The Mediterranean Sea: a miniature ocean for climatic and environmental studies and a key for the climatic functioning of the North Atlantic

Béthoux, J. P.; Gentili, Bernard; Morin, Pascal; Nicolas, Emmanuel; Cartigny, Pierre; Ruiz‐Pino, Diana

doi:10.1016/s0079-6611(99)00023-3

Cited by 207 publications

(135 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…This is because regional factors, associated with the hydrologic, chemical-physical and climatic features of the Mediterranean, largely determine climatic variability (Cacho et al, 2002;Rohling et al, 2002). Moreover, despite the fact that the deep waters of the Mediterranean are currently well ventilated (Bethoux et al, 1999), the presence of sapropels in the eastern Mediterranean indicates that this mechanism has been absent several times in the past. Over the past million years, relatively small changes in the Mediterranean water budget have had a profound impact on the thermohaline circulation of the basin.…”

Section: Present Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Physical forcing and physical/biochemical variability of the Mediterranean Sea: a review of unresolved issues and directions for future research

Artale²,

et al. 2014

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Abstract. This paper is the outcome of a workshop held in Rome in November 2011 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the POEM (Physical Oceanography of the Eastern Mediterranean) program. In the workshop discussions, a number of unresolved issues were identified for the physical and biogeochemical properties of the Mediterranean Sea as a whole, i.e., comprising the Western and Eastern sub-basins. Over the successive two years, the related ideas were discussed among the group of scientists who participated in the workshop and who have contributed to the writing of this paper.Three major topics were identified, each of them being the object of a section divided into a number of different subsections, each addressing a specific physical, chemical or biological issue:1. Assessment of basin-wide physical/biochemical properties, of their variability and interactions.2. Relative importance of external forcing functions (wind stress, heat/moisture fluxes, forcing through straits) vs. internal variability.3. Shelf/deep sea interactions and exchanges of physical/biogeochemical properties and how they affect the sub-basin circulation and property distribution.Furthermore, a number of unresolved scientific/methodological issues were also identified and are reported in each sub-section after a short discussion of the present knowledge. They represent the collegial consensus of the scientists contributing to the paper. Naturally, the unresolved issues presented here constitute the choice of the authors and therefore they may not be exhaustive and/or complete. The overall goal is to stimulate a broader interdisciplinary discussion among the scientists of the Mediterranean oceanographic community, leading to enhanced collaborative efforts and exciting future discoveries.

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Section: Present Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Physical forcing and physical/biochemical variability of the Mediterranean Sea: a review of unresolved issues and directions for future research

Artale²,

et al. 2014

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“…There are many factors behind this assertion: (1) it is a transitional region between mid-latitudes and subtropical climate regimes; (2) it is dominated by the Mediterranean Sea, a semi-enclosed sea which is an important source of moisture and a heat reservoir, that has also been considered as a miniature ocean by physical, chemical, climatic and environmental studies (Bethoux et al, 1999); and (3) the Mediterranean environment has experienced a strong human impact since ancient times due to demographic pressure, agricultural exploitation, urbanization and, more recently, coastal tourism. Many works (Bethoux et al, 1990(Bethoux et al, , 1998Rholin and Bryden, 1992;Vargas-Yáñez et al, 2005 confirm the increase in temperature in deep, intermediate and surface Mediterranean waters, and others explore the effects of this warming in the biology and ecology of organisms in the sea (see the review by Lejeusne et al, 2010) as well as its role in fisheries fluctuations (Tzanatos et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent warming in the Balearic Sea and Spanish Mediterranean coast. Towards an earlier and longer summer

García

2015

Atm

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Este trabajo analiza los cambios recientes en la temperatura del mar Balear y las tierras costeras circundantes. Para el análisis de la temperatura terrestre se han utilizado registros mensuales de varios observatorios litorales del mar (SST, por sus siglas en inglés) se utilizaron imágenes térmicas mensuales de satélite procedentes del Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) disponibles para el periodo 1985-2009. últimos 25 años, con tasas de 0.039 ºC/año en tierra para el periodo 1960-2010 y 0.026 ºC/año para el mar durante el periodo 1985-2009. El análisis estacional de las tendencias muestra que en los últimos 25 años las mayores tasas de calentamiento se producen durante la transición primavera-verano, con tasas máximas en el mes de junio (0.12 ºC/año en tierra y 0.08 ºC/año en el mar). Los resultados evidencian una tendencia hacia el adelantamiento y prolongación de la estación estival en las últimas décadas, tanto en tierra como en mar. . The seasonal analysis showed that, in the last 25 years, higher trends were registered during the transition from spring to summer, with the highest warming rates in June (0.12 ºC/year on land and 0.08 ºC/year in SSTs). Results show a recent tendency towards earlier and longer summers both on land and sea.

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“…According to Bethoux et al (1999), the Mediterranean is a miniature ocean where the effects of climatic and environmental variables on bio-physical coupling are easier to study than on oceanic scales. Several physical and ecosystem models have been developed to examine biological patchiness induced by energetic flow fields, such as the frontal regions of interacting gyres, eddies, jets or filaments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large particulate matter in the Western Mediterranean

Gorsky

Prieur

Taupier‐Letage

et al. 2002

Journal of Marine Systems

194

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The relationship between mesoscale hydrodynamics and the distribution of large particulate matter (LPM, particles larger than 200 Am) in the first 1000 m of the Western Mediterranean basin was studied with a microprocessor-driven CTD-video package, the Underwater Video Profiler (UVP). Observations made during the last decade showed that, in late spring and summer, LPM concentration was high in the coastal part of the Western Mediterranean basin at the shelf break and near the continental slope (computed maximum: 149 Ag C l À 1 between 0 and 100 m near the Spanish coast of the Gibraltar Strait). LPM concentration decreased further offshore into the central Mediterranean Sea where, below 100 m, it remained uniformly low, ranging from 2 to 4 Ag C l À 1 . However, a strong variability was observed in the different mesoscale structures such as the Almeria -Oran jet in the Alboran Sea or the Algerian eddies. LPM concentration was up to one order of magnitude higher in fronts and eddies than in the adjacent oligotrophic Mediterranean waters (i.e. 35 vs. 8 Ag C l À 1 in the Alboran Sea or 16 vs. 3Ag C l À 1 in a small shear cyclonic eddy). Our observations suggest that LPM spatial heterogeneity generated by the upper layer mesoscale hydrodynamics extends into deeper layers. Consequently, the superficial mesoscale dynamics may significantly contribute to the biogeochemical cycling between the upper and meso-pelagic layers. D

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The Mediterranean Sea: a miniature ocean for climatic and environmental studies and a key for the climatic functioning of the North Atlantic

Cited by 207 publications

References 43 publications

Physical forcing and physical/biochemical variability of the Mediterranean Sea: a review of unresolved issues and directions for future research

Physical forcing and physical/biochemical variability of the Mediterranean Sea: a review of unresolved issues and directions for future research

Recent warming in the Balearic Sea and Spanish Mediterranean coast. Towards an earlier and longer summer

Large particulate matter in the Western Mediterranean

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