Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Heburn, G. W
• La Viollette, Paul E

Titel

The Dynamics of the Seasonal Variability of the Western Mediterranean Circulation

Ist Teil von

• Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the Western Mediterranean Sea, 1994, p.249-285

Ort / Verlag

Washington, D. C: American Geophysical Union

Erscheinungsjahr

1994

Quelle

Wiley Online Library All Obooks

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The circulation in the western Mediterranean Sea exhibits strong seasonal and interannual varibility. The circulation is extremely complex, consisting of numerous eddies and current meanders, particularly along the north African coast and in the Algerian basin. There are many physicalfactors which exert an influence on the dynamics of the circulation of the western Mediterranean Sea; wind stress, hydraulic controlled inflow/outflow through the Straits of Gibraltar, thermohaline forced circulation and topography. Various versions of the NRL n‐layer, primitive equations, ocean circulation model are used to systematically study the effects of these various forcing mechanisms, individually and in combination, on the circulation dynamics of the western Mediterranean Sea. Results from various case studies involving wind, thermohaline and topographic forcing reveal that no one mechanism dominates. The complex western Mediterranean circulationis the result of non‐linear interactions between the directly forced motionsand internalflow instabilities.