The Mediterranean Sea: Temporal Variability and Spatial Patterns

Surface, intermediate, and deep–water processes and their interaction in time and space drive the major ocean circulation of the Mediterranean Sea. All major forcing mechanisms, such as surface wind forcing, buoyancy fluxes, lateral mass exchange, and deep convection determining the global oceanic circulation are present in this body of water. Deep and intermediate water masses are formed in different areas of the ocean layers and they drive the Mediterranean thermohaline cell, which further shows important analogies with the global ocean conveyor belt. The Mediterranean Sea: Temporal Variability and Spatial Patterns is a comprehensive volume that investigates the temporal and spatial variability patterns in the ocean basin. Volume highlights include: • Discussions of state–of–the–art physical and biogeochemical properties of the Mediterranean Sea • Multiple physical ocean circulation processes, both in time and spatial scales (basin, sub–basin, and mesoscale) • How different regional phenomena in the sea influence the biogeochemistry of the basin and the ocean dynamics • Spatio–temporal variability of the surface circulation in the western Mediterranean • Deep–water variability of the surface circulation in the western Mediterranean Sea • Understanding the link between global ocean circulation patterns and the global climate The Mediterranean Sea will be a valuable resource for geoscientists, oceanographers, and meteorologists.

Contributors ix Preface xi 1 Introduction to The Mediterranean Sea: Temporal Variability and Spatial Patterns Gian Luca Eusebi Borzelli, Paola Malanotte–Rizzoli, Miroslav Gačić, and Piero Lionello 1 2 Spatiotemporal Variability of the Surface Circulation in the Western Mediterranean: A Comparative Study Using Altimetry and Modeling Ananda Pascual, Enrique Vidal–Vijande, Simón Ruiz, Samuel Somot, and Vassilis Papadopoulos 5 3 Exchange Flow through the Strait of Gibraltar as Simulated by a σ–Coordinate Hydrostatic Model and a z–Coordinate Nonhydrostatic Model Gianmaria Sannino, J. C. Sánchez Garrido, L. Liberti, and L. Pratt 25 4 Mixing in the Deep Waters of the Western Mediterranean Harry Bryden, Katrin Schroeder, Mireno Borghini, Anna Vetrano, and Stefania Sparnocchia 51 5 The 2009 Surface and Intermediate Circulation of the Tyrrhenian Sea as Assessed by an Operational Model E. Napolitano, R. Iacono, and S. Marullo 59 6 The Eastern Mediterranean Transient: Evidence for Similar Events Previously? Wolfgang Roether, Birgit Klein, and Dagmar Hainbucher 75 7 Deep–Water Variability and Interbasin Interactions in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Emin Özsoy, Sarantis Sofianos, Isaac Gertman, Anneta Mantziafou, Ali Aydoğdu, Sotiria Georgiou, Ersin Tutsak, Alex Lascaratos, Artur Hecht, and Mohammed Abdul Latif 85 8 An Internal Mechanism Driving the Alternation of the Eastern Mediterranean Dense/Deep Water Sources Alexander Theocharis, George Krokos, Dimitris Velaoras, and Gerasimos Korres 113 9 Thermohaline Variability and Mesoscale Dynamics Observed at the Deep–Ocean Observatory E2M3A in the Southern Adriatic Sea Manuel Bensi, Vanessa Cardin, and Angelo Rubino 139 Index 157 Color plate section is located between pages 84 and 85.