Physical Oceanography of the Adriatic Sea

Past, Present and Future

Preface

Contributing authors

Chapter 1: Overview    

1 .1  Introduction
       1.1.1 Geography
       1.1.2 Bathymetry
       1.1.3 Climate
   

1 .2  History of Major Expeditions
       1.2.1 Early achievements
       1.2.2 Classical period
       1.2.3 Research between the two world wars
       1.2.4 Developments after World War II
       1.2.5 Last decades of the 20th century
   

1 .3  Classical Hydrography
       1.3.1 Basin morphology and current field
       1.3.2 Temperature distribution
       1.3.3 Salinity distribution
       1.3.4 Water-mass properties and climatic changes
   

1 .4  Advent of New Observations
       1.4.1 Measurements from moored instruments
       1.4.2 Lagrangian observations
       1.4.3 Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and Coastal Radar
       1.4.4 Remote sensing
   

1 .5  Deep-water Formation

Chapter 2: Forcings    

2 .1    Air-sea Fluxes
       2.1.1 Surface winds
       2.1.1 Bora
       2.1.1 Sirocco
       2.1.1 Other winds
       2.1.2 Momentum flux Wind climatologies and products
       2.1.2 Satellite winds
       2.1.3 Heat flux
       2.1.4 Water flux
   

2 .2  River and Coastal Runoff

Chapter 3: Circulation    

3 .1  Observations of Near-Surface Circulation
       3.1.1 Introduction
       3.1.2 Indirect Observations
       3.1.3 Direct Observations
       3.1.4 Lagrangian Methods
       3.1.5 Circulation inferred from remote sensing
   

3 .2  Observations of Intermediate and Bottom Circulations
   

3 .3  Dynamical Description
       3.3.1 Thermohaline circulation
       3.3.2 Wind-driven circulation
       3.3.3 Topographic steering
   

3 .4  Numerical Simulations
       3.4.1 Modeling of the northern and middle Adriatic
       3.4.2 Modeling of the Mediterranean Sea
       3.4.3 Modeling of the whole Adriatic Sea
   

3 .5  Concluding Remarks

Chapter 4: Adriatic Deep Water and Interaction with the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
   

4 .1  Evidence of Deep-water Formation
       4.1.1 Strait of Otranto
       4.1.2 Southern Adriatic
       4.1.3 Northern Adriatic
   

4 .2  Modeling of Deep-Water Formation
   

4 .3  Interaction with the Eastern Mediterranean
       4.3.1 Eastern Mediterranean circulation and water mass characteristics
       4.3.2 Interaction between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas

Chapter 5: Northern Adriatic Sea
   

5 .1  Introduction
   

5 .2  Forcing Mechanisms
   

5 .3  Observations
       5.3.1 Distributions of temperature, salinity and pigment
       5.3.2 Satellite observations of surface temperature and chlorophyll concentration
       5.3.3 Po River plume and Western Coastal Layer
       5.3.4 Circulation
   

5 .4  Numerical Simulations
       5.4.1 Wind-driven circulation
       5.4.2 Thermohaline circulation and the role of the Po River
       5.4.3 Climatological forcing and long-term effects
       5.4.4 High-frequency forcing and episodic events

Chapter 6: Regional Studies
   

6 .1  Gulf of Trieste
       6.1.1 Historical background
       6.1.2 Seiches in the Gulf of Trieste
       6.1.3 Post-war hydrography and water-mass analysis
       6.1.4 Circulation in the Gulf
       6.1.5 Heating and cooling of the Gulf of Trieste
       6.1.6 Rivers into the Gulf
       6.1.7 Conclusions
   

6 .2  Italian Coastal Waters
       6.2.1 Introduction
       6.2.2 Northern WAC segment
       6.2.3 Middle WAC segment
       6.2.4 Southern WAC segment
   

6 .3  Croatian Coastal Waters
       6.3.1 Introduction
       6.3.2 Wind-driven motions
       6.3.3 Barotropic free waves
       6.3.4 Baroclinic free waves
       6.3.5 Conclusions
   

6 .4  Albanian Shelf Circulation

Chapter 7: Tides, Seiches and Low-frequency Oscillations
   

7 .1  Tidal Observations
   

7 .2  Theoretical Models of Tides
   

7 .3  Numerical Models of Tides
   

7 .4  Tidal Residuals
   

7 .5  Seiches
   

7 .6  Low-frequency Oscillations

Chapter 8: Toward the Future
   

8 .1  Summary and Conclusions
       8.1.1 General remarks
       8.1.2 Specifics
   

8 .2  Research Recommendations References

Index