Recent Changes in Eastern Mediterranean Deep Waters

Results from a recent hydrographic survey show that an influx of Aegean Sea water has replaced 20 percent of the deep and bottom waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Previously, the only source of such waters was the Adriatic Sea, and the waters of the eastern Mediterranean were in near-steady state...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1996-01, Vol.271 (5247), p.333-335
Main Authors: Roether, Wolfgang, Manca, Beniamino B., Klein, Birgit, Bregant, Davide, Georgopoulos, Dimitrios, Beitzel, Volker, Kovačević, Vedrana, Luchetta, Anna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate
Cruises
Deep water
Dynamics of the ocean (upper and deep oceans)
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Fresh water
Hydrographic surveying
Marine
Mediterranean Sea
Meteors
Oceanography
Physics of the oceans
Salinity
Saltwater
Saltwater intrusion
Sea water
Surface water
Water
Water temperature
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Summary:Results from a recent hydrographic survey show that an influx of Aegean Sea water has replaced 20 percent of the deep and bottom waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Previously, the only source of such waters was the Adriatic Sea, and the waters of the eastern Mediterranean were in near-steady state. The flux changed the water characteristics and displaced older waters upward. Its cause was increasing Aegean Sea salinity, resulting from changes in either the circulation pattern or the large-scale freshwater balance. Current deepwater studies may be affected by the intrusion, but effects might be found also at shallower depths and over a larger region.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.271.5247.333