Vertical diffusion processes in the Eastern Mediterranean - Black Sea System

Sotiris Kioroglou, Elina Tragou, Vassilis Zervakis, Dimitris Georgopoulos, Barak Herut, Isaak Gertman, Vedrana Kovacevic, Emin Özsoy, Ersin Tutsak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The identification and examination of 'complete' potential density overturns in CTD profiles, within the framework of SESAME project, are employed to assess vertical eddy diffusivities, mostly in the top 100. m of the water column, for a broad area covering the East Mediterranean, the Turkish Straits and the Black Sea. The implementation of this method shows that, mixing induced by mechanical turbulence is enhanced in frontal areas, in the proximity of straits and inside anticyclones; furthermore, that mechanical turbulence is insignificant, down to the scale of CTD resolution, within areas of double diffusive staircases, encountered in deep layers of the water column. Consequently, only laminar theories about double diffusion are applied for assessing diffusivities therein. Susceptibility to different types of double diffusion seems to be related to the interaction of different types of water masses.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)53-63
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Marine Systems
Volume135
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2014
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work has been conducted within the framework of the project ‘Southern European Seas: Assessing and Modeling Ecosystem changes (SESAME)’, funded by the European Union's sixth Framework Programme (FP6) , under the priority ‘Sustainable Development, Global Change and Ecosystems’, contract no. GOCE-2006-036949 .

Keywords

  • Black sea
  • Diffusion
  • Mediterranean
  • Mixing
  • Overturns
  • Thermohaline staircase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oceanography
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Aquatic Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Vertical diffusion processes in the Eastern Mediterranean - Black Sea System'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this