Articles | Volume 14, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-689-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-689-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Jul 2018
Research article |
| 25 Jul 2018
| 25 Jul 2018
Wind-induced variability in the Northern Current (northwestern Mediterranean Sea) as depicted by a multi-platform observing system
Maristella Berta
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy
Lucio Bellomo
Université de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, MIO, Toulon, France
Annalisa Griffa
CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy
RSMAS, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Marcello G. Magaldi
CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Anne Molcard
Université de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, MIO, Toulon, France
Carlo Mantovani
CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy
Gian Pietro Gasparini
CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy
Julien Marmain
Degreane Horizon, Cuers, France
Anna Vetrano
CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy
Laurent Béguery
ACSA, Meyreuil, France
Mireno Borghini
CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy
Yves Barbin
Université de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, MIO, Toulon, France
Joel Gaggelli
Université de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, MIO, Toulon, France
Céline Quentin
Université de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, MIO, Toulon, France
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The zooplankton community was investigated using net sampling across the North Balearic Front at fine resolution. The front mostly acts as a zonal boundary between communities with a copepod dominated community to the north and a more diversified community to the south. The front itself showed lower biovolume and abundances. The main community difference occurred in the 0–100 m layer, while deeper layers were more homogeneous.
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Oceanographic and atmospheric data is used to study the properties and evolution of an eddy in the Balearic Sea. During the period of observation, this eddy elongates and splits. The unusually dense set of observations from satellites, drifters, and ship-mounted instruments provide insight into this splitting process. In particular, the contribution from the wind is assessed. These mechanisms are known to impact the vertical exchanges of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and pollutants.
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Drifters and a profiling float were deployed in the coastal waters of the southeastern Ligurian Sea to characterize the near-surface circulation at a scale of ~10 km. The drifters were trapped in an offshore-flowing filament and a cyclonic eddy that developed at the southwestern extremity of the filament. Drifter velocities are used to estimate differential kinematic properties and relative dispersion statistics of the surface currents.
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This paper presents the results of the first 2 years of the Levante Canyon Mooring, a mooring line placed since 2020 in the eastern Ligurian Sea, to study a canyon area at about 600 m depth characterized by the presence of cold-water living corals. It provides hydrodynamic and thermohaline measurements along the water column, describing a water-mass distribution coherent with previous evidence in the Ligurian Sea. The data also show a Northern Current episodic and local reversal during summer.
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This work reviews the existing advanced and emerging scientific and societal applications using HFR data, developed to address the major challenges identified in Mediterranean coastal waters organized around three main topics: maritime safety, extreme hazards and environmental transport processes. It also includes a discussion and preliminary assessment of the capabilities of existing HFR applications, finally providing a set of recommendations towards setting out future prospects.
Pablo Lorente, Eva Aguiar, Michele Bendoni, Maristella Berta, Carlo Brandini, Alejandro Cáceres-Euse, Fulvio Capodici, Daniela Cianelli, Giuseppe Ciraolo, Lorenzo Corgnati, Vlado Dadić, Bartolomeo Doronzo, Aldo Drago, Dylan Dumas, Pierpaolo Falco, Maria Fattorini, Adam Gauci, Roberto Gómez, Annalisa Griffa, Charles-Antoine Guérin, Ismael Hernández-Carrasco, Jaime Hernández-Lasheras, Matjaž Ličer, Marcello G. Magaldi, Carlo Mantovani, Hrvoje Mihanović, Anne Molcard, Baptiste Mourre, Alejandro Orfila, Adèle Révelard, Emma Reyes, Jorge Sánchez, Simona Saviano, Roberta Sciascia, Stefano Taddei, Joaquín Tintoré, Yaron Toledo, Laura Ursella, Marco Uttieri, Ivica Vilibić, Enrico Zambianchi, and Vanessa Cardin
Ocean Sci., 18, 761–795, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-761-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-761-2022, 2022
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High-frequency radar (HFR) is a land-based remote sensing technology that can provide maps of the surface circulation over broad coastal areas, along with wave and wind information. The main goal of this work is to showcase the current status of the Mediterranean HFR network as well as present and future applications of this sensor for societal benefit such as search and rescue operations, safe vessel navigation, tracking of marine pollutants, and the monitoring of extreme events.
