About process times in some deepwater formation events in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Experimental data gathered on some Mediterranean deepwater formation sites have been analysed in order to check the Chapman (Ch), Visbeck and Maxworthy scale laws, their final mixing water depth and process times estimates. All the analysed sites have a high probability to be “internally constrained” so that the baroclinic Rossby radius is the dominant horizontal length scale and the final chimney depth is independent of the rate of rotation as indicated by Visbeck and Maxworthy criteria; the Eady instability times are generally very fast (∼3/ f) but the least final mixing process times are too long compared with the meteorological forcing ones. It is attempted here to identify some new criteria to give some insight on the processes time scale, which is still an open problem. Conclusions about the Rhodes gyre appear questionable, because the experimental data appear inconsistent with any theoretical criterion.