SIMULTANEOUS DEEP AND INTERMEDIATE DEPTH CONVECTION IN THE NORTHERN LEVANTINE SEA, WINTER 1992

Abstract

The northern Levantine Sea is the primary source region for the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) in the Mediterranean Sea. The Deep Water (DW) of the Eastern Mediterranean mainly originates in the Adriatic basin, but local contributions from the Levantine Sea have also been suspected in the past. Observations in the northern Levantine Sea during March 1992 shed new light on the above processes, showing simultaneous formation of DW in the cyclonic Rhodes Gyre (Rhodes Gyre) area, and of LIW in the adjacent regions. The deep convection region coincides with the permanent dome structure of the Rhodes Gyre, where overturning of the water is generated by cooling during sufficiently severe winters. The LIW is produced in a much larger area of the northern Levantine Sea than previously thought, by direct surface cooling and mixing of the near-surface stratified waters.