The TSS is a complex network of straits and basins with complex topography, coupled together in a stratified environment exchanging different water types in opposite directions. The complex processes of advection and turbulent diffusion in this environment need to be appropriately represented by models. In addition, the multiple scales of motion brought about by the coupled dynamics need to be concurrently represented. However, ocean models today are often limited in supplying the ultimate physical structure and computational tools for these demanding processes. High resolution at the straits is an especially acute requirement for the TSS. As a result, a better understanding of this complex system has necessitated a staircase of models to be developed. Each step has contributed positively to the understanding of the system behaviour and quantify the individual effects.
Various modeling works in this context by Oğuz and Sur (1989), Oğuz et al. (1990), Staschuk and Hutter (2001), Oğuz (2005), Kanarska and Maderich (2008), Demyshev and Dovgaya (2007), Ilıcak et al. (2009), Chiggiato et al. (2011), Demyshev et al. (2012), Sözer (2013), Gündüz and Özsoy (2015), Gündüz (2016), Gürses et al. (2016), Sözer and Özsoy (2017a,b), Sannino et al. (2017) and Aydoğdu et al. (2017) have revealed complex dynamics of the TSS with multiple time-scales of motion ranging from inertial, diurnal, several days to seasonal and inter-annual periods influenced by interactions between the adjacent basins.