Eddies characteristics and their relationship with cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea in the recent decades 

Abstract

<p>This study presents a comprehensive investigation using satellite altimetry of the statistics, variability, and characteristics of the mesoscale eddies in the Mediterranean Sea (MS) for the period 1993–2021. A tracking algorithm is applied to detect the centers of the eddies and associated statistics. For this analysis, Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) archived from the Copernicus marine services (CNMS) and high-resolution daily SST data from NOAA OI SST V2 were used from 1993 to 2021. Atmospheric parameters are obtained from the ERA5 reanalysis.</p><p> </p><p>About 660 thousand Warm core eddies (WCEs) and 666 thousand Cold core eddies (CCEs) have been recorded in the MS between 1993 and 2021. The intensity and frequency of WCEs and CCEs have been found to increase in recent decades. However, the magnitude of the trend is higher for WCEs than CCEs. On the other hand, the Area of WCEs and CCEs eddies is showing a negative trend.</p><p> </p><p>Interestingly, these characteristics show substantial seasonal variability. For example, the number of CCEs is higher in the autumn, and WCEs are higher in the winter. Additionally, it has been noted that although atmospheric cyclones are more frequent in the autumn (Sep-Jan, more intense cyclones tend to form in the winter. The relation between the winter intensification of storms and the larger number of WCE is being investigated. Further, we make an effort to examine the relationship between changing eddies and atmospheric cyclone characteristics.</p>