Abstract
The Malta-Sicily Channel is part of the Sicily Channel system where water and thermohaline properties between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean basins take place. Several mesoscales features are detached from the main circulation due to wind and bathymetric forcing. In this paper, surface circulation structures are studied using different remotely sensed datasets: satellite data (absolute dynamic topography, Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform wind vector analysis, satellite chlorophyll and sea surface temperature) and high frequency radar data. We identified high frequency motions (at short time scales—hours to days), as well as mesoscale structures fundamental for the understanding of the Malta-Sicily Channel circulation dynamics. One of those is the Malta-Sicily Gyre; an anticyclonic structure trapped between the Sicilian and Maltese coasts, which is poorly studied in the literature and often confused with the Malta Channel Crest and the Ionian Shelf Break Vortex. In order to characterize this gyre, we calculated its kinetic properties taking advantage of the fine-scale temporal and spatial resolution of the high frequency radar data, and thus confirming its presence with an updated version of the surface circulation patterns in the area.
Highlights
Study Area smaller than the synoptic scale, mesoscale to sub-mesoscale structures influence the stratification and contribute to the vertical and horizontal advection of sea water properties
Due to its poor description in the literature its characterization is an important result of our studies
This is an anticyclonic structure occupying a substantial portion of the channel that has been poorly studied and often confused with the ISV or the MCC
Summary
Study Area smaller than the synoptic scale, mesoscale to sub-mesoscale structures influence the stratification and contribute to the vertical and horizontal advection of sea water properties. The circulation in the Sicily Channel (SC; defined as 11–16.5◦ E and 33—38◦ N in Figure 1 for our studies) is mainly driven by the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation together with its mesoscale and seasonal variability showing intra-annual and inter-annual variability [3,4,5]. This area is characterized by a complex bathymetry with a two-sill system at the Sicily Strait (SS) [6]. These bathymetric features can strongly influence the current system in the SC
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