Interaction of dense shelf water cascading and open-sea convection in the northwestern Mediterranean during winter 2012

Abstract

The winter of 2012 experienced peculiar atmospheric conditions that triggered a massive formation of dense water on the continental shelf and in the deep basin of the Gulf of Lions. Multiplatforms observations enabled a synoptic view of dense water formation and spreading at basin scale. Five months after its formation, the dense water of coastal origin created a distinct bottom layer up to a few hundreds of meters thick over the central part of the NW Mediterranean basin, which was overlaid by a layer of newly formed deep water produced by open-sea convection. These new observations highlight the role of intense episodes of both dense shelf water cascading and open-sea convection to the progressive modification of the NW Mediterranean deep waters. Key Points Evidence of interaction of dense shelf water cascading with open-sea convection 2012 winter event connected with peculiar atmospheric circulation patterns Formation of the near-bottom thermo-haline anomalies in the NW Mediterranean ©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.