Modeling of water exchange dynamics in the Stolpe Channel of the Baltic Sea

The effect of the fan-shaped divergence of isopycnals in the permanent halo cline of the Stolpe Channel observed in the sections across the channel is studied numerically with the use of the known Blumberg-Mellor model. The ci rculation induced by the force of the wind along the channel is also studie d. The results prove the observed fan-shaped effect, which disappears in th e absence of bottom friction, and support the hypothesis on the formation o f the fan-shaped structure by circulation across the channel due to the Ekm an transport in the near-bottom boundary layer.