During winters, the northern Adriatic Sea experiences frequent, intense cold-air outbreaks that drive oceanic heat loss and imprint complex but predictable patterns in the underlying waters. This strong, reliable forcing makes this region an excellent laboratory for observational and numerical investigations of air-sea interaction, sediment and biological transport, and mesoscale wind-driven flow. Narrow sea surface wind jets, commonly known as bora, occur when cold, dry air spills through gaps in the Dinaric Alps (the mountain range situated along the Adriatics eastern shore). Horizontal variations in these winds drive a mosaic of oceanic cyclonic and anticyclonic cells that draw coastal waters far into the middle basin. The winds also drive intense cooling and overturning, producing a sharp front between dense, vertically homogenous waters (North Adriatic Dense Water, or NAdDW) in the north and the lighter (colder, fresher), stratifi ed waters of the Po River plume. Once subducted at the front, the NAdDW flows southward in a narrow vein following the isobaths (contours of constant depth) of the Italian coast. In addition to governing the basins general circulation, these processes also influence sediment transport and modulate biological and optical variability. Building on a long history of scientific investigations [Cushman-Roisin et al., 2001], scientists from several countries conducted intensive multi-disciplinary studies of the northern and central Adriatic during 2002 and 2003. The U.S. Office of Naval Research,NATO, the Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Universities and Research supported large observational and numerical modeling programs.
Northern Adriatic response to a wintertime Bora wind event
Carniel S;
2005
Abstract
During winters, the northern Adriatic Sea experiences frequent, intense cold-air outbreaks that drive oceanic heat loss and imprint complex but predictable patterns in the underlying waters. This strong, reliable forcing makes this region an excellent laboratory for observational and numerical investigations of air-sea interaction, sediment and biological transport, and mesoscale wind-driven flow. Narrow sea surface wind jets, commonly known as bora, occur when cold, dry air spills through gaps in the Dinaric Alps (the mountain range situated along the Adriatics eastern shore). Horizontal variations in these winds drive a mosaic of oceanic cyclonic and anticyclonic cells that draw coastal waters far into the middle basin. The winds also drive intense cooling and overturning, producing a sharp front between dense, vertically homogenous waters (North Adriatic Dense Water, or NAdDW) in the north and the lighter (colder, fresher), stratifi ed waters of the Po River plume. Once subducted at the front, the NAdDW flows southward in a narrow vein following the isobaths (contours of constant depth) of the Italian coast. In addition to governing the basins general circulation, these processes also influence sediment transport and modulate biological and optical variability. Building on a long history of scientific investigations [Cushman-Roisin et al., 2001], scientists from several countries conducted intensive multi-disciplinary studies of the northern and central Adriatic during 2002 and 2003. The U.S. Office of Naval Research,NATO, the Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Universities and Research supported large observational and numerical modeling programs.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
