2 Kapitanska St., 99011, Sevastopol, Ukraine

Phone: (0692) 54 5204; fax: (0692) 55 4253;
e-mail: vaivanov@alpha.mhi.iuf.net;
http://www.mhi.iuf.net

Principal research areas:

– integrated interdisciplinary studies of basic processes in formation and evolution of ecosystems in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov as well as other strategically important regions of the World Ocean;

– fundamental and applied physical and climatic studies of marine environment;

– development of methods and means of operative oceanography; development of advanced information technologies and systems for gathering, processing, analyzing and using oceanological data.

The Institute has the following science schools:

– interdisciplinary studies of marine system status;

– functioning of coastal marine ecosystems under heavy anthropogenic pressures;

– development of methods to assimilate satellite and direct data for solving problems of on-line oceanography;

– studies of global processes in the ocean-atmosphere system and their effect on natural climatic anomalies;

– development of theoretical methods to study patterns of wave processes in seas and oceans.

Research achievements of the international level:

I. Theoretical methods, hardware and information-and-analytical technologies of on-line oceanography were developed at NAS Marine Hydrophysical Institute in 1990-2004. They became the basis for creating a system for forecasting Black Sea dynamics with the assimilation of remote measurements and observations of satellites and drifting buoys operating in the near-real time mode.

This system is based on broad international cooperation: AVISO-center in Toulouse (France), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (USA), Ukrainian ‘SICH’ program, NOAA satellites (USA), Office of Naval Research – Europe (ONR-Europe), MeteoFrance, Office of Naval Research, International Field Office (ONRIFO, USA).

The system created meets the highest international standards; it is being implemented in the IOC UNESCO project ‘Black Sea GOOS’ and ‘ARENA’ project of the Fifth Framework Program of the European Commission.

II. A new meter of seawater temperature profile, which operates on free-drifting surface buoys, was developed at Marine Hydrophysical Institute. This measuring device provides continuous monitoring of the thermally active sea surface layer.

A unique meter of seawater-dispersion indicatrix was produced. It compares favourably with its foreign analogues and has been positively appreciated by foreign specialists.

Research results of the Institute, proposed for cooperative finalization:

participation in the State Program towards engineering protection of Kosa Tuzla Island in the Crimean Autonomous Republic.