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Is the Mediterranean Sea Circulation in a Steady State

Received: 23 January 2015    Accepted: 1 February 2015    Published: 9 February 2015
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Abstract

Most global ocean models are based on the assumption of a “steady state” ocean. Here, we investigate the validation of this hypothesis for the anthropized Mediterranean Sea. In order to do so, we calculated the mixing coefficients of the water masses detected in this sea via an optimum multiparameter analysis referred to as the MIX approach, using data from the BOUM (2008) and MedSeA (2013) cruises. The comparison of the mixing coefficients of each water mass, between 2008 and 2013, indicates that some of their proportions have significantly changed. Surface water mass proportions did not change significantly (Δ 0.05-0.1), while intermediate and deep water mass mixing coefficients of both Eastern and Western basins were significantly modified (~Δ 0.35). This study clearly shows that the Mediterranean seawater is not in a “steady state”.

Published in Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 4, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12
Page(s) 6-17
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Mixing Coefficient, MIX Approach, Water Masses, Seawater Circulation, Mediterranean Sea, Climate Change

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  • APA Style

    Abed El Rahman Hassoun, Véronique Guglielmi, Elissar Gemayel, Catherine Goyet, Marie Abboud-Abi Saab, et al. (2015). Is the Mediterranean Sea Circulation in a Steady State. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 4(1), 6-17. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12

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    ACS Style

    Abed El Rahman Hassoun; Véronique Guglielmi; Elissar Gemayel; Catherine Goyet; Marie Abboud-Abi Saab, et al. Is the Mediterranean Sea Circulation in a Steady State. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2015, 4(1), 6-17. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12

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    AMA Style

    Abed El Rahman Hassoun, Véronique Guglielmi, Elissar Gemayel, Catherine Goyet, Marie Abboud-Abi Saab, et al. Is the Mediterranean Sea Circulation in a Steady State. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2015;4(1):6-17. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12,
      author = {Abed El Rahman Hassoun and Véronique Guglielmi and Elissar Gemayel and Catherine Goyet and Marie Abboud-Abi Saab and Michele Giani and Patrizia Ziveri and Gianmarco Ingrosso and Franck Touratier},
      title = {Is the Mediterranean Sea Circulation in a Steady State},
      journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
      volume = {4},
      number = {1},
      pages = {6-17},
      doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20150401.12},
      abstract = {Most global ocean models are based on the assumption of a “steady state” ocean. Here, we investigate the validation of this hypothesis for the anthropized Mediterranean Sea. In order to do so, we calculated the mixing coefficients of the water masses detected in this sea via an optimum multiparameter analysis referred to as the MIX approach, using data from the BOUM (2008) and MedSeA (2013) cruises. The comparison of the mixing coefficients of each water mass, between 2008 and 2013, indicates that some of their proportions have significantly changed. Surface water mass proportions did not change significantly (Δ 0.05-0.1), while intermediate and deep water mass mixing coefficients of both Eastern and Western basins were significantly modified (~Δ 0.35). This study clearly shows that the Mediterranean seawater is not in a “steady state”.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Is the Mediterranean Sea Circulation in a Steady State
    AU  - Abed El Rahman Hassoun
    AU  - Véronique Guglielmi
    AU  - Elissar Gemayel
    AU  - Catherine Goyet
    AU  - Marie Abboud-Abi Saab
    AU  - Michele Giani
    AU  - Patrizia Ziveri
    AU  - Gianmarco Ingrosso
    AU  - Franck Touratier
    Y1  - 2015/02/09
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12
    T2  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    JF  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    JO  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    SP  - 6
    EP  - 17
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7993
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20150401.12
    AB  - Most global ocean models are based on the assumption of a “steady state” ocean. Here, we investigate the validation of this hypothesis for the anthropized Mediterranean Sea. In order to do so, we calculated the mixing coefficients of the water masses detected in this sea via an optimum multiparameter analysis referred to as the MIX approach, using data from the BOUM (2008) and MedSeA (2013) cruises. The comparison of the mixing coefficients of each water mass, between 2008 and 2013, indicates that some of their proportions have significantly changed. Surface water mass proportions did not change significantly (Δ 0.05-0.1), while intermediate and deep water mass mixing coefficients of both Eastern and Western basins were significantly modified (~Δ 0.35). This study clearly shows that the Mediterranean seawater is not in a “steady state”.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • National Council for Scientific Research, National Center for Marine Sciences, Batroun, Lebanon; IMAGES_ESPACE-DEV, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan Cedex, France; ESPACE-DEV, UG UA UR UM IRD, Maison de la télédétection, Montpellier Cedex, France

  • IMAGES_ESPACE-DEV, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan Cedex, France; ESPACE-DEV, UG UA UR UM IRD, Maison de la télédétection, Montpellier Cedex, France

  • National Council for Scientific Research, National Center for Marine Sciences, Batroun, Lebanon; IMAGES_ESPACE-DEV, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan Cedex, France; ESPACE-DEV, UG UA UR UM IRD, Maison de la télédétection, Montpellier Cedex, France

  • IMAGES_ESPACE-DEV, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan Cedex, France; ESPACE-DEV, UG UA UR UM IRD, Maison de la télédétection, Montpellier Cedex, France

  • National Council for Scientific Research, National Center for Marine Sciences, Batroun, Lebanon

  • OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale), Oceanography Section, Via A. Piccard, Trieste, Italy

  • ICREA - Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Ed. Z, ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les columnes, E- 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

  • OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale), Oceanography Section, Via A. Piccard, Trieste, Italy

  • IMAGES_ESPACE-DEV, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan Cedex, France; ESPACE-DEV, UG UA UR UM IRD, Maison de la télédétection, Montpellier Cedex, France

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