Circulation in the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) during winter—spring |
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Authors: | Riyad Manasrah H. Uli Lass Wolfgang Fennel |
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Affiliation: | (1) Marine Science Station, P.O. Box 195, 77110 Aqaba, Jordan;(2) Baltic Sea Research Institute, Seestr. 15, D-18119 Warnemuende, Germany |
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Abstract: | This study is devoted to oceanographic features of the semi-enclosed Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. The data were recorded in winter—spring 1999 on the R/V Meteor cruise leg 44/2. Temperature and salinity profiles were measured at six positions (I—VI). The shipboard NarrowBand Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (NB ADCP) 150 kHz continuously recorded current profiles down to 350 m en route. The research revealed that the current near the Strait of Tiran front (position VI) represents a semidiurnal signal of an internal tide wave (∼12 h period; 0.2 ms−1 amplitude) that might be generated by the barotropic tide at the sill of the Strait. A sequence of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddy pairs is found along the axis of the Gulf of Aqaba during winter-spring seasons. These sub-mesoscale signals are dominant above the main thermocline and might be caused by wind forcing and the narrowness of the Gulf; it might remain in other seasons with different dimensions in relation to the depth of thermocline. The total diameter of each pair was twice the baroclinic Rossby radius (R ≈ 10 km). A single anti-cyclonic eddy was observed in the upper 300 m in the northern tip of the Gulf with a diameter of about 5–8 km. |
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Keywords: | Circulation eddy current deep convection Gulf of Aqaba Red Sea |
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