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Our main aim is to study the feasibility of reconstructing oceanic currents by extending the data obtained from coastal multiplatform observatories to nearby areas in 3D in the SE Bay of Biscay. To that end, two different data-reconstruction methods with different approaches were tested, providing satisfactory results. This work is a first step towards the real applicability of these methods in this study area, and it shows the capabilities of the methods for a wide range of applications.
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Observations of ocean currents within the first meter of the surface are made using a large number of ocean drifters of two different draft depths (0–5 and 0–60 cm). We deconstruct the total drifter velocities using an estimate of the regional circulation and a modeled Stokes drift velocity to calculate the purely wind-driven component of each drifter type. We reveal that the wind-driven velocities rotate to the right of the wind, while also decreasing, with depth.
Roberta Sciascia, Maristella Berta, Daniel F. Carlson, Annalisa Griffa, Monica Panfili, Mario La Mesa, Lorenzo Corgnati, Carlo Mantovani, Elisa Domenella, Erick Fredj, Marcello G. Magaldi, Raffaele D'Adamo, Gianfranco Pazienza, Enrico Zambianchi, and Pierre-Marie Poulain
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Oceanographic and atmospheric data is used to study the properties and evolution of an eddy in the Balearic Sea. During the period of observation, this eddy elongates and splits. The unusually dense set of observations from satellites, drifters, and ship-mounted instruments provide insight into this splitting process. In particular, the contribution from the wind is assessed. These mechanisms are known to impact the vertical exchanges of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and pollutants.
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Revised manuscript under review for ESSD
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-377, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-377, 2024
Revised manuscript under review for ESSD
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Following an seismic crisis in May 2018 in Mayotte, an observation network has been created with the given objective of monitoring this volcanic phenomena. A SeaExplorer glider has been deployed to supplement the data obtained during a series of oceanographic surveys. The glider performed a continuous monitoring of 30 months of the water column from the sea surface to 1250 meters water depth with the objective to acquire hydrological properties, water currents and dissolved gas concentrations.
Pierre-Marie Poulain, Luca Centurioni, Carlo Brandini, Stefano Taddei, Maristella Berta, and Milena Menna
Ocean Sci., 19, 1617–1631, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1617-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-1617-2023, 2023
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Short summary
Drifters and a profiling float were deployed in the coastal waters of the southeastern Ligurian Sea to characterize the near-surface circulation at a scale of ~10 km. The drifters were trapped in an offshore-flowing filament and a cyclonic eddy that developed at the southwestern extremity of the filament. Drifter velocities are used to estimate differential kinematic properties and relative dispersion statistics of the surface currents.
Tiziana Ciuffardi, Zoi Kokkini, Maristella Berta, Marina Locritani, Andrea Bordone, Ivana Delbono, Mireno Borghini, Maurizio Demarte, Roberta Ivaldi, Federica Pannacciulli, Anna Vetrano, Davide Marini, and Giovanni Caprino
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This paper presents the results of the first 2 years of the Levante Canyon Mooring, a mooring line placed since 2020 in the eastern Ligurian Sea, to study a canyon area at about 600 m depth characterized by the presence of cold-water living corals. It provides hydrodynamic and thermohaline measurements along the water column, describing a water-mass distribution coherent with previous evidence in the Ligurian Sea. The data also show a Northern Current episodic and local reversal during summer.
Francesco Paladini de Mendoza, Katrin Schroeder, Leonardo Langone, Jacopo Chiggiato, Mireno Borghini, Patrizia Giordano, Giulio Verazzo, and Stefano Miserocchi
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This work presents the dataset of continuous monitoring in the southern Adriatic Margin, providing a unique observatory of deep-water dynamics. The study area is influenced by episodic dense-water cascading, which is a fundamental process for water renewal and deep-water dynamics. Information about the frequency and intensity variations of these events is observed along a time series. The monitoring activities are still ongoing and the moorings are part of the EMSO-ERIC network.
