Abstract
Surface dispersion properties give an immediate characterization of the spreading of passive and active tracers in the ocean, like pollutant and marine species. The Mediterranean sub-basins (Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, Levantine and Aegean) are known as complex dynamic regions due to the presence of coherent structures on different motion scales. This paper focus on dispersion of the surface Mediterranean flow using the surface current data derived from two different drifter designs: the Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment (CODE) and the Surface Velocity Program (SVP) drifters. The absolute dispersion for small time scales (15 days) and spatial scale larger than DI, our results emphasize a similarity in all the sub-basins with the presence of a quasi Random-walk regime and a quasi diffusive regime for the absolute and relative dispersion, respectively.
Highlights
The Mediterranean sub-basins (Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, Levantine and Aegean, see Figure 1A for geographical references) are characterized by different dynamics and high variability of surface currents
Two types of drifter design are used in the Mediterranean dataset; the Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment (CODE) drifter developed to measure the currents in the first meter (Poulain, 1999; Poulain and Gerin, 2019), and the Surface Velocity Program (SVP) drifter (Sybrandy and Niiler, 1991; Lumpkin and Pazos, 2007) that measures the currents in the surface layer at 15 m depth
The drifters were equipped by the Global Positioning System (GPS) and transmit their data to the Argos Data Collection and Location System (DCLS) or via the Iridium satellite system
Summary
The Mediterranean sub-basins (Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, Levantine and Aegean, see Figure 1A for geographical references) are characterized by different dynamics and high variability of surface currents. The westernmost part of the western Mediterranean (WWM, see the Figure 1A for geographical limits) is characterized by strong coastal currents and mesoscale and basin-scale eddies and gyres (Figure 1; Zambianchi et al, 2017; Bouzaiene et al, 2018; Aulicino et al, 2019). The surface mean basin-scale circulation of the WWM is cyclonic with the dominance of zonal and meridional motions in the Algerian and the Liguro–Provençal sub-basins, respectively (Poulain et al, 2012a; Renault et al, 2012). In the northern Tyrrhenian sub-basin the Mistral wind blowing into the Strait
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