Another description of the Mediterranean Sea outflow

Papers about the outflow in the Strait of Gibraltar assume that (i) it is composed of only two Mediterranean Waters (MWs), the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) and the Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW) from the eastern and western basins, respectively, (ii) both MWs are mixed near 6°W, hence producing a homogeneous outflow that is then split into veins, due to its cascading along different paths and to different mixing conditions with the Atlantic Water (AW).A re-analysis of 1985–1986 CTD profiles (Gibraltar Experiment) indicates two other MWs, the Winter Intermediate Water (WIW) from the western basin and the Tyrrhenian Dense Water (TDW) basically originated from the eastern basin. In the central Alboran subbasin, these four MWs are clearly differentiated, roughly lying one above the other in proportions varying from north to south. Proportions also vary with time, so that the outflow can be mostly of either eastern or western origin. While progressing westward, the MWs can still be differentiated and associated isopycnals tilt up southward as much as being, in the sill surroundings, roughly parallel to the Moroccan continental slope where the densest MWs are. The MWs at the sill are thus juxtaposed and they all mix with AW, leading to an outflow that is horizontally heterogeneous just after the sill (5°45′W) before progressively becoming vertically heterogeneous as soon as 6°15′W. There can be little LIW and/or no WMDW outflowing for a while.An analysis of new 2003–2008 time series from two CTDs moored (CIESM Hydro-Changes Programme) at the sill (270 m) and on the Moroccan shelf (80 m) confirms the juxtaposition of the MWs, their individual and generally intense mixing with AW, as well as the large temporal variability of the outflow composition. Only LIW and TDW were indicated at the sill while, on the shelf, only LIW, TDW sometimes denser there than 200 m below, and WMDW were indicated; but none of the MWs has been permanently outflowing at one or the other place.The available data can be analyzed coherently. Intermediate and deep MWs are formed in both basins in amounts that, although variable from year to year, allow their tracing up to the strait. Four major MWs circulate alongslope counterclockwise as density currents and as long as they are not trapped within a basin, which is necessarily the case for the deep MWs. In the Alboran, the intermediate MWs (WIW, LIW and upper-TDW) circulate in the north while the deep MWs (lower-TDW and WMDW) are uplifted, hence relatively motionless and mainly pushed away in the south. Since both the intermediate and deep MWs outflow at the sill, they are considered as light and dense MWs, the light–dense MWs interface possibly intersecting the AW–MWs interface in the sill surroundings. Considering an outflow east of the sill composed of only two (light–dense) homogeneous layers gives significant results. Across the whole strait, the outflow has spatial and temporal variabilities much larger than previously assumed. The MWs are superposed in the sea and lead at the sill to juxtaposed and vertically stratified suboutflows that will cascade independently before forming superposed veins in the ocean. These veins can have similar densities and hydrographic characteristics even if associated with different MWs, which accounts for the features permanency assumed up to now. The outflow structure downstream of the sill depends on its composition upstream and, more importantly, on that of AW in the sill surroundings where fortnightly and seasonal signals are imposed on the whole outflow.     

Cretan deep water outflow into the Eastern Mediterranean

A simple hydraulic model is used to estimate the deep water fluxes of Cretan Deep Water (CDW), through the Cretan Arc Straits and into the Eastern Mediterranean Basins. The input to the model consists of the height of the deep water reservoir above sill depth and its density difference from the overlying water masses. Data from four hydrographic cruises, which took place in 1995, 1991 and 1987, are used to estimate the depth of the reservoir above the sill and the density difference. The results show a significant CDW outflow of 0.75×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ in early 1995. The outflow of CDW through Kassos Strait, in the east, is 0.53×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹, while 0.22×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ outflows through the Antikithira Strait in the west. The model results agree with fluxes estimated from current meter observations.The CDW outflow has been neither steady nor uniform during the period 1987–95. In the Kassos Strait, the outflow commenced in 1987 and increased rapidly until 1991; since then, it appears to have stabilised. In the Antikithira Strait, in contrast, the outflow has increased steadily since 1987. Such modifications in the CDW outflow are associated with changes in its hydrographic characteristics. The salinity of CDW increased constantly, by approximately 0.1, between 1987 and 1995 while its temperature warmed, between 1987 and 1991, and then cooled.     