Emma Reyes, Eva Aguiar, Michele Bendoni, Maristella Berta, Carlo Brandini, Alejandro Cáceres-Euse, Fulvio Capodici, Vanessa Cardin, Daniela Cianelli, Giuseppe Ciraolo, Lorenzo Corgnati, Vlado Dadić, Bartolomeo Doronzo, Aldo Drago, Dylan Dumas, Pierpaolo Falco, Maria Fattorini, Maria J. Fernandes, Adam Gauci, Roberto Gómez, Annalisa Griffa, Charles-Antoine Guérin, Ismael Hernández-Carrasco, Jaime Hernández-Lasheras, Matjaž Ličer, Pablo Lorente, Marcello G. Magaldi, Carlo Mantovani, Hrvoje Mihanović, Anne Molcard, Baptiste Mourre, Adèle Révelard, Catalina Reyes-Suárez, Simona Saviano, Roberta Sciascia, Stefano Taddei, Joaquín Tintoré, Yaron Toledo, Marco Uttieri, Ivica Vilibić, Enrico Zambianchi, and Alejandro Orfila
Ocean Sci., 18, 797–837, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-797-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-797-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This work reviews the existing advanced and emerging scientific and societal applications using HFR data, developed to address the major challenges identified in Mediterranean coastal waters organized around three main topics: maritime safety, extreme hazards and environmental transport processes. It also includes a discussion and preliminary assessment of the capabilities of existing HFR applications, finally providing a set of recommendations towards setting out future prospects.
Pablo Lorente, Eva Aguiar, Michele Bendoni, Maristella Berta, Carlo Brandini, Alejandro Cáceres-Euse, Fulvio Capodici, Daniela Cianelli, Giuseppe Ciraolo, Lorenzo Corgnati, Vlado Dadić, Bartolomeo Doronzo, Aldo Drago, Dylan Dumas, Pierpaolo Falco, Maria Fattorini, Adam Gauci, Roberto Gómez, Annalisa Griffa, Charles-Antoine Guérin, Ismael Hernández-Carrasco, Jaime Hernández-Lasheras, Matjaž Ličer, Marcello G. Magaldi, Carlo Mantovani, Hrvoje Mihanović, Anne Molcard, Baptiste Mourre, Alejandro Orfila, Adèle Révelard, Emma Reyes, Jorge Sánchez, Simona Saviano, Roberta Sciascia, Stefano Taddei, Joaquín Tintoré, Yaron Toledo, Laura Ursella, Marco Uttieri, Ivica Vilibić, Enrico Zambianchi, and Vanessa Cardin
Ocean Sci., 18, 761–795, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-761-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-761-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
High-frequency radar (HFR) is a land-based remote sensing technology that can provide maps of the surface circulation over broad coastal areas, along with wave and wind information. The main goal of this work is to showcase the current status of the Mediterranean HFR network as well as present and future applications of this sensor for societal benefit such as search and rescue operations, safe vessel navigation, tracking of marine pollutants, and the monitoring of extreme events.
Malek Belgacem, Katrin Schroeder, Alexander Barth, Charles Troupin, Bruno Pavoni, Patrick Raimbault, Nicole Garcia, Mireno Borghini, and Jacopo Chiggiato
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5915–5949, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5915-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5915-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The Mediterranean Sea exhibits an anti-estuarine circulation, responsible for its low productivity. Understanding this peculiar character is still a challenge since there is no exact quantification of nutrient sinks and sources. Because nutrient in situ observations are generally infrequent and scattered in space and time, climatological mapping is often applied to sparse data in order to understand the biogeochemical state of the ocean. The dataset presented here partly addresses these issues.
Malek Belgacem, Jacopo Chiggiato, Mireno Borghini, Bruno Pavoni, Gabriella Cerrati, Francesco Acri, Stefano Cozzi, Alberto Ribotti, Marta Álvarez, Siv K. Lauvset, and Katrin Schroeder
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1985–2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1985-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1985-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term time series are a fundamental prerequisite to understanding and detecting climate shifts and trends. In marginal seas, such as the Mediterranean Sea, there are still monitoring gaps. An extensive dataset of dissolved inorganic nutrient profiles were collected between 2004 and 2017 in the western Mediterranean Sea to provide to the scientific community a publicly available, long-term, quality-controlled, internally consistent new database.
Alberto Ribotti, Roberto Sorgente, and Mireno Borghini
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1287–1294, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1287-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1287-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
From May 2000 to January 2004 seven cruises in the Sea of Sardinia collected physical, chemical and biological data. They contributed to knowledge of the local circulation and its interaction with the general Mediterranean one. Accurate and sustained quality assurance for physical sensors was ensured through pre- and postcruise calibration (described here) and verified during cruises by redundant sensors and instruments. Hydrological data are in two open-access datasets in the SEANOE repository.
