Publication Date:
2021-06-08
Description:
The Aegean water masses and circulation structure are studied via two large-scale surveys performed
during the late winters of 1988 and 1990 by the R/V Yakov Gakkel of the former Soviet Union. The analysis
of these data sheds light on the mechanisms of water mass formation in the Aegean Sea that triggered the
outflow of Cretan Deep Water (CDW) from the Cretan Sea into the abyssal basins of the eastern Mediterranean
Sea (the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Transient). It is found that the central Aegean Basin
is the site of the formation of Aegean Intermediate Water, which slides southward and, depending on their
density, renews either the intermediate or the deep water of the Cretan Sea. During the winter of 1988, the
Cretan Sea waters were renewed mainly at intermediate levels, while during the winter of 1990 it was mainly
the volume of CDW that increased. This Aegean water mass redistribution and formation process in 1990
differed from that in 1988 in two major aspects: (i) during the winter of 1990 the position of the front
between the Black Sea Water and the Levantine Surface Water was displaced farther north than during the
winter of 1988 and (ii) heavier waters were formed in 1990 as a result of enhanced lateral advection of salty
Levantine Surface Water that enriched the intermediate waters with salt. In 1990 the 29.2 isopycnal rose to
the surface of the central basin and a large volume of CDW filled the Cretan Basin. It is found that, already
in 1988, the 29.2 isopycnal surface, which we assume is the lowest density of the CDW, was shallower than
the Kassos Strait sill and thus CDW egressed into the Eastern Mediterranean.
Description:
Published
Description:
1841-1859
Description:
JCR Journal
Description:
reserved
Keywords:
Aegean Sea
;
Water Masses
;
03. Hydrosphere::03.03. Physical::03.03.03. Interannual-to-decadal ocean variability
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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