New insights on bottom water flows crossing a marine sill under periodic or impulsive perturbations: an application to the Sicily Channel sill (Central Mediterranean Sea)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Falcini ◽  
Marco Di Paolantonio ◽  
Ettore Salusti
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Geophysical Research ◽  
Central Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sicily Channel

<p>We here discuss the remarkable uplift of the Eastern Mediterranean bottom waters that flow westward, over the Malta Escarpment, and cross the sill of the Channel of Sicily (Astarldi et al., 2001; Iudicone et al., 2003; Falcini & Salusti 2015); a dynamics that is rather similar to the one occurring at the Strait of Gibraltar (Mediterranean Sea) and Bab el Mandab (Red Sea) (Siddall et al., 2002). This classical uplift, which usually occurs under a three layer system dynamics, is mostly explained by the Bernoulli suction effect (Lane-Serff et al., 2000). However, the real filed analyses suggest that this dynamics are significantly perturbed by tidal effects and or large scale storms (Smeed et al., 2004). Here consider a novel, theoretical approach to obtain a rather realistic view of natural perturbations that affect these deep flow dynamics. Our insights on uplift processes, in addition, give a contribution to the general understanding of the Mediterranean Sea deep water circulation and, on climatological grounds, heat storage dynamics. We finally remark that similar phenomena happens in several marine straits and/or in semi-enclosed, peripheral basins of particular importance for local and large-scale processes.</p><p> </p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>Astraldi, M., Gasparini, G. P., Gervasio, L., & Salusti, E. (2001). Dense water dynamics along the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). Journal of Physical Oceanography, 31(12), 3457-3475.</p><p>Falcini, F., & Salusti, E. (2015). Friction and mixing effects on potential vorticity for bottom current crossing a marine strait: an application to the Sicily Channel (central Mediterranean Sea). Ocean Science, 11(3), 391-403.</p><p>Iudicone, D., Buongiorno Nardelli, B., Santoleri, R., & Marullo, S. (2003). Distribution and mixing of intermediate water masses in the Channel of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 108(C9).</p><p>Lane-Serff, G. F., Smeed, D. A., & Postlethwaite, C. R. (2000). Multi-layer hydraulic exchange flows. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 416, 269-296.</p><p>Siddall, M., Smeed, D. A., Matthiesen, S., & Rohling, E. J. (2002). Modelling the seasonal cycle of the exchange flow in Bab el Mandab (Red Sea). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 49(9), 1551-1569.</p><p>Smeed, D. A. (2004). Exchange through the Bab el Mandab. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 51(4-5), 455-474.</p>

scholarly journals Deep-sea distribution, biological and ecological aspects of Aristeus antennatus ( Risso, 1816) in the western and central Mediterranean Sea

2004 ◽  
Vol 68 (S3) ◽  
pp. 117-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Sardà ◽  
Gianfranco D'Onghia ◽  
Chrissi Yianna Politou ◽  
Joan Baptista Company ◽  
Porzia Maiorano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Ecological Aspects ◽  
Central Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Aristeus Antennatus

The role of structural inheritance on Africa-Eurasia plate boundary evolution and neotectonics in the central Mediterranean sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Polonia ◽  
Andrea Artoni ◽  
Graziella Barberi ◽  
Andrea Billi ◽  
Luca Gasperini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Geophysical Data ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Plate Convergence ◽  
Structural Inheritance ◽  
Central Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sicily Channel ◽  
Subduction System

