[1] Changes in the vertical distribution of the physical and chemical parameters observed during this study point to the continuing spatial and temporal evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean Deep Water (EMDW). These changes influenced primarily the water column below 800 m and confined the old EMDW of Adriatic origin to the 1000-2000 m in the Levantine, uplifting the minimum-oxygen/maximum-nutrient (Min Ox /Max Nut ) from 2500 m in 1995 to 1500 m in 1999. The denser and younger EMDW of Aegean origin (EMDW Aeg ) appeared at the bottom layer, more evident at the central eastern Mediterranean and moving prevalently into the Levantine basin. Younger water still intruded the central area at intermediate depths. In the Levantine Intermediate Waters (LIW) oxygen decreased and nutrients increased westward in agreement with its pathway across the basin. However, a temporal decrease in oxygen and concurrent increase in nutrient was found in the LIW because of its confinement in the Levantine by anticyclonic features. Temporal changes were also found in the EMDW at the western Ionian and eastern Cretan passage. The differences in the vertical placement of the Min Ox /Max Nut layer among the different areas were explained by the physical processes, but the relative displacement of the extreme points within the same area were probably a result of oxidation of particulate matter poorer in nitrogen and phosphorus in the Levantine than in the Ionian. Maximal concentrations of silicic acid were located deeper than the other nutrients because of the slower chemical dissolution of silicious tests. The N:P molar ratios at the EMDW were high (26.2-30.7), highest in the younger EMDW Aeg . These differences could not be explained by different dissolved inorganic nutrients concentration at the sources nor by the composition of particulate matter in the euphotic zone. It was suggested that DOM may have a significant role in determining those differences; however, data on DOM concentration and composition across the basin is lacking in order to test this hypothesis.

[1] This paper investigates the role of wind forcing and river discharge on a small-scale shallow embayment: the Gulf of Trieste. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of these dominant processes is carried out using a high resolution numerical model, initialized and forced with experimental data. The simulations are focused on short-term transient events, which occurred during the stratification season (spring and summer). Two significant case studies are analyzed in detail: a strong wind event during summer and a river flood during spring. The model output is also checked against the results of a nondimensional scale analysis and against buoy and satellite observed data. These comparisons show a good correlation, validating the numerical simulations for the two case studies. The model shows that strong wind events blowing on stably stratified water cause coastal upwelling and almost entirely mix the water column in a few hours. Strong wind-driven currents can flush the whole basin in almost 3 days. On the contrary, river floods affect mainly the upper layer, down to 5 m. The circulation is estuarine with a sharp vertical density gradient and horizontal fronts at the interface between plume freshwater and ambient salty water. Given the length scale of the basin, the effect of rotation is weak and a local coastal current in geostrophic balance is not formed during the simulated time period (20 days).Citation: Querin, S., A. Crise, D. Deponte, and C. Solidoro (2006), Numerical study of the role of wind forcing and freshwater buoyancy input on the circulation in a shallow embayment (Gulf of Trieste, Northern

The presence of a seamount-like structure, located a few nautical miles offshore the Capo Vaticano Promontory (western Calabria, S Italy), was revealed by combined geophysical and geochemical investigation. The edifice covers~55 km 2 , with a top located at a depth of about 70 m below sea level, and consists mainly of a NW-trending structure orthogonally interrupted by minor ridges, the largest of which is affected by extensional faults. The top of the edifice hosts active vents, injected fluids that have been investigated for dissolved volatiles. Gas analyses revealed high CO 2 and CH 4 contents, several orders of magnitude above the atmospheric-type values expected for shallow, coastal marine waters, and a noteworthy enrichment in mantle-derived 3 He, which is an unambiguous indicator of the mantle origin of the fluids. Our results, combined with available data from the literature, suggest that the edifice is a tectonically controlled volcanic system, which presence near the Calabria region changes the role played by faults in the frame of the subduction process.

Abstract. On 29 October 2018 a windsurfer's mast broke about 1 km offshore from Istria during a severe scirocco storm in the northern Adriatic Sea. He drifted in severe marine conditions until he eventually beached alive and well in Sistiana (Italy) 24 h later. We conducted an interview with the survivor to reconstruct his trajectory and to gain insight into his swimming and paddling strategy. Part of survivor's trajectory was verified using high-frequency radar surface current observations as inputs for Lagrangian temporal back-propagation from the beaching site. Back-propagation simulations were found to be largely consistent with the survivor's reconstruction. We then attempted a Lagrangian forward-propagation simulation of his trajectory by performing a leeway simulation using the OpenDrift tracking code using two object types: (i) person in water in unknown state and (ii) person with a surfboard. In both cases a high-resolution (1 km) setup of the NEMO v3.6 circulation model was employed for the surface current component, and a 4.4 km operational setup of the ALADIN atmospheric model was used for wind forcing. The best performance is obtained using the person-with-a-surfboard object type, giving the highest percentage of particles stranded within 5 km of the beaching site. Accumulation of particles stranded within 5 km of the beaching site saturates 6 h after the actual beaching time for all drifting-particle types. This time lag most likely occurs due to poor NEMO model representation of surface currents, especially in the final hours of the drift. A control run of wind-only forcing shows the poorest performance of all simulations. This indicates the importance of topographically constrained ocean currents in semi-enclosed basins even in seemingly wind-dominated situations for determining the trajectory of a person lost at sea.

Water mass generation and mixing in the eastern Fram Strait are strongly influenced by the interaction between Atlantic and Arctic waters and by the local atmospheric forcing, which produce dense water that substantially contributes to maintaining the global thermohaline circulation. The West Spitsbergen margin is an ideal area to study such processes. Hence, in order to investigate the deep flow variability on short-term, seasonal, and multiannual timescales, two moorings were deployed at ~1040 m depth on the southwest Spitsbergen continental slope. We present and discuss time series data collected between June 2014 and June 2016. They reveal thermohaline and current fluctuations that were largest from October to April, when the deep layer, typically occupied by Norwegian Sea Deep Water, was perturbed by sporadic intrusions of warmer, saltier, and less dense water. Surprisingly, the observed anomalies occurred quasi-simultaneously at both sites, despite their distance (~170 km). We argue that these anomalies may arise mainly by the effect of topographically trapped waves excited and modulated by atmospheric forcing. Propagation of internal waves causes a change in the vertical distribution of the Atlantic water, which can reach deep layers. During such events, strong currents typically precede thermohaline variations without significant changes in turbidity. However, turbidity increases during April–June in concomitance with enhanced downslope currents. Since prolonged injections of warm water within the deep layer could lead to a progressive reduction of the density of the abyssal water moving toward the Arctic Ocean, understanding the interplay between shelf, slope, and deep waters along the west Spitsbergen margin could be crucial for making projections on future changes in the global thermohaline circulation.