The role of winter intermediate waters in the spring‐summer circulation of the Balearic Sea: 2. A sensitivity numerical study

Pinot, Jean-Michel; Álvarez, Alberto; Fernández, Vicente; Riera, M.

doi:10.1029/1999jc900071

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The large value (>6 cm) between Ibiza and Spain could be due to surface water trapped in an anticyclonic eddy, warmed up by high SST, during all summer, which disappears during fall as observed by Bouzinac [1997] from altimetric SLA of 1993. This scenario is also in agreement with the surface circulation scheme of Pinot and Ganachaud [1999]. The smallest SDA amplitudes (<3 cm) are found in the Channel of Sardinia and the Strait of Sicily.…”

Section: Annual Cycles Of Sea Level Anomalysupporting

confidence: 88%

Annual cycles of sea level and sea surface temperature in the western Mediterranean Sea

Bouzinac

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Johannessen³

2003

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] In the western Mediterranean Sea, sea level variations are the result of seasonal steric effect, atmospheric forcing and mesoscale circulation activity, particularly in the Alboran and Algerian basins, as well as water mass budget variations including flux variations through the Straits of Gibraltar and Sicily. However, the partition of the magnitude of the sea level variations associated with these different components remains a challenging problem. A better determination of the steric effect component will allow a better knowledge of the other annual components. The aim of this study is to improve the estimation and understanding of the annual sea level variations in the different basins of the western Mediterranean Sea, using sea level anomalies (SLA) derived from TOPEX/ POSEIDON and ERS-1/2 altimeters and sea surface temperatures (SST) derived from NOAA/AVHRR infrared imagery, obtained between 1992 and 1998. The first mode of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis on SLA is annual and represents 63% of the total variance. The first mode of EOF analysis on SST anomalies is also annual and represents 98% of the total variance. The lag between the annual variations of SLA and SST is about 40 days. From these EOF results and a parameterisation of the mixed layer, the seasonal dynamic height and the steric effect are estimated and removed from the SLA. The remaining signal is used to examine the annual cycles of the sea level due to water mass budget variations, mesoscale oceanic variability and atmospheric forcing.

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Section: Annual Cycles Of Sea Level Anomalysupporting

confidence: 88%

Annual cycles of sea level and sea surface temperature in the western Mediterranean Sea

Bouzinac

Font

Johannessen³

2003

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…Then, this permanent current is deflected southwards along the Spanish continental slope. AW and WIW flow within this current at the upper 300 m of the water column (Pinot and Ganachaud, 1999;Juza et al, 2013;Pascual et al, 2014). LIW and WMDW flow below the AW and the WIW.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The first attempts to establish the properties of the water masses in the Channels and their associated transports, analyzed a reduced number of oceanographic campaigns, most of them during winter or spring (García-Lafuente et al, 1995;López-Jurado et al, 1995;Pinot and Ganachaud, 1999). These works established that the Northern Current was deflected to the northeast after reaching the Balearic Islands, forming the so-called Balearic Current along the northern slope of the archipelago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatological Hydrographic Properties and Water Mass Transports in the Balearic Channels From Repeated Observations Over 1996–2019

et al. 2020

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“…The cyclonic circulation pattern within the Balearic Basin is mainly density driven, and is strongly constrained by steep bottom topography [ Pinot et al ., ]. The prograde (i.e., flowing with its cyclonic flank in deeper water) NC enters the domain from the east along the Liguro‐Provençal slope; the current displays marked seasonal variability, being strong in winter, but weakening in spring toward a summertime minimum [ Castellón et al ., ; Flexas et al ., ; Pinot et al ., ; Birol et al ., ; Poulain et al ., ].…”

Section: Study Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale variability in the Balearic Sea: An altimetric perspective

Mason

Pascual

2013

JGR Oceans

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[1] The present-day availability of an 18 year record of 1=8 merged Mediterranean Sea sea level anomaly (SLA) data enables a contemporary description of long-term mesoscale activity in the Balearic Sea. SLA data from satellite altimetry are used to study the variability of sea level and surface geostrophic circulation at different spatial and temporal scales within this complex and relatively understudied region in the western Mediterranean (WMED). We find that the mean Northern Current along the Iberian slope is strongest in autumn, although higher variability in winter leads to stronger peaks in kinetic energy. The Balearic Current, which flows along the northern slopes of the Balearic islands, also has its maximum expression in autumn. Across the two Balearic channels (Ibiza and Mallorca), key locations that partly regulate meridional exchange in the WMED, observed seasonal variability in geostrophic velocity anomalies conforms rather well to prior descriptions, suggesting cautious confidence in the use of the Mediterranean merged altimeter product in nearshore regions. Circulation through the channels is maximum in winter. The channel data support the hypothesis that the channel circulation may be hindered by the intermittent presence of the Western Intermediate Water mass, which sometimes forms in winter in the Gulf of Lions. This is the first time that an analysis of variability in the Balearic channels has been performed using altimetric data.

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The role of winter intermediate waters in the spring‐summer circulation of the Balearic Sea: 2. A sensitivity numerical study

Cited by 8 publications

References 8 publications

Annual cycles of sea level and sea surface temperature in the western Mediterranean Sea

Annual cycles of sea level and sea surface temperature in the western Mediterranean Sea

Climatological Hydrographic Properties and Water Mass Transports in the Balearic Channels From Repeated Observations Over 1996–2019

Multiscale variability in the Balearic Sea: An altimetric perspective

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