<p>Africa-Eurasia plate convergence and the retreat of the subducting slab led to the consumption of the Tethys ocean lithosphere, which has now mostly disappeared below or accreted/exhumed within the Alps/Apennines. Slab tearing plays a major role in plate boundary evolution, asthenospheric upwelling, dynamic topography and magmatism. However, the role played by structural inheritance on the Africa plate is not well constrained. Based on seismological, geodetic and marine geophysical data, we analyse the pattern of crustal deformation in the Calabrian Arc and Sicily Channel, two key regions to unravel the complex Africa/Eurasia plate interaction in the central Mediterranean Sea.</p><p>The Calabrian Arc subduction-rollback system accommodates Africa/Eurasia plate convergence along thrust faults developing both in the frontal and inner domains of the accretionary wedge. However, the most intriguing and tectonically active features are represented by arc-orthogonal faults deforming the subduction system along a complex strike-slip/transtensional pattern that may have been the source of major earthquakes in the Calabrian Arc. Deformation along the lithospheric transtensional faults is punctuated by buried sub-circular magnetized bodies aligned with Mt. Etna, that were interpreted as serpentinite/mud diapirs intruding the subduction system from the lower plate mantle. These faults are part of the overall dextral shear deformation, resulting from differences in Africa-Eurasia motion between the western and eastern sectors of the Tyrrhenian margin of northern Sicily, and accommodating diverging motions in the adjacent compartments of the Calabrian Arc. To the West, the Sicily Channel is part of the Pelagian block and experienced a lithospheric-scale continental rifting starting from the late Miocene with the development of NW-SE-trending tectonic depressions, bordered by crustal normal faults with variable throws. Our geophysical data, however, show that the most active tectonic feature in the area is a N-S trending and ~220-km-long lithospheric fault system characterized by volcanism, high heat flow and seismic activity. The NW-SE elongated rifting pattern, considered the first order structure in this region, appears currently inactive and sealed by undeformed Pleistocene deposits suggesting a recent change in structural development.</p><p>Seismological data show that the lithospheric boundaries present in the Calabrian Arc and Sicily Channel correlate well with spatial changes in the depth distribution of earthquakes and separate regions with different Moho depths and thickness of the seismogenic layer. We propose that these boundaries may represent long-lived inherited Mesozoic discontinuities controlling plate boundary evolution and neotectonics.</p>

scholarly journals Addressing Cetacean–Fishery Interactions to Inform a Deep-Sea Ecosystem-Based Management in the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, Central Mediterranean Sea)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 872
Author(s):  
Pasquale Ricci ◽  
Elisabetta Manea ◽  
Giulia Cipriano ◽  
Daniela Cascione ◽  
Gianfranco D’Onghia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ionian Sea ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Ecosystem Based Management ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Central Mediterranean Sea

Understanding of cetaceans’ trophic role and the quantification of their impacts on the food web is a critical task, especially when data on their prey are linked to deep-sea ecosystems, which are often exposed to excessive exploitation of fishery resources due to poor management. This aspect represents one of the major issues in marine resource management, and trade-offs are needed to simultaneously support the conservation of cetaceans and their irreplaceable ecological role, together with sustainable fishing yield. In that regard, food web models can represent useful tools to support decision-making processes according to an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach. This study provides a focus on the feeding activity occurrence and the trophic interactions between odontocetes and the fishery in the marine food web of the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, Central Mediterranean Sea), by zooming in on cetaceans’ prey of commercial interest. In particular, the quantification of trophic impacts is estimated using a food web mass-balance model that integrates information on the bathymetric displacement of both cetaceans’ prey and fishing activity. The results are discussed from a management perspective to guide future research and knowledge enhancement activities as well as support the implementation of an EBM approach.

scholarly journals Seasonal variability in the Central Mediterranean Sea circulation

2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sorgente ◽  
A. F. Drago ◽  
A. Ribotti
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Seasonal Variability ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Central Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. A high resolution eddy-resolving primitive equation numerical model, based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM), is used to study the seasonal variability of the general circulation in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The model is run on a seasonal cycle, perpetual year simulation for five years, with nesting to the coarser resolution Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM), covering the whole Mediterranean Sea. The model results are compared to the current knowledge on the hydrography and dynamics of the area, with a special focus on the annual cycle of the Modified Atlantic Water (MAW), on the circulation in the Sardinia Channel, the water exchange across the Strait of Sicily, and on the transition and fate of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW). The results show that the adopted coupling techniques between the two models give a proficient downscaling of the large-scale OGCM flow field into the regional scale model. The numerical solution is also used to highlight the seasonal characteristics of important dynamical features in the area, as well as to shed light on the scarcely known circulation regimes along the north African shelf and slope. Key words. Oceanography: general (numerical modelling); Oceanography: physical (currents; general circulation)

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