Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing Data
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 circul...
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doaj-ffca7488096c42578a50504d4cbc78cf2020-11-24T21:23:56ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412019-07-01118158910.3390/w11081589w11081589Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing DataNydia C. Reyes Suarez0Michael S. Cook1Miroslav Gačić2Jeffrey D. Paduan3Aldo Drago4Vanessa Cardin5Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale—OGS, 34010 Sgonico (TS), ItalyDepartment of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School—NPS, Monterey, CA 93943, USATRIL Programme, Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics—ICTP, 34151 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School—NPS, Monterey, CA 93943, USAPhysical Oceanography Research Group, Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, 2080 Msida, MaltaIstituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale—OGS, 34010 Sgonico (TS), ItalyThe 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/8/1589remote sensinghigh frequency radarMalta-Sicily ChannelMalta Sicily Gyresurface circulation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nydia C. Reyes Suarez Michael S. Cook Miroslav Gačić Jeffrey D. Paduan Aldo Drago Vanessa Cardin |
spellingShingle |
Nydia C. Reyes Suarez Michael S. Cook Miroslav Gačić Jeffrey D. Paduan Aldo Drago Vanessa Cardin Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing Data Water remote sensing high frequency radar Malta-Sicily Channel Malta Sicily Gyre surface circulation |
author_facet |
Nydia C. Reyes Suarez Michael S. Cook Miroslav Gačić Jeffrey D. Paduan Aldo Drago Vanessa Cardin |
author_sort |
Nydia C. Reyes Suarez |
title |
Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing Data |
title_short |
Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing Data |
title_full |
Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing Data |
title_fullStr |
Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing Data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sea Surface Circulation Structures in the Malta-Sicily Channel from Remote Sensing Data |
title_sort |
sea surface circulation structures in the malta-sicily channel from remote sensing data |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Water |
issn |
2073-4441 |
publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
description |
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. |
topic |
remote sensing high frequency radar Malta-Sicily Channel Malta Sicily Gyre surface circulation |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/8/1589 |
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