Antarctic Intermediate Water influence on Mediterranean Sea Water outflow

This study of the mixing of Mediterranean Sea Water (MW) with the surrounding waters was made possible by the Semane 2002 cruise (Sortie des Eaux Meditérranéennes dans l'Atlantique Nord-Est) that took place in the Gulf of Cadiz in July 2002. Potential temperature, salinity, oxygen, nutrients and CFC data are used to describe the water masses present in the Gulf. In the southern part of the basin, a water mass characterised by low oxygen, high nutrient and low CFC concentrations occurs along the African continental slope. This water has been identified as the modified Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW). It has been previously observed south of this section, at the latitude of the Canary Islands, as a northward flow between the African shelf and the islands. The modified AAIW found in the Gulf of Cadiz is situated at a density of 27.5 kg m⁻³. Above, at 27.3 kg m⁻³, the lower limb of the North Atlantic Central Water is observed as a salinity minimum. The modified AAIW enters the Gulf of Cadiz along the south-western part of the continental shelf. It flows cyclonically and exits north-westward. In the northern part of the gulf, due to the presence of the Mediterranean Undercurrent (MU), the AAIW flows off the coast. An optimum multiparameter analysis was conducted to evaluate the influence of the AAIW on the MW northwest of the basin. We show that the AAIW is present in the lower core of the MU at a proportion of 12.9±8.2% and is absent in the upper core.     

Large warming and salinification of the Mediterranean outflow due to changes in its composition

The Mediterranean Sea transforms surface Atlantic Water (AW) into a set of cooler and saltier typical Mediterranean Waters (tMWs) that are formed in different subbasins within the sea and thus have distinct hydrological characteristics. Depending on the mixing conditions along their route and on their relative amounts, the tMWs are more or less differentiated at any given place, and some mix together up to forming new water masses. We emphasise the fact that any of these Mediterranean Waters (MWs) must outflow from the sea, even if more or less identifiable and/or in a more or less continuous way. Historical data from the 1960s–1980s showed that the densest MW outflowing through the Strait of Gibraltar at Camarinal Sill South (CSS) was a relatively cool and fresh tMW formed in the western basin, namely the Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW). At these times, the sole other tMW identified in the strait was the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW); no mention was made there of, in particular, the two densest tMWs formed in the eastern basin (in the Aegean and the Adriatic) that are now named Eastern Overflow Water (EOW) when they reach the Channel of Sicily (where they cannot be differentiated). A fortiori, no mention was made of the Tyrrhenian Dense Water (TDW) that results from the mixing of EOW with waters resident in the western basin (in particular WMDW) when it cascades down to ∼2000 m from the channel of Sicily. New measurements (essentially temperature and salinity time series) collected at CSS since the mid-1990s indicate that the densest MWs outflowing through the strait have been continuously changing; temperature and salinity there have been increasing, being actually (early 2000s) much warmer (∼0.3 °C) and saltier (0.06) than ∼20 years ago. These changes are one order of magnitude larger than the decadal trends shown for WMDW in particular. We thus demonstrate that, in the early 2000s, (i) the densest MW outflowing at Gibraltar is TDW and (ii) TDW is mainly composed of EOW (the percentage of MWs from the western basin, in particular WMDW, is lower): the densest part of the outflow is thus “more eastern than western”. This Mediterranean Sea Transient (a shift from the western basin to the eastern one) could be linked to the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (a shift from the Adriatic subbasin to the Aegean one). Whatever the case, we demonstrate that the proper functioning of the Mediterranean Sea leads to a variability in its outflow's composition that can have consequences for the mid-depth water characteristics in the North-Atlantic much more dramatic than previously thought.     

Biogeochemical evolution of the outflow of the Mediterranean deep-lying particulate organic matter into the northeastern Atlantic

Small- and large-size particles were collected in January and August 1989 throughout the water column (50–3000 m) in a northeastern Atlantic area where deep Mediterranean waters outflowing through the Strait of Gibraltar are incorporated at mid-depth into Atlantic waters. Particles collected by water filtration (0.7 μm pore size) and by vertical hauls of a plankton net (50 μm mesh size) were analysed for their organic carbon and lipid composition, namely fatty acids, hydrocarbons, aliphatic and alicyclic alcohols and ketones, and pigments. Small-size particles exhibited POC concentrations two to three orders of magnitude higher (5–50 μg/l) than large particles (0.01–0.32 μg/l). Strong spatial and temporal variations were also observed. Surface small particles collected in January accounted for 15–50 μg/l of POC, whereas in August, these represented only 5–15 μg/l following the seasonal variability of primary production. Concurrently, the variety of lipid components was larger in January.The lipid components of large-size particles were dominated by zooplankton markers, whereas small particles showed evidence of a mixed algal composition (mainly of haptophytes and moderately of diatoms, prasinophytes, chrysophytes and dinoflagellates) with a bacterial contribution. The vertical profiles of the different lipid classes showed a general decrease with depth, particularly significant in the upper 200 m, consistently with the POC contents. Compositional changes were more evident in small particles and included the loss of unsaturated compounds and the increase of diagenetic and bacterial markers. Unusual increases were observed at mid-depths indicating additional particle inputs, either by in situ formation or by advective transport from the Mediterranean. The latter was recognized because small particles in Mediterranean waters entrained large quantities of continental detritic materials that were also found in the Mediterranean water lenses in the Atlantic. From these observations, it was inferred that the outflow of the Mediterranean deep-lying particulate organic matter might still preserve its signature in the mid-depth northeastern Atlantic waters.     

