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Mediterranean Thermohaline Response to Large-Scale Winter Atmospheric Forcing in a High-Resolution Ocean Model Simulation

TitleMediterranean Thermohaline Response to Large-Scale Winter Atmospheric Forcing in a High-Resolution Ocean Model Simulation
Publication TypeArticolo su Rivista peer-reviewed
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsCusinato, E., Zanchettin D., Sannino Gianmaria, and Rubino A.
JournalPure and Applied Geophysics
Volume175
Pagination4083-4110
ISSN00334553
KeywordsAegean Sea, air-sea interaction, Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean (East), Atmospheric forcing, Atmospheric pressure, Climate change, climate variation, East Atlantic pattern, East Atlantic Western Russian, Gulf of Lion, Interannual climate variability, Mediterranean Oscillation, Mediterranean Sea, Modeling, North Atlantic Oscillation, North Atlantic oscillations, oceanic circulation, Oceanography, Russian Federation, teleconnection, Teleconnections, Thermohaline circulations, winter
Abstract

Large-scale circulation anomalies over the North Atlantic and Euro-Mediterranean regions described by dominant climate modes, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic pattern (EA), the East Atlantic/Western Russian (EAWR) and the Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI), significantly affect interannual-to-decadal climatic and hydroclimatic variability in the Euro-Mediterranean region. However, whereas previous studies assessed the impact of such climate modes on air–sea heat and freshwater fluxes in the Mediterranean Sea, the propagation of these atmospheric forcing signals from the surface toward the interior and the abyss of the Mediterranean Sea remains unexplored. Here, we use a high-resolution ocean model simulation covering the 1979–2013 period to investigate spatial patterns and time scales of the Mediterranean thermohaline response to winter forcing from NAO, EA, EAWR and MOI. We find that these modes significantly imprint on the thermohaline properties in key areas of the Mediterranean Sea through a variety of mechanisms. Typically, density anomalies induced by all modes remain confined in the upper 600 m depth and remain significant for up to 18–24 months. One of the clearest propagation signals refers to the EA in the Adriatic and northern Ionian seas: There, negative EA anomalies are associated to an extensive positive density response, with anomalies that sink to the bottom of the South Adriatic Pit within a 2-year time. Other strong responses are the thermally driven responses to the EA in the Gulf of Lions and to the EAWR in the Aegean Sea. MOI and EAWR forcing of thermohaline properties in the Eastern Mediterranean sub-basins seems to be determined by reinforcement processes linked to the persistency of these modes in multiannual anomalous states. Our study also suggests that NAO, EA, EAWR and MOI could critically interfere with internal, deep and abyssal ocean dynamics and variability in the Mediterranean Sea. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.

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URLhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85052077113&doi=10.1007%2fs00024-018-1859-0&partnerID=40&md5=57d976e17c44d01fabda99b4a3066045
DOI10.1007/s00024-018-1859-0
Citation KeyCusinato20184083