Ivan Manso-Narvarte, Erick Fredj, Gabriel Jordà, Maristella Berta, Annalisa Griffa, Ainhoa Caballero, and Anna Rubio
Ocean Sci., 16, 575–591, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-575-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-575-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Our main aim is to study the feasibility of reconstructing oceanic currents by extending the data obtained from coastal multiplatform observatories to nearby areas in 3D in the SE Bay of Biscay. To that end, two different data-reconstruction methods with different approaches were tested, providing satisfactory results. This work is a first step towards the real applicability of these methods in this study area, and it shows the capabilities of the methods for a wide range of applications.
John Lodise, Tamay Özgökmen, Annalisa Griffa, and Maristella Berta
Ocean Sci., 15, 1627–1651, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1627-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1627-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Observations of ocean currents within the first meter of the surface are made using a large number of ocean drifters of two different draft depths (0–5 and 0–60 cm). We deconstruct the total drifter velocities using an estimate of the regional circulation and a modeled Stokes drift velocity to calculate the purely wind-driven component of each drifter type. We reveal that the wind-driven velocities rotate to the right of the wind, while also decreasing, with depth.
Roberta Sciascia, Maristella Berta, Daniel F. Carlson, Annalisa Griffa, Monica Panfili, Mario La Mesa, Lorenzo Corgnati, Carlo Mantovani, Elisa Domenella, Erick Fredj, Marcello G. Magaldi, Raffaele D'Adamo, Gianfranco Pazienza, Enrico Zambianchi, and Pierre-Marie Poulain
Ocean Sci., 14, 1461–1482, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1461-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1461-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the role of ocean currents in the recruitment of commercially important fish is an important step toward developing sustainable resource management guidelines. Here, we attempt to elucidate the role of surface ocean transport in supplying recruits of European sardines to the Gulf of Manfredonia, a known recruitment area in the Adriatic Sea. We find that transport to the Gulf of Manfredonia from remote spawing areas in the Adriatic is more likely than local spawning and retention.
Reiner Onken, Heinz-Volker Fiekas, Laurent Beguery, Ines Borrione, Andreas Funk, Michael Hemming, Jaime Hernandez-Lasheras, Karen J. Heywood, Jan Kaiser, Michaela Knoll, Baptiste Mourre, Paolo Oddo, Pierre-Marie Poulain, Bastien Y. Queste, Aniello Russo, Kiminori Shitashima, Martin Siderius, and Elizabeth Thorp Küsel
Ocean Sci., 14, 321–335, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-321-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-321-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
In June 2014, high-resolution oceanographic data were collected in the
western Mediterranean Sea by two research vessels, 11 gliders, moored
instruments, drifters, and one profiling float. The objective
of this article is to provide an overview of the data set which
is utilised by various ongoing studies, focusing on (i) water masses and circulation, (ii) operational forecasting, (iii) data assimilation, (iv) variability of the ocean, and (v) new payloads
for gliders.
Simona Aracri, Katrin Schroeder, Jacopo Chiggiato, Harry Bryden, Elaine McDonagh, Simon Josey, Yann Hello, and Mireno Borghini
Ocean Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2016-65, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-2016-65, 2016
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
The abyssal velocity of the Northern Current, in the north-western Mediterranean has been estimated using for the first time MERMAIDs, i.e. submarine drifting instruments that record seismic waves. In this study the Northern Current shows an intense activity even in deep layers of the water column. Through pseudo-eulerian statistics different components of the observed variability are analysed and described, revealing the turbulent nature of the Liguro-Provençal basin abyssal circulation.
M. Borghini, H. Bryden, K. Schroeder, S. Sparnocchia, and A. Vetrano
Ocean Sci., 10, 693–700, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-10-693-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-10-693-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Approach: In situ Observations | Depth range: Mixed Layer | Geographical range: Mediterranean Sea | Phenomena: Current Field
Upper layer current variability in the Central Ligurian Sea
P. Picco, A. Cappelletti, S. Sparnocchia, M. E. Schiano, S. Pensieri, and R. Bozzano
Ocean Sci., 6, 825–836, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-825-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-825-2010, 2010
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Short summary
The Northern Current (NC) in the NW Mediterranean Sea is studied by HF radar, glider, vessel survey, wind station, and model. NC variability is dominated by synoptic response to wind events, studied decomposing geostrophic and ageostrophic surface components. The combination of autonomous observing platforms with classical marine surveys provides high-resolution datasets for scientific purposes and practical applications such as the management of marine resources in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Northern Current (NC) in the NW Mediterranean Sea is studied by HF radar, glider, vessel...
