3 ms·
I was always under the impression that evaporation would have threatened its existence if not for the in flow from the Atlantic
by Shivetya 9y ago
I was always under the impression that evaporation would have threatened its existence if not for the in flow from the Atlantic
- twic 9y agoOn average, the Mediterranean basin shows an excess of evaporation over freshwater inputs and a heat loss through air-sea interaction. It has an overall freshwater deficit, as the loss to the atmosphere by evaporation is larger than the gains by precipitation and runoff from the main rivers and input from the Black Sea. The total heat budget is negative, that is, the Mediterranean Sea loses more energy than it gains. These losses of freshwater and heat are compensated by the two-layer exchange at the Strait of Gibraltar comprising a relatively warm and fresh (15.4°C, 36.2 psu) upper water inflow and a relatively cooler and saltier (13°C, 38.4 psu) outflow to the Atlantic (Bryden et al. 1994; Tsimplis and Bryden 2000). On long timescales, the losses of freshwater and heat from the surface are compensated and the net salt flux is close to zero. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-011-1012-6 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-011-1012-6