Rising US Drone Activity Over the Black Sea – A Threat to Kremlin's Peace?

Introduction and Background:

  • The Defence Ministry of Russia has instructed its officials to prepare responsive strategies towards drone flights from the US over the Black Sea area.
  • The increased drone presence over the Black Sea by the US is being seen with scepticism, reflecting greater US and NATO involvement in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Why is it in the News?

  • An unprecedented surge in US drone activity monitored over the Black Sea has prompted Russia's Defence Ministry to take necessary action to deter American reconnaissance aircraft.
  • This development heightens tension, signalling possible forceful actions to maintain regional sovereignty.

The Geographical Gaze: The Black Sea

  • Known as the Euxine Sea, the Black Sea is a major water body connecting Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
  • The Black Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean,  fringed  by  the Pontic, Caucasus, and

Unfolding the Scientific Secrets of the Black Sea

  • The Black Sea boasts the largest water body globally with meromictic conditions, i.e., its lower waters never mix with the upper layers leading to a completely anoxic deep water zone.
  • The Black Sea basin receives seawater from the Mediterranean through the Bosporus straits. Freshwater inputs come from multiple European rivers including the sizable Danube.
  • Consequently, the salinity intensifies with depth from around 18 ppt at the surface to about 22 ppt in the deeper waters.
  • Creation of a unique water mass, the Cold Intermediate Layer (CIL), separates surface waters from the deeper waters which leads to deep-water isolation.
  • Below approximately 200 m, bacterial decomposition depletes any available oxygen while the anaerobic activity of certain bacteria leads to the formation of hydrogen sulphide.
  • Although this restricts biodiversity, it ensures remarkable preservation of human artefacts that fall beneath such depths from normal processes of degradation.

This recent escalation in aerial surveillance activities over the Black Sea brings a geopolitical storm brewing, cornering the region's tension surrounding sovereignty, potential conflicts, and historical alliances. This issue merits close attention in the coming weeks.