Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic Advection
Abstract The Mediterranean Sea releases approximately 1 Sv of water into the North Atlantic through the Gibraltar Straits, forming the saline Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). Its impact on large‐scale flow and specifically its northbound Lagrangian pathways are widely debated, yet a comprehensive...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105662 |
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| author | Ori Saporta‐Katz Nadav Mantel Rotem Liran Vered Rom‐Kedar Hezi Gildor |
| author_facet | Ori Saporta‐Katz Nadav Mantel Rotem Liran Vered Rom‐Kedar Hezi Gildor |
| author_sort | Ori Saporta‐Katz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Mediterranean Sea releases approximately 1 Sv of water into the North Atlantic through the Gibraltar Straits, forming the saline Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). Its impact on large‐scale flow and specifically its northbound Lagrangian pathways are widely debated, yet a comprehensive overview of MOW pathways over recent decades is lacking. We calculate and analyze synthetic Lagrangian trajectories in 1980–2020 reanalysis velocity data. Sixteen percent of the MOW follow a direct northbound path to the sub‐polar gyre, reaching a 1,000 m depth crossing window at the southern tip of Rockall Ridge in about 10 years. Surprisingly, time‐dependent chaotic advection, not steady currents, drives over half of the northbound transport. Our results suggest a potential 15–20 years predictability in the direct northbound transport. Additionally, monthly variability appears more significant than inter‐annual variability in Lagrangian mixing and spreading the MOW. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-24804c44605a4979bdc0a552c8b7de16 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-24804c44605a4979bdc0a552c8b7de162025-08-20T03:49:37ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-06-015112n/an/a10.1029/2023GL105662Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic AdvectionOri Saporta‐Katz0Nadav Mantel1Rotem Liran2Vered Rom‐Kedar3Hezi Gildor4Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot IsraelInstitute of Earth Sciences The Hebrew University Jerusalem IsraelInstitute of Earth Sciences The Hebrew University Jerusalem IsraelDepartment of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot IsraelInstitute of Earth Sciences The Hebrew University Jerusalem IsraelAbstract The Mediterranean Sea releases approximately 1 Sv of water into the North Atlantic through the Gibraltar Straits, forming the saline Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). Its impact on large‐scale flow and specifically its northbound Lagrangian pathways are widely debated, yet a comprehensive overview of MOW pathways over recent decades is lacking. We calculate and analyze synthetic Lagrangian trajectories in 1980–2020 reanalysis velocity data. Sixteen percent of the MOW follow a direct northbound path to the sub‐polar gyre, reaching a 1,000 m depth crossing window at the southern tip of Rockall Ridge in about 10 years. Surprisingly, time‐dependent chaotic advection, not steady currents, drives over half of the northbound transport. Our results suggest a potential 15–20 years predictability in the direct northbound transport. Additionally, monthly variability appears more significant than inter‐annual variability in Lagrangian mixing and spreading the MOW.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105662Lagrangian trajectoriesMediterranean Outflow Waternorthbound transportsub‐polar gyre indexspreading and mixingtime‐dependent chaotic advection |
| spellingShingle | Ori Saporta‐Katz Nadav Mantel Rotem Liran Vered Rom‐Kedar Hezi Gildor Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic Advection Geophysical Research Letters Lagrangian trajectories Mediterranean Outflow Water northbound transport sub‐polar gyre index spreading and mixing time‐dependent chaotic advection |
| title | Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic Advection |
| title_full | Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic Advection |
| title_fullStr | Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic Advection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic Advection |
| title_short | Northbound Transport of the Mediterranean Outflow and the Role of Time‐Dependent Chaotic Advection |
| title_sort | northbound transport of the mediterranean outflow and the role of time dependent chaotic advection |
| topic | Lagrangian trajectories Mediterranean Outflow Water northbound transport sub‐polar gyre index spreading and mixing time‐dependent chaotic advection |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105662 |
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