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Surface Geostrophic Circulation of the Mediterranean Sea Derived from Drifter and Satellite Altimeter Data
P. Poulain, Milena Menna, E. Mauri
AbstractDrifter observations and satellite-derived sea surface height data are used to quantitatively study the surface geostrophic circulation of the entire Mediterranean Sea for the period spanning 1992–2010. After removal of the wind-driven compo…
AbstractDrifter observations and satellite-derived sea surface height data are used to quantitatively study the surface geostrophic circulation of the entire Mediterranean Sea for the period spanning 1992–2010. After removal of the wind-driven components from the drifter velocities and low-pass filtering in bins of 1° × 1° × 1 week, maps of surface geostrophic circulation (mean flow and kinetic energy levels) are produced using the drifter and/or satellite data. The mean currents and kinetic energy levels derived from the drifter data appear stronger/higher with respect to those obtained from satellite altimeter data. The maps of mean circulation estimated from the drifter data and from a combination of drifter and altimeter data are, however, qualitatively similar. In the western basin they show the main pathways of the surface waters flowing eastward from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Sicily Channel and the current transporting waters back westward along the Italian, French, and Spanish coasts. Intermi...
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7 2012