Modern Methodological Problems of Estimating the Water Balance of the Sivash Bay (the Sea of Azov) and the Ways to Solve Them

The potential of using modern methods of numerical simulation and remote sensing for calculating some of the water balance components of the Sivash Bay under the conditions of modern climate change and lack of in situ data from the Genichesk and Chongar Bridge hydrometeorological stations are discussed. The results of calculating the level of the Sivash Bay using modern numerical simulation methods are presented to estimate such water balance components of the bay as the water exchange with the Sea of Azov through the Tonkii Strait. In the paper, there are also some examples of monitoring the water surface area changes in the Sivash Bay and the Sivash reservoirs, the data on which are necessary for water balance calculations using remote methods. The problems in calculating the evaporation from the bay surface as one of the main output components of the bay water balance under conditions of increasing salinity in the bay are considered.