Alexander B. Polonsky

Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, doctor of geographical sciences, professor, scientific director of FSBSE “Institute of Natural and Technical Systems”

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   In 1973, A.B. Polonsky graduated with honors from the Odessa Hydrometeorological Institute with a degree in Oceanology. From 1973 to 1976, he worked on assignment in the Hydrographic Service of the BSN in Sevastopol, later he started working at the Marine Hydrophysical Institution, with simultaneous enrolling in PhD graduate studies at the Hydrometeorological Center of the USSR. After successful completing PhD graduate studies, A. B. Polonsky defended his PhD thesis in the specialty “Geophysics”, and in 1991 he defended his doctoral dissertation in the specialty”Oceanology”. In 1999, he was awarded the title of Professor in the specialty “Oceanology”. In 2009, he was elected a corresponding member of the national Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and in 2016-a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Thus, A. B. Polonsky has been working in the Academy of Sciences for more than 40 years.

   A. B. Polonsky research interests cover such key problems of modern oceanology, geophysical hydrodynamics and climatology as global changes in the natural environment and climate of both anthropogenic and natural origin, regional changes in hydrometeorological fields related to global climate processes in the ocean-atmosphere system, global and regional oceanic circulation and water dynamics. A. B. Polonsky is the author and co-author of more than 450 scientific national and foreign publications, including 7 monographs.

The main results of A. B. Polonsky scientific activity within the framework of the listed areas are as follows:

1. Global changes in the state of the natural environment and climate.

     Under this area of research, A. B. Polonsky focused on the relative role of natural and anthropogenic factors that determine the variability of the global climate system. He showed a crucial role of the World Ocean in the formation of the observed long-period variability of this system with characteristic time scales from 50 to 100 years, and studied the influence of various mechanisms of large-scale ocean- atmosphere interaction on the global climate.

2. Regional changes in hydrometeorological fields resulting from global climate processes in the ocean-atmosphere system.

   Research in this area is mainly concerned with the study of regional manifestations of such global climate phenomena as the El Nino-Southern oscillation, the Arctic and North Atlantic oscillations, the Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation, and the Pacific decadal oscillation. It is these processes in the ocean-atmosphere system that form the physical and geographical features of climate change on the globe.
It is shown that the Arctic and North Atlantic oscillations are responsible for the main part of the dispersion of hydrometeorological characteristics of the Atlantic-European region. At the same time, Pacific phenomena such as El Nino and decadal oscillation also cause significant changes in the climatic conditions of the European region. The combined influence of these factors results in the formation of extreme hydrometeorological conditions, including floods and droughts.

3. Global and regional ocean circulation and dynamics of the Black Sea waters.

     For many years, A. B. Polonsky has been studying the physical and geographical features of the global ocean circulation, which is responsible for long-period climate changes on the globe. He is the first to describe the main features of the Tropical Atlantic circulation that form the meridional heat transport to the subtropical regions of the North Atlantic, as well as characteristics of the seasonal cycle of the Equatorial countercurrent system in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. A significant part of the results was obtained by him personally in the course of expeditionary studies in the regions of the World Ocean mentioned above. A. B. Polonsky comprehensively investigated the contribution of synoptic eddies in the ocean to meridional heat transport. He showed that, despite the intense nature of oceanic eddies in the Northern part of the Tropical Atlantic, they do not significantly contribute to the meridional heat transport compared to synoptic eddies in the atmosphere. He is one of the first scientists in the world to establish that coupled fluctuations in the ocean-atmosphere system in the North and Tropical Atlantic are responsible for climate changes in the Atlantic-European region with a characteristic time scale of several decades. His work made a fundamental contribution to the development of parameterization of the upper mixed layer in models of water circulation in the Equatorial zone of the World Ocean. A. B. Polonsky has been studying the circulation and dynamics of the Black Sea waters for more than 40 years. He has participated in numerous expeditionary studies, the results of which are used as the basis for the creation of the Black Sea databases. Long-term trends in changes in the circulation and structure of the Black Sea waters are currently being studied using the generated information arrays.

     Currently, A. B. Polonsky is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Environmental Control Systems”, a member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Proceedings of the Hydrometeorological Center”. He is one of the experts involved in the development of various short -term, medium-term and long-term oceanographic programs and projects. The expert of IPCC.

     A. B. Polonsky pays great attention to the training of highly qualified scientific personnel. Under his scientific supervision, 10 PhD theses were prepared and successfully defended. Two of his pupils became doctors of science. Currently, he is the scientific supervisor of five applicants for the degree of candidate of sciences. He lectures to students of Sevastopol State University and is a professor of the Sevastopol Branch of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