Geodynamic control on Messinian clay sedimentation in the Central Mediterranean Sea

Study of clay sedimentation in the Tyrrhenian area during late Miocene time allows to distinguish continental, synsedimentary, and diagenetic influences on the composition of sedimentary rocks, according to the geographic location. In south Sicily smectite-rich assemblages were mainly eroded from soils developed under subarid conditions. On the eastern margin of Sardinia abundant micaillite was supplied from exposed areas tectonically rejuvenated during the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the westernmost part of the Tyrrhenian Basin evaporative environments combined to strong geothermal gradient allowed the formation of sediments rich in euhedral chlorite.     

Numerical simulations of the Mediterranean sea outflow: impact of the entrainment parameterization in an isopycnic coordinate ocean model

Gravity current entrainment is essential in determining the properties of the interior ocean water masses that result from marginal sea overflows. Although the individual entraining billows will be unresolvable in large-scale ocean models for the foreseeable future, some large-scale simulations are now being carried out that do resolve the intermediate scale environment which may control the rate of entrainment. Hallberg [Mon. Wea. Rev. 128 (2000) 1402] has recently developed an implicit diapycnal mixing scheme for isopycnic coordinate ocean models that includes the Richardson number dependent entrainment parameterization of Turner [J. Fluid Mech. 173 (1986) 431], and which may be capable of representing the gravity current evolution in large-scale ocean models. The present work uses realistic regional simulations with the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model (MICOM) to evaluate ability of this scheme to simulate the entrainment that is observed to occur in the bottom boundary currents downstream of the Mediterranean outflow. These simulations are strikingly similar to the observations, indicating that this scheme does produce realistic mixing between the Mediterranean outflow and the North Atlantic Central Water. Sensitivity studies identify the critical Richardson number below which vigorous entrainment occurs as a particularly important parameter. Some of these experiments also show meddies detaching from the Mediterranean undercurrent at locations that appear to be highly influenced by topographic features.     

埕岛油田复杂地形区地形变化趋势研究

位于1976年黄河口东侧的埕岛油田海底复杂地形区对海上石油开采、建立石油平台、铺设海底管线和电缆等造成了一定的困难和危害,通过1999年和2003年两次多波束测量资料对比,分析和研究了埕岛油田复杂地形区的地形变化趋势,为在该海域进行海上平台建设、海底管线和电缆的铺设提供决策依据。     

Mediterranean outflow through the Strait of Gibraltar since 18,000 Years B.P.: Mineralogical and geochemical arguments

Data obtained from mineralogical and geochemical analyses of piston and gravity cores, recovered from an area off Lisbon (Portugal) to the Alboran Sea (Mediterranean), serve as a basis for better understanding the past 18,000 years of hydrological exchanges at Gibraltar. Tracers used in this study are smectite, kaolinite, Ta, Th, La. One of the primary sources of particles both into and out of the Mediterranean is the Guadalquivir River. These particles are transported back into the Atlantic in the Mediterranean outflow water, and deposited along the Iberian slope. No evidence for reversal of this outflow current was found in those cores, since 18,000 years B.P.     

海底地形图表达方法探讨

为实现海底地形多样化表示与服务,丰富海底地形图表示样式,分析了海底地形图的主要内容,研究了海底地形图可视化表达机制。结合多源海底地貌与底质数据的特点,提出了基于颜色扩展联合图形符号、可灵活组合的海底地形图表示策略,给出了水深注记、等深线、深度区、海底底质这4类主要海底地形要素的具体表达方法。试验表明,设计的可视化表达方法能实现不同类型、不同来源、不同质量差异的多类型海底地形数据的有效表达,为海底地形数据的多样化表达提供参考。     

基于数据库的地形图制图研究

GIS数据和制图数据之间的差异是基于GIS数据库实现地图制图输出的难点。分析了当前基础地理信息数据建库的情况及其适用于基本比例尺制图的特点,充分利用了ArcGIS提供的地图表现功能,探讨了ArcGIS环境下基于Geodatabase数据库实现基本比例尺地形图制图的方法,并采用ArcObjects作为二次开发的平台,设计开发了基于GIS数据库的基本比例尺地形图制图模块。     

河口海域地形变化检测技术探讨

从河口海域地形变化与人类开发利用活动关系,以及复测周期与航行安全保障关系出发,提出了河口海域地形检测研究的技术体系构成、历史资料的收集与分析方法、地形变化检测与反演的重要性。这对建立多学科交叉联合开展地形变化监测研究具有重要的意义。     

A quantitative analysis on the Egyptian Mediterranean waters

ＡｑｕａｎｔｉｔａｔｉｖｅａｎａｌｙｓｉｓｏｎｔｈｅＥｇｙｐｔｉａｎＭｅｄｉｔｅｒｒａｎｅａｎｗａｔｅｒｓ￥Ｍ．Ａ．ＳａｉｄａｎｄＦ．Ｍ．Ｅｉｄ（ＲｅｃｅｉｖｅｄＳｅｐｔｅｍｂｅｒ２１，１９９３１ａｃｃｆｅｐｔｅｄＪａｎｕａｒｙ１５，１９９４）Ａｂｓ...     

