Horizontal circulation of the Eastern Mediterranean waters during winter and summer seasons

Abstract

       The water circulation of the Eastern Mediterranean was computed using the dynamic method. The reference level was taken at the 1000 db surface. The fulfilment calculations evidenced the considerable stability of the geostrophic water circulation in the eastern and central basins of the Mediterranean Sea. The most pronounced features of the geostrophic circulation during the winter and summer seasons were: the vast cyclonic gyre in the Levantine Sea, enveloping the southern part of the Aegean Sea; the cyclonic gyre in the Ionian Sea; and the anti­cyclonic gyre in the Libyan Sea and near the Egyptian coast.

       The geostrophic current velocity varied between 5-10 cm/sec in Libyan Sea, 15-25 cm/sec near the Egyptian coast and between 35-40 cm/sec in the eastern part of the Levantine Sea. At the strait of Crete island, in reached 15-30 cm/sec. The differences between the winter and summer surface current velocity in the eastern and cen­tral basins of the Mediterranean Sea were not particularly pronounced.