Masas de agua alrededor de las Islas Baleares

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La oceanografía física en el Mediterráneo español, desde 1907

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Notas climatológicas e hidrológicas de las Rias Bajas

This report has been developed within the Spain-USA Cooperation Program III-P-3038 (1978-79), as a complement of Oceanographic research, bearing on preparation of hydrological and heat balance at the rias (evaporation, air-sea interaction, etc.). Thermometric and pluviometric series of dates, from 1951 to 1977, has been necessary complete and study his homogeneity before get the normal values of this parameters. About the run-off of the rivers, I have got approximate value based on the Tambre monthly discharge coefficients and the monthly precipitation gets in this reportComo trabajo previo a los estudios y campañas oceanográficas desarrolladas durante el Programa Cooperativo Hispano-Norteamericano III-P-3038, se llevó a cabo este estudio siendo necesario para completar los datos del balance hidrológico y energético (evaporación, interacción aire-mar, etc.) de las rías. Para ello utilicé series pluviométricas y termométricas de los años 1951-1977, las cuales tuvieron que ser homogeneizadas y completadas antes de ser tratadas estadísticamente, para obtener los valores medios mensuales de un año normal o estadístico. En lo referente a los aforos de los ríos, he tenido que dar un valor aproximado, basado en los coeficientes de escorrentía del río Tambre y en las precipitaciones medias mensuales calculadas en este trabajoPublicado

Caracterización ambiental de las masas de agua de la plataforma insular Balear, utilizando parámetros físico-químicos. Condiciones hidrográficas.

Durante el transcurso de los años 2008 y 2009 se muestrearon diferentes puntos de la plataforma insular de las Islas Baleares. Estudiándose la distribución espacial y temporal de las principales variables oceanográficas físicas y químicas, así, como su estacionalidad, para caracterizar ese medio ambiente marino. En este trabajo se presenta el estudio hidrográfico de esas aguas, a partir de los datos obtenidos mediante batisondas y de los sensores acoplados a ella

Atypical Western Mediterranean deep water formation during winter 2005

The meteorological conditions in winter 2005, with anomalously low precipitation and unusual persistency of northerlies over the NW Mediterranean, caused a large extension both in time and space of deep convection processes. As a consequence, where convection typically gives rise to the Western Intermediate Waters (WIW) a New Western Mediterranean Deep Water (N-WMDW) was produced, slightly denser (+0.01kg m−3), warmer (+0.05ºC) and saltier (+0.03) than the usual WMDW. Moreover, near the continental slope, a cascading of colder and even denser water was found (-0.1ºC and +0.025 kg m−3), formed over the shelf (C-WMDW). In both cases it appears the high surface salinity as a responsible for the excess of density. The origin of this higher surface salinity is discusse

A mesoscale index to describe the regional ocean circulation around the Balearic Islands

Historical oceanographic surveys carried out around the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) suggest two different scenarios for the regional ocean circulation. In one scenario, occurring during cold winters, cool water is formed at intermediate layers (100–300 m) in the Gulf of Lions. This Western Mediterranean Intermediate Water (WIW) usually moves southward reaching the Balearic Channels, deflecting the warmer Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) coming from the Eastern Mediterranean, and even blocking the Ibiza Channel. On the other hand, during mild winters, less WIW is formed and then LIW flows through the channels, appearing at their characteristic depths. The oceanographic surveys around the Balearic Islands (1985–2004) have provided a qualitative index, indicating the presence or not of WIW in the Ibiza Channel, based on the analyses of θS diagrams. A quantitative index based on mean water temperature between 100 and 300 m depth in the channels may also be defined. Both indexes, the qualitative and the quantitative, give consistent information on WIW presence for the period 1985–2004, however, both are short in time and have gaps in the series. In order to obtain a longer and continuous index for WIW presence and then for regional circulation, air–sea heat fluxes at the Gulf of Lions during winter months were obtained from the meteorological NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset and compared with other meteorological data such as surface air temperature. The standardized air temperature anomalies at 1000 hPa in the Gulf of Lions during winter (December–March) has been shown to be the simplest and best indicator of absence/presence of WIW in the Balearic Islands channels in late spring. Values above 1.0 of the standardized temperature anomaly would indicate absence of WIW in the Ibiza Channel. The high correlation obtained with available in-situ oceanographic data allows the use of this index as an indicator of presence of WIW and then of different regional circulation scenarios backwards in time and in those years for which the oceanographic data are missing or scarc

Sub-seasonal and mesoscale variability of oceanic circulation at key 'choke' points: an example from the Western Mediterranean

Trabajo presentado en la EGU General Assemby 2014, celebrada del 27 de abril al 2 de mayo de 2014 en Viena (Austria)In order to detect long-term climatic change and to better constrain our modelling of ocean circulation it is increasingly important to understand sub-seasonal variability in this circulation. Monitoring the weekly to monthly variability of ocean currents and associated mesoscale instabilities, then placing this within the context of, and modifying, the seasonal to interannual circulation models is key. SOCIB (the Balearic Islands Coastal Ocean Observing and Forecasting System) has undertaken the monthly monitoring of ocean currents in the Ibiza Channel, a key 80 km ‘choke’ point in the Western Mediterranean basin-scale circulation, using gliders. Here, as in other locations in the global ocean, high frequency variability in the system is observed, in conjunction with a seasonal variability in the main thermohaline circulation. Now, with three years of semi-continuous glider data and 16 years of seasonal ships CTD data, we have greater insight into the high frequency processes that modify and govern the large basin-scale flow variability at this ‘choke’ point and thus better understand the important north/south exchanges of Atlantic (fresher and warmer) and Mediterranean (more saline and colder) watermasses and associated dynamical effectsPeer reviewe