Kitap Açık Erişim

BLACK SEA MARINE ENVIRONMENT: THE TURKISH SHELF

2017    Murat SEZGİN; Levent BAT; Derya ÜRKMEZ; Elif ARICI; Bayram ÖZTÜRK

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The Black Sea is one of the major water bodies and a famous inland sea of the world. It is a connecting link between six different countries sharing its coasts with the boundaries of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. The Black Sea has extraordinary natural conditions as the largest water body with a meromictic basin. This means that, the interaction between the oxygen rich surface waters and the Black Sea's deeper areas tends to be very limited compared to anywhere else in the world. This leads to a layering structure being created which affects the diversity of the organisms within the Black Sea. This book aims to be a good compilation bringing together articles focusing on the Black Sea looking at its ecosystem from different aspects. It goes without saying that the Black Sea is like a special kind of living organism which should be known in detail to be protected and saved. And, we deeply recognize that, during the last 50 years, its ecosystem changed extensively making it more vulnerable to anthropogenic effects. Marine resources have declined as a consequence of over-fishing, unplanned development of coastal zones and intense maritime traffic. Therefore, we believe that such kind of a compilation effort with an output can draw a general outline of the picture and help in concentrating attentions on such a special area. “Black Sea Marine Environment: The Turkish Shelf” is the latest of the series of Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV), which covers 29 articles under 4 main chapters (oceanography, biodiversity, pollution and conservation and science and policy) written by 61 authors from various universities and institutions working under different disciplines and who have studies in the Black Sea. We truly appreciate the contributions of the authors and the editors to this book. We are sure that this publication will serve as an exchange of knowledge with the other bordering countries in the Black Sea and also provide a brief insight to this fragile water body targeting all the readers who care for the better understanding, conservation and sustainable development of the Black Sea.

Prof. Dr. Bayram ÖZTÜRK Director, Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV) December 2017