Seasonal evolution of the mediterranean water propagation in the north Atlantic

The Climatic variability of the seasonal water exchange in the Strait of Gibraltar and the spatial structure of the tongue of the Mediterranean Waters (MW) in the Atlantic Ocean are studied. The analysis is based on the results of a numerical experiment using a 3D ocean circulation model developed at the Institute of Computational Mathematics (ICM RAS) with a resolution of the dataset over the latitude and longitude equal to 0.25 degree. The seasonal evolution of the salinity and density fields is calculated in the North Atlantic (from 20 A degrees S, including the Mediterranean Sea) and in the Arctic Ocean (including the Bering Sea). The comparison of the model estimates with the results of field observations demonstrated good agreement. The transport of the MW into the Atlantic is close to the observed data (during the year, it varies from 1.8 Sv in the winter to 0.9 Sv in the summer). The complex pattern of the currents in the region of the MW spreading is confirmed. The alternating character of the saline MW tongue at the 1000-m level is shown for the first time. It is found that the zones of maximum salinities in the open part of the ocean coincide with the main trajectories of migration of MW lenses and the regions of their decomposition.