On a Sugimoto-Whitehead effect in the Mediterranean Sea: sinking and mixing of a bottom current in the Bari Canyon, southern adriatic sea

Abstract

In this paper we present some data gathered during two cruises in the southern Adriatic Sea. They concern the sinking and mixing of a cold, dense and relatively fresh bottom current into a submarine canyon crossing the shelf break off Bari. This dense water is formed during the winter months in the northern Adriatic Sea through surface cooling and evaporation due to strong northeasterly winds. The resulting cold and dense water mass flows southward following approximately the isobaths. When bottom irregularities, such as the submarine canyon or the southern Adriatic Basins's shelf break, are encountered, impressive sinking and mixing processes occur. We observed these processes through CTD casts and dissolved oxygen measurements. Similar phenomena have been recently observed in tank experiments by Sugimoto and Whitehead.