1 / 20

Mediterranean Water

Mediterranean Water. Mediterranean water in the Atlantic, Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW), Adriatic/ Ionian/ West Mediterranean deep water . Table of content. Seas at stake Mediterranean Water Circulations in the Mediterranean Sea.

shamus
Download Presentation

Mediterranean Water

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Mediterranean Water Mediterranean water in the Atlantic, Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW), Adriatic/ Ionian/ West Mediterranean deep water

  2. Table of content • Seas at stake • Mediterranean Water • Circulations in the Mediterranean Sea

  3. The term Mediterranean derives from the Latinmediterraneus, 'inland' (medius, 'middle' + terra, 'land, earth'),The Mediterranean Sea has been known by a number of alternative names throughout human history.:Mare Nostrum (Latin, Our Sea) by the Romans. In the Bible, it is referred to as the Great Sea. In modern Hebrew, it is called "ha-Yam ha-Tichon" (הים התיכון), "the middle sea", Mediterranean Sea

  4. Adriatic Sea • The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean See separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkans • The name has existed since the antiquity; in Latin it was Mare Hadriaticum. In modern languages, it is Mare Adriatico in Italian

  5. Ionian Sea • The Ionian Sea (Greek Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, Italian Mare Ionio) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea • Ionius was the son of King Adrias of Illyria who gave his name to the Adriatic. • The sea is one of the most seismic areas in the world.

  6. Mediterranean waters • The Mediterranean sea is composed of a series of adjacent water masses • The temperature, salinity, and density vary dramatically from one water mass to the next.

  7. Mediterranean Waters • Mediterranean Sea very salty and warm: • Average temperature: 13C • Average Salinity : 37 ppt • Sea with most evaporation! uncommon

  8. Mediterranean Waters • During the last decade, oceanographers have focused much attention on the Mediterranean Sea • One reason for the growing interest is that the Mediterranean affects the Northern Atlantic Ocean much more than previously realized: • The second reason is the well-recognized role of the Mediterranean Sea as a laboratory for studying ocean processes that are important to global climate.

  9. Mediteranean Waters •  The Mediterranean Sea is essentially divided into two basins, the eastern and the western • The basins are separated by the shallow Sicily Straits, which prevent the water masses from the deep and bottom layers of the two basins from mixing

  10. Mediterranean Waters • three convection areas: • The Gulf of Lion which produces West Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW) • the Adriatic Sea which produces East Mediterranean Deep Water (EMDW) • Levantine Basin which generates Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW)

  11. Mediterranean Water • Mediterranean hydrodynamics are driven by three layers of water masses: a surface layer, an intermediate layer, and a deep layer that sinks to the bottom

  12. Mediterranean Water • surface layer : thickness varying from 250 to 1,000 feet • intermediate layer : warm and saline water coming from the eastern Mediterranean characterized by temperature and salinity maxima at 1,300 feet situated at depths between 1,000 and 2,000 feet • deep layer : occupies the remaining zone between the intermediate layer and the bottom. In general, the water of this layer is very homogeneous.

  13. Circulation • Flow from the rivers into Mediterrane = about one-third of the water lost by evaporation • In consequence : continuous inflow of surface water from the Atlantic Ocean : • After passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, the main body of the incoming surface water flows eastward along the north coast of Africa

  14. Circulation •  This current is the most constant component of the circulation of the Mediterranean. • more powerful in summer, when evaporation in the Mediterranean is at a maximum. • This inflow of Atlantic water loses its strength as it proceeds eastward

  15. Circulation • Surface circulation : separate counterclockwise movement of the water in each of the two basins • complexity of the northern coastline and of the numerous islands: many small eddies

  16. Circulation • Winter: inland winds (Mistral and Tramontane) are dry and cold • Therefore convection in West Mediterranean generates deep water • Mediterranean surface water becomes more saline through the intense evaporation • Therefore: its density increases • Therefore: It sinks • The excess of this denser bottom water emerges into the Atlantic Ocean over the Strait of Gibraltar : • westward subsurface current below the inward current

  17. Circulation • The inflowing water extends from the surface down to 230 or 260 feet. • The outflowing waters is below • The Mediterranean has been metaphorically described as breathing: inhaling surface water from the Atlantic and exhaling deep water in a countercurrent below

More Related