Interaction of dense shelf water cascading and open-sea convection in the northwestern Mediterranean during winter 2012
Durrieu, X. de Madron ; Houpert, L. ; Puig, P. ; Sanchez-Vidal, A. ; Testor, P. ; Bosse, A. ; Estournel, C. ; Somot, S. ; Bourrin, F. ; Bouin, M. N. ; Beauverger, M. ; Beguery, L. ; Calafat, A. ; Canals, M. ; Cassou, C. ; Coppola, L. ; Dausse, D. ; D'Ortenzio, F. ; Font, J. ; Heussner, S. ; Kunesch, S. ; Lefevre, D. ; Le Goff, H. ; Martín, J. ; Mortier, L. ; Palanques, A. ; Raimbault, P.
The winter of 2012 experienced peculiar atmospheric conditions that triggered a massive formation of dense water on the continental shelf and in the deep basin of the Gulf of Lions. Multiplatforms observations enabled a synoptic view of dense water formation and spreading at basin scale. Five months after its formation, the dense water of coastal origin created a distinct bottom layer up to a few hundreds of meters thick over the central part of the NW Mediterranean basin, which was overlaid by a layer of newly formed deep water produced by open-sea convection. These new observations highlight the role of intense episodes of both dense shelf water cascading and open-sea convection to the progressive modification of the NW Mediterranean deep waters.
Accès à la notice sur le site du portail documentaire de Météo-France