Past, present and future patterns of the thermohaline circulation and characteristic water masses of the mediterranean sea

Abstract

The aim of this section is to provide a comprehensive overview of the research findings concerning the thermohaline circulation of the Mediterranean Sea. The decadal/inter-decadal variability and long-term evolution of the thermohaline properties of the Mediterranean Basin are extensively discussed. We focus on the major climate transient thermohaline events and their links to atmospheric variability and anthropogenic/environmental changes that dramatically changed the deep hydrology and strongly affected the marine ecosystems of the Mediterranean basin during the last 20 years. This section also includes a synthesis of the results of future projections of the thermohaline circulation derived by climate model simulations of the Mediterranean region covering the twenty-first century. The expected effects of the projected thermohaline circulation changes on the marine ecology are also discussed.