scholarly journals Influence of atmospheric circulation on turbulent air-sea heat fluxes over the Mediterranean Sea during winter

2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (C3) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassilis P. Papadopoulos ◽  
Harilaos Kontoyiannis ◽  
Simón Ruiz ◽  
Nikolaos Zarokanellos
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
The Mediterranean

scholarly journals Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Favoring Deep- and Intermediate-Water Formation in the Mediterranean Sea

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 6079-6091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassilis P. Papadopoulos ◽  
Simon A. Josey ◽  
Aristides Bartzokas ◽  
Samuel Somot ◽  
Simon Ruiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
East Atlantic ◽  
Water Formation ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract Atmospheric circulation patterns that are conducive to extreme ocean heat loss are investigated at four sites of special interest in the Mediterranean Sea. The Gulf of Lions, the South Adriatic Sea, the Cretan Sea, and the Levantine Sea are areas where anomalously high winter heat loss may lead to deep- or intermediate-water formation. At each of the above sites, the atmospheric circulation during such events is derived by averaging the sea level pressure (SLP) fields during the lower decile of the wintertime series of the net heat exchange. A relatively simple SLP pattern dominated by an anticyclone over northwestern Europe with a weaker cyclone to the southeast is found to be associated with strong heat loss in the selected sites with minor variations in pattern structure depending on the site. The SLP composite pattern reflects the combined effect of different atmospheric modes of variability and the authors consider the impacts on heat loss of a number of these modes (North Atlantic Oscillation, east Atlantic pattern, east Atlantic–west Russia pattern, and Scandinavian pattern), together with the North Sea–Caspian pattern and the Mediterranean index. The extremes in heat loss are strongly connected with the intensity and the positions of the poles of these patterns that modulate, through the necessary SLP gradient and associated northerlies, the transfer of cold and dry air over the areas of dense-water formation. Analysis of air–sea temperature difference, specific humidity, and evaporation anomalies indicates that the extremes of the net heat fluxes are primarily due to the latent and sensible heat flux components.

Response to the Summer of 2003 Mediterranean SST Anomalies over Europe and Africa

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (20) ◽  
pp. 5439-5454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Jung ◽  
Laura Ferranti ◽  
Adrian M. Tompkins
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Sensitivity Experiment ◽  
Lower Boundary Condition ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Ecmwf Model ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract The sensitivity of the atmospheric circulation to the warm Mediterranean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies observed during the summer of 2003 (July and August) is studied using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model. A control integration imposes climatological Mediterranean SSTs as a lower boundary condition. The first sensitivity experiment uniformly increases these Mediterranean SSTs by 2 K, the approximate mean observed in the 2003 summer season. A second experiment then investigates the additional impact of the SST distribution by imposing the observed SST summer anomaly. The response of the atmospheric circulation in the European area shows some resemblance to the observed anomaly. The weakness of this response suggests, however, that the warm Mediterranean played a minor role, if any, in maintaining the anomalous atmospheric circulation as observed in the summer of 2003. Increasing SST in the Mediterranean locally leads to an increase in precipitation, particularly in the western Mediterranean. Furthermore, significantly increased Sahelian rainfall is simulated, deriving from enhanced evaporation in the Mediterranean Sea. In the ECMWF model the anomalously high moisture is advected by the climatological Harmattan and Etesian winds, where enhanced moisture flux convergence leads to more precipitation. The associated diabatic heating leads to a reduction of the African easterly jet strength. A similar Sahelian response has been previously documented using a different atmospheric model, increasing confidence in the robustness of the result. Finally, the results are discussed in the context of the seasonal predictability of European and African climate.

scholarly journals High-resolution nested model simulations of the climatological circulation in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea

2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Brenner
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Internal Variability ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Intermediate Model ◽  
Grid Model ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. As part of the Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project (MFSPP) we have implemented a high-resolution (2 km horizontal grid, 30 sigma levels) version of the Princeton Ocean Model for the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. The domain extends 200 km offshore and includes the continental shelf and slope, and part of the open sea. The model is nested in an intermediate resolution (5.5 km grid) model that covers the entire Levantine, Ionian, and Aegean Sea. The nesting is one way so that velocity, temperature, and salinity along the boundaries are interpolated from the relevant intermediate model variables. An integral constraint is applied so that the net mass flux across the open boundaries is identical to the net flux in the intermediate model. The model is integrated for three perpetual years with surface forcing specified from monthly mean climatological wind stress and heat fluxes. The model is stable and spins up within the first year to produce a repeating seasonal cycle throughout the three-year integration period. While there is some internal variability evident in the results, it is clear that, due to the relatively small domain, the results are strongly influenced by the imposed lateral boundary conditions. The results closely follow the simulation of the intermediate model. The main improvement is in the simulation over the narrow shelf region, which is not adequately resolved by the coarser grid model. Comparisons with direct current measurements over the shelf and slope show reasonable agreement despite the limitations of the climatological forcing. The model correctly simulates the direction and the typical speeds of the flow over the shelf and slope, but has difficulty properly re-producing the seasonal cycle in the speed.Key words. Oceanography: general (continental shelf processes; numerical modelling; ocean prediction)

scholarly journals Does the Mediterranean Sea Influence the European Summer Climate? The Anomalous Summer 2003 as a Test Bed

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (20) ◽  
pp. 7028-7045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Tomassini ◽  
Alberto Elizalde
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Summer Climate ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract The European summer 2003 presents a rare opportunity to investigate dynamical interactions in the otherwise variable European climate. Not only did air temperature show a distinct signal, but the Mediterranean sea surface temperature (SST) was also exceptionally warm. The traditional view of the role of the Mediterranean Sea in the climate system highlights the influence of the atmospheric circulation on the Mediterranean Sea. The question of whether the Mediterranean Sea feeds back on the atmospheric dynamics is of central importance. The case of the extremely anomalous summer 2003 allows for investigating the issue under realistic boundary conditions. The present study takes advantage of a newly developed regional coupled atmosphere–ocean model for this purpose. Experiments with prescribed historical versus climatological SST suggest that the local atmospheric circulation is not strongly sensitive to the state of the Mediterranean Sea, but its influence on the moisture balance and its role in the regional hydrological cycle is substantial. Warmer Mediterranean SSTs lead to enhanced evaporation and moisture transport in the atmosphere. Results of regional coupled simulations with different ocean initial conditions imply that because of the strong stratification of the surface waters in summer, the response time of the upper layers of the Mediterranean Sea to atmospheric forcing is rather short. It can be concluded that the role of the Mediterranean Sea in the European summer climate is mostly passive. In winter, however, since the upper layers of the Mediterranean Sea are well mixed, the memory of the Mediterranean SSTs stretches over longer time scales, which implies a potential for actively governing regional climate characteristics to some extent.

Mediterranean Marine heatwaves: On the comparison of the physical drivers behind the 2003 and 2015 events

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Darmaraki ◽  
Samuel Somot ◽  
Robin Waldman ◽  
Florence Sevault ◽  
Pierre Nabat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
The Mediterranean

<p>Over the last decade, an intensification of extreme warm temperature events, termed as marine heatwaves (MHWs), has been reported in the Mediterranean Sea, itself a “Hot Spot” region for climate change. In the summer of 2003, a major MHW occurred in the Mediterranean with abnormal surface temperature anomalies of 2-3 Cº persisting for over a month. In 2015, an undocumented but more intense summer MHW affected almost the entire Mediterranean Sea with regional temperatures anomalies reaching 4-5 Cº. Here, we apply a MHW detection algorithm for long-lasting and large-scale summer events, on the hindcast output of a fully-coupled regional climate model (RCSM). We first examine the spatial variability and temporal evolution of both the 2003 and 2015 events. Then a basin-scale analysis of the mixed layer heat budget during each MHW is performed. The ocean and atmospheric components’ contribution is investigated separately during the onset, peak, and decay phases of both events, in order to disentangle the dominant physical processes behind each event. On the large-scale, our results indicate a key role of the wind forcing and the air-sea heat fluxes, while advection processes become more important at local scales. This study provides a comparison of the underlying mechanisms behind the two most intense MHW detected in the Mediterranean Sea during the last decade, constituting key information for the marine ecosystems of the region.</p>

Aeromonas dhakensis pneumonia and sepsis in a neonate Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus from the Mediterranean Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Pérez ◽  
ML Abarca ◽  
F Latif-Eugenín ◽  
R Beaz-Hidalgo ◽  
MJ Figueras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Grampus Griseus ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Risso's Dolphin

Dolphin Morbillivirus in the Mediterranean Sea

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 514-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Di Guardo
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Dolphin Morbillivirus ◽  
The Mediterranean
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