A. B. Polonsky main publications for the last 25 years:

  1. Polonsky A. B., Sukhonos P. A.Intra-annual changes in the heat budget of the upper quasi-homogeneous layer in the North Atlantic / / Fundamental and applied climatology, No. 1. – Pp. 11-27.
  2. Polonsky A.B., Basharin D.V.How strong is impact of Indo-Ocean Dipole on the surface air temperature/sea level pressure anomalies in the Mediterranean region? // Global and Planetary Change Journal, 19рр. (в печати).
  3. Polonsky A.B. Comments on “A Global Analysis of Sverdrup Balance Using Absolute Geostrophic Velocities from Argo” DOI: 10.1175/JPO-D-14-0127.1. Journal of Physical Oceanography, v.45, No.5, 2015, pp.146-148
  4. Polonsky A.B. Oceans, global warming hiatus and regional climate variability (Global and regional climate change, atmospheric and marine variability in the Black Sea region). Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrucken, Germany, 2015. – 192 p.
  5. Basharin D.,Polonsky A., Stankūnavičius G. Projected precipitation and air temperature over Europe using a performance-based selection method of CMIP5 GCMs. // Journal of Water and Climate Change © IWA Publishing., 2015. – 12р., doi:10.2166/wcc.2015.081
  6. Polonsky A. B., Kibalchich I.Circulation indices and temperature regime of Eastern Europe in winter // Meteorology and hydrology, 2015, no. 1, Pp. 5-17.
  7. Polonsky A. B., Shokurova I. G., Sukhonos P. A.Seasonal variability of wind friction stress vorticity and surface current vorticity in the North Atlantic, Morskoy gidrofizicheskiy Zhurnal, 2015, no 2, pp. 43-56.
  8. Polonskii, A. B. and Krasheninnikova, S. B.,Variability of the vertical structure of currents in the Western part of the Subtropical Atlantic and meridional heat transfer, Morskoy gidrofizicheskiy Zhurnal, 2015, no. 3, pp. 37-52.
  9. Polonsky A. B., Ogorodova A. A.Spatiotemporal variability of the oxygen field in the deep-water part of the Black sea in the winter period / / environmental control Systems, 2015. – Issue 2 (21).
  10. Polonsky A. B., Ogorodova A. A.Temporary variability of oxygen content in the upper layer of the deep-water part of the Black sea / / environmental monitoring Systems, 2014, No. 20, Pp. 149-152.
  11. Polonsky A. B., Batura E. A., Sannikov V. F.Stability of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation // Reports of the national Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine, No. 10, Pp. 99-105.
  12. Basura E. A., Polonsky, A. B., Sannikov V. F.Thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic ocean in different climatic era and its modeling//Informatization of geographical research and spatial modeling of natural and socio-economic systems, Moscow: Comradeship of scientific publications KMK 2013, P. 256–
  13. Polonsky A.B. Upwelling in the Northern Black Sea: Description, Mechanisms and Impact on Chlorophyll-A concentration. In book: Upwelling: Mechanisms, Ecological Effects and Threats to Biodi-versity (Editors: Williams E. Fischer and Adams B. Green). Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York, USA, 2013, 59-76.
  14. Polonsky A. B., V. A. Grintsov. Effects of the storm on the structure of the zoocenosis, species composition, and abundance of invertebrates off the southwestern coast of Crimea. Reports of the national Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, No. 8, 2013, pp. 168-174.
  15. Polonsky A.,Large-scale ocean-atmosphere interaction and its impact on global and regional climate variability. Kiyv, Akademperiodyka, 2013, 126 p.
  16. Polonsky A. B., A. Kibalchich. Influence of the North Sea-Caspian oscillation on surface temperature anomalies over the territory of Ukraine and the Black sea during the cold period. Nauchnye Vedomosti belogorskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, No. 24 (167) 2013, issue 25.
  17. Polonsky, A. B., And G. Shokurova. Long-term variability of temperature and salinity in the Black sea and its causes. Reports of the national Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, No. 1, 2013, pp. 146-151.
  18. Polonsky, A. B., E. N. Voskresenskaya, E. V. Wystartowa. Spatial and temporal variability of intense precipitation on the territory of Ukraine and its relation to climate change. Reports of the national Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, No. 7, 2013, pp. 102-107.
  19. Polonsky A.,Evstigneev, V.Naumova, E.Voskresenskaya. Low-frequency variability of storms in the northern Black Sea and associated processes in the ocean-atmosphere system. Regional Environmental Changes, 2013, DOI: 10.1007/s10113-013-0546-z.
  20. Polonsky А.Global Warming, Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation, Thermohaline Catastrophe and Their Impact on Climate of the North Atlantic Region. Use of Satellite and In-Situ Data to Improve Sustainability ( Kogan et al., eds.), NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security, DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-9618-0_15, Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2011, 125-143.
