Romanian coastal dynamics during cold and warm seasons analyzed by means of a numerical model

Abstract. The coastal dynamics along the Romanian Black Sea coast is strongly influenced by the wind forcing and by the Danube freshwater and sediment discharge. Temperature and salinity fields may also influence the formation of coastal currents. A 3D hydrodynamic model has been used to analyze the distribution of coastal currents during winter and summer, for the most frequent wind directions and for different values of the Danube discharge. Salinity and calculated fluxes on two representative cross-sections are also compared. The results emphasize the main differences in the hydrodynamics of the Romanian coastal zone, between the winter and the summer period.