Topographic Rossby waves in the Gulf of Mexico

Observations of topographic Rossby waves (TRW), using moored current meters, bottom pressure gauges, and Lagrangian RAFOS floats, are investigated for the deep basin of the Gulf of Mexico. Recent extensive measurement programs in many parts of the deep gulf, which were inspired by oil and gas industry explorations into ever deeper water, allow more comprehensive analyses of the propagation and dissipation of these deep planetary waves. The Gulf of Mexico circulation can be divided into two layers with the ∼800-1200 m upper layer being dominated by the Loop Current (LC) pulsations and shedding of large (diameters ∼300-400 km) anticyclonic eddies in the east, and the translation of these LC eddies across the basin to the west. These processes spawn smaller eddies of both signs through instabilities, and interactions with topography and other eddies to produce energetic surface layer flows that have a rich spectrum of orbit periods and diameters. In contrast, current variability below 1000 m often has the characteristics of TRWs, with periods ranging from ∼10-100 days and wavelengths of ∼50-200 km, showing almost depth-independent or slightly bottom intensified currents through the weakly stratified lower water column. These fluctuations are largely uncorrelated with simultaneous upper-layer eddy flows. TRWs must be generated through energy transfer from the upper-layer eddies to the lower layer by potential vorticity adjustments to changing depths of the bottom and the interface between the layers. Therefore, the LC and LC eddies are prime candidates as has been suggested by some model studies. Model simulations have also indicated that deep lower-layer eddies may be generated by the LC and LC eddy shedding processes.In the eastern gulf, the highest observed lower-layer kinetic energy was north of the Campeche Bank under the LC in a region that models have identified as having strong baroclinic instabilities. Part of the 60-day TRW signal propagates towards the Sigsbee Escarpment (a steep slope at the base of the northern continental slope), and the rest into the southern part of the eastern basin. Higher energy is observed along the escarpment between 89°W and 92°W than either under the northern part of the LC or further south in the deep basin, because of radiating TRWs from the western side of the LC. In the northern part of the LC, evidence was found in the observations that 20-30-day TRWs were connected with the upper layer through coherent signals of relative vorticity. The ∼90° phase lead of the lower over the upper-layer relative vorticity was consistent with baroclinic instability. Along the Sigsbee Escarpment, the TRWs are refracted and reflected so that little energy reaches the lower continental slope and a substantial mean flow is generated above the steepest part of the escarpment. RAFOS float tracks show that this mean flow continues along the escarpment to the west and into Mexican waters. This seems to be a principal pathway for deepwater parcels to be transported westward. Away from the slope RAFOS floats tend to oscillate in the same general area as if primarily responding to the deep wave field. Little evidence of westward translating lower-layer eddies was found in both the float tracks and the moored currents. In the western gulf, the highest deep energy levels are much less than in the central gulf, and are found seaward of the base of the slope. Otherwise, the situation is similar with TRWs propagating towards the slope, probably generated by the local upper-layer complex eddy field, being reflected and forcing a southward mean flow along the base of the Mexican slope. Amplitudes of the lower-layer fluctuations decay from the northwest corner towards the south.     

无人机的海岸地形航测技术探讨

根据海岸带的定义,说明其地形图测绘的内容及要求。分析了无人机航测系统中数码相机的检校内容,参照航空摄影测量规范和无人机航测外业实践,探讨了无人机进行海岸带地形测量的方法和步骤,对海岸带区域开展无人机航测作业具有一定的参考意义。     

上海市滩涂水下地形测量研究

针对上海市滩涂水下地形测量工作的历史与现状,详细介绍了滩涂水下地形的测量方法、技术标准以及测绘成果的应用,说明了水下地形测量工作在水利事业中发挥的重要作用,并对更好地提高测绘精度提出了建议,展望了滩涂水下地形测绘的未来发展。     

地形图与海图数据结构对照研究

分析国家基础地理信息地形图和我国现行数字海图数据结构特点,研究两者的分层结构、属性结构及要素相互关系,探讨地形图到海图要素及属性对照技术,并提出地形图到海图数据转换方法。