A contribution to the hydrology of the Strait of Sicily

Abstract

The Osservatorio Geofisico Sperimentale of Trieste made a series of hydrological measurements in the Mediterranean in 1968. The areas concerned were the Gulf of Taranto, the Tyrrhenean Sea and the Western Basin. At. the same time, four hydrological sections were also made along the Strait of Sicily. This area is basic for the water exchange between the two main basins of the Mediterranean Sea. Several studies have attempted to evaluate the characteristics of the Levantine water, which flows through the strait to form the middle layers of the Tyrrhenean Sea, and the characteristics of the flow of Atlantic water crossing the sill. (Lacombe and Tchernia, 1960; Le Floch and Romanovsky, 1966). In a more recent study, Morel (1971) gave a det·ailed description of the Levantine Water and of the general features of these exchanges in the Strait. The purpose of our efforts is different being an attempt to improve our knowledge of the flow of Atlantic Water in the upper layer. During t .he cruise which took place in the month of August 1968, (1-18 Aug) 24 hydrological stations were made along four sections (Fig. 1). We were prevented by a limit of the Tunisian territorial waters from obtaining a more detailed picture of the horizontal distribution of the Atlantic waters.