Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the Western Mediterranean Sea

10.1029/ce046 ◽  
1994 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Seasonal And Interannual Variability ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea

scholarly journals Aerosol optical properties derived from POLDER-3/PARASOL (2005–2013) over the Western Mediterranean Sea – Part 2: Spatial distribution and temporal variability

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 12715-12737
Author(s):  
Isabelle Chiapello ◽  
Paola Formenti ◽  
Lydie Mbemba Kabuiku ◽  
Fabrice Ducos ◽  
Didier Tanré ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
North African ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Spherical Component ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Coarse Mode

Abstract. The Mediterranean atmosphere is impacted by a variety of natural and anthropogenic aerosols which exert a complex and variable pressure on the regional climate and air quality. This study focuses on the Western Mediterranean Sea (west of longitude 20∘ E) using the full POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances version 3 (POLDER-3)/Polarization &amp; Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar (PARASOL) aerosol data record derived from the operational clear-sky ocean algorithm (collection 3) available from March 2005 to October 2013. This 8.5-year satellite data set includes retrievals at 865 nm of the total, fine-, and coarse-mode aerosol optical depth (AOD, AODF, and AODC, respectively), Ångström exponent (AE), and the spherical/non-spherical partition of the coarse-mode AOD (AODCS and AODCNS, respectively), that have been carefully validated over the study region (Formenti et al., 2018). Here, we analyze the spatial distribution, the seasonal cycle, and interannual variability of this ensemble of advanced aerosol products in three latitude bands (34–38, 38–42, and > 42∘ N) and for three sites (Ersa, Barcelona, Lampedusa) distributed on the western basin. POLDER-3 retrieves the high influence of north African desert dust over the region, which largely controls the spatial distributions (south-to-north decreasing gradient) and seasonal cycles (spring/summer maximum) of both AOD and coarse AOD, including its non-spherical component. In contrast, the coarse spherical component of AOD remains relatively homogenously low all year long over the region, whereas fine-mode AODs are generally more elevated in the eastern part of the region of study, especially north of the Adriatic Sea. From 2005 to 2013, annual POLDER-3 AOD evolution shows a decreasing trend of 0.0030 yr−1 in absolute value at 865 nm (0.0060 yr−1 at 550 nm). Such a downward evolution is much more pronounced and spatially extended for AODF (−0.0020 yr−1 at 865 nm) than for AODC. Our analysis also suggests that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index explains a significant part of the interannual variability of POLDER-3 AODC, reflecting its role on the frequency of Saharan dust transport over the region. Finally, the POLDER-3 data set highlights an improvement of air quality related to the fine aerosol component, with a marked evolution toward more frequent occurrence of clean conditions (≥ 75 % of daily AODF-865 nm<0.05) at the end of the period of study (2010–2013) over most of the Western Mediterranean Sea, and much less evidence of such a large-scale evolution for the coarse fraction. Therefore, despite the high and variable influence of mostly natural north African dust over the region, the POLDER-3 advanced aerosol data set appears sufficiently accurate to successfully resolve the concurrent downward trend of fine, primarily anthropogenic particles, most likely related to reduced emissions in the surrounding European countries.

scholarly journals Parasites of the head of Scomber colias (Osteichthyes: Scombridae) from the western Mediterranean Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Mele ◽  
Maria Pennino ◽  
Maria Piras ◽  
José Bellido ◽  
Giovanni Garippa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Parasite Fauna ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Scomber Colias ◽  
Non Parametric

AbstractThe metazoan parasite assemblage of the head of 30 specimens of the Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) from the western Mediterranean Sea was analysed. Eight species of parasites were found, four mazocraeid monogeneans: Grubea cochlear (prevalence = 10%), Kuhnia scombercolias (59%), K. scombri (52%), Pseudokuhnia minor (86%); three didymozoid trematodes: Nematobothrium cf. faciale (21%), N. filiforme (41%), N. scombri (7%); and one laerneopodid copepod: Clavelissa scombri (7%). Results were compared with previously published data from 14 localities of the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, using non-parametric univariate and multivariate analyses, and the whole parasite fauna of S. colias was compared with that of the congeners (S. australasicus, S. japonicus and S. scombrus). Parasites showed to reflect the biogeographical and phylogenetic history of host. From a methodological point of view, the use of both non-parametric univariate and multivariate techniques proved to be effective tools to detect dissimilarities between parasite assemblages.

scholarly journals Dynamical Downscaling of ERA5 Data on the North-Western Mediterranean Sea: From Atmosphere to High-Resolution Coastal Wave Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Valentina Vannucchi ◽  
Stefano Taddei ◽  
Valerio Capecchi ◽  
Michele Bendoni ◽  
Carlo Brandini
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Wind Wave ◽  
Dynamical Downscaling ◽  
Wave Climate ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Computational Domain ◽  
Wave Hindcast ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea

A 29-year wind/wave hindcast is produced over the Mediterranean Sea for the period 1990–2018. The dataset is obtained by downscaling the ERA5 global atmospheric reanalyses, which provide the initial and boundary conditions for a numerical chain based on limited-area weather and wave models: the BOLAM, MOLOCH and WaveWatch III (WW3) models. In the WW3 computational domain, an unstructured mesh is used. The variable resolutions reach up to 500 m along the coasts of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas (Italy), the main objects of the study. The wind/wave hindcast is validated using observations from coastal weather stations and buoys. The wind validation provides velocity correlations between 0.45 and 0.76, while significant wave height correlations are much higher—between 0.89 and 0.96. The results are also compared to the original low-resolution ERA5 dataset, based on assimilated models. The comparison shows that the downscaling improves the hindcast reliability, particularly in the coastal regions, and especially with regard to wind and wave directions.

Source, transport and fate of terrestrial organic carbon on the western Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Lions, France

2007 ◽  
Vol 105 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 101-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommaso Tesi ◽  
Stefano Miserocchi ◽  
Miguel A. Goñi ◽  
Leonardo Langone
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Gulf Of Lions ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea
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