  21. Polonsky А., M. Bardin, E. Voskresenskaya. Variability of extratropical cyclonic activity in the Northern Hemisphere associated with global processes in the ocean-atmosphere system. In book: Cyclones: Formation, Triggers and Control (Editors: Kazuyoshi Oouchi and Hironori Fudeyasu), Nova Science Publishers, Inc., USA, 2012, р.161-196.
  22. Polonsky A. B.pH Variability in the waters of the Black sea in the XX century: does the acidity of sea water increase? Reports of the national Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, No. 2, 2012, pp. 146-1
  23. Polonsky A. B., E. N. Voskresenskaya, V. Maslova. Variability of cyclonic activity in the black sea-Mediterranean region due to processes in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Reports of the national Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, No. 3, 2012, pp. 123-131.
  24. Polonsky A. B., D. V. Basharin. The growth rate of global surface air temperature calculated from the re-analysis data for1871-2008. Reports of the national Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, No. 12, 2012, pp. 146-151.
  25. Polonsky A.Had been observing the acidification of the Black Sea upper layer in XX century? Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, v.12, 2012, 391-396, DOI:10.4194 /1303-2712-v12_2_27.
  26. PolonskyEncyclopedia of Global Warming &Climate Change, second edition (S. George Philander, General Editor), A SAGE Reference Publication, Los Angeles-London-New Delhi-Singapore – Washington DC, volumes 1-3, 2012. (The author  of 5 articles).
  27. Basura E. A.,Polonskii, A. B. and yurovskii, A.V., Interannual variability of the position of the ice edge boundary in the southern ocean, SB.  Sevastopol: EKOSI-Gidrofizika Publ., 2011, Vol. 246-250.
  28. Polonsky A.B.,Krasheninnikova S.B.Space-and-time variability of the meridional heat transport in the North Atlantic // Physical Oceanography, 2011. – Vol. 20, Issue 6. – С 419-434. (the Work is translated by A. B. Polonsky,Krasheninnikov, S. B. Spatial and temporal variability of the meridional transfer of heat in the North Atlantic // Marine hydrophysical journal, 2010. – No. 6. – S. 24–41).
  29. Polonsky А.Demystifying the Oceans’ Meso-Currents (Comment to the review “Deconstructing the Conveyor Belt” by M. Susan Lozier). On-line Science Letters, Science, 2010, 328, 1507: DOI: 10.1126/science.1189250
  30. Basura E. A., Polonsky, A. B., Yurovsky A.V.On low-frequency variability of turbulent heat flows in the waters of the World ocean / / Collection of environmental monitoring Systems.  Sevastopol: EKOSI-Hydrophysics, Pp. 305-308.
  31. Polonsky, A. B.The role of the ocean in climate change. (Monograph). Наукова Думка. Kiev. 2008.
  32. Polonsky A. B., et al.Statistical characteristics of cyclones and anticyclones over the Black sea in the second half of the twentieth century. Marine hydrophysical journal, 2007, no. 6, pp. 47-58.
  33. Polonsky A. B., Lovenkova E. A. [In Russian]. Long-term trends in the variability of the Black sea pycnocline characteristics, Izv. RAS, FAO, 2006, vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 1-12.
  34. Y. Bardin, A. B. Polonsky,North Atlantic oscillation and SYNOPTIC variability in the Euro-Atlantic region in winter, Izv. RAS, FAO, 2005, vol. 41, N 2, pp. 147-157.
  35. Polonsky A. B., Lovenkova E. A. [In Russian]. Trend of temperature and salinity of the active layer in the Black sea in the second half of the 20th century and its causes. RAS, FAO, N 6, 2004, 839-841.
  36. Polonsky А., Voskresenskaya.Ocean variability and climate /weather extremes over Europe. Climate Weather Extremes. Calgary University Press, 2003.
  37. Polonsky A. B., D. V. Basharin. On the influence of North Atlantic and southern fluctuations on surface temperature variability in the European-Mediterranean region. RAS, FAO, vol. 38, No. 1, 2002, 135-145.
  38. Ziganshin G. F., Polonsky, A. B.Interannual and inter-decennial variations in the heat content of the upper 200-meter layer of the Tropical Atlantic in1950-1992 RAS, FAO, vol. 37, No. 2, 2001, 274-288.
  39. Polonsky A., Kuzmin A.. Variability of hydrometeorological characteristics on a decadal scale in the North Atlantic. Meteorology and hydrology. N 9, 2000.
  40. Polonsky А., Yu.Artamonov. North equatorial countercurrent in the Tropical Atlantic: Multi Jet structure and seasonal variability. Deutsche Hydrographische Zeit. (German Journal of Hydrography),   49,  N4, 1997, p.476-494.
  41. Davydov, G. I.,Polonsky, A. B.Variability of the ocean-atmosphere system in the Australian-Asian region in connection with the El Nino-southern oscillation. RAS, FAO, vol. 32, No. 3, 1996.
  42. Polonsky А. A comparative study of the pacific ENSO-event of 1991-92 and Atlantic ENSO-like event of 1991. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, v.45, Nо.4, 1994, pp 700-725.
  43. Polonsky А., et al.A Study of the Equatorial Atlantic Currents using Historical Moored data. Deutsche Hydrographische Zcitschrift, v.45, No.4, 1993, 219-254.
  44. Polonsky А., et al.On the response of the ocean upper layer to synoptic variability of the atmosphere. Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, v.16, No.3/4, 1992, p.225-248.
  45. Polonsky, A. B.Horizontally inhomogeneous active ocean and its modeling. VNIIGMI-MCD publishing house, Obninsk, 1989, 234 p.