A Three- Dimensional Model of the Caspian Sea

Observations of the Caspian Sea during August-September 1995 are used to develop a three-dimensional numerical model to be used in calculating temperature and current. The model has variable grid resolution and horizontal smoothing that filters out small scale vertical motion. Data from the meteorological buoy network on the Caspian Sea are combined with routine observations at first-order synoptic station around the lake to obtain hourly values of wind stress and pressure fields. The hydrodynamic model of the Caspian Sea has 6 vertical levels and a uniform horizontal grid size of 50 km. The model is driven with surface fluxes of heat and momentum derived from observed meteorological data. The model was able to reproduce all the basic features of the thermal structure in the Caspian Sea and larger-scale circulation patterns tended to be anticyclone, with anticyclone circulation within each sub-basin. The results matched observation data.&#10&#10Keywords: Circulation, Temperature, Numerical model, Vorticity, wind stress&#10