Technical University, continuous measurements of water level, current speed, salinity and temperature were carried out in the Bosphorus with a high temporal resolution, to improve the current understanding of exchange flow dynamics in the strait and to better calibrate the Bosphorus circulation model. The main goal of the field survey was to improve the transport boundary conditions (salinity and temperature) of the model, which were previously defined through monthly observations. Preliminary results are discussed in this study.