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ArticleAuthors
Papadopoulos, Vassilis P.
Zhan, Peng

Sofianos, Sarantis. S.

Raitsos, Dionysios E.
Qurban, Mohammed
Abualnaja, Yasser
Bower, Amy
Kontoyiannis, Harilaos
Pavlidou, Alexandra
Asharaf T.T., Mohamed
Zarokanellos, Nikolaos

Hoteit, Ibrahim

KAUST Department
Beacon Development CompanyEarth Fluid Modeling and Prediction Group
Earth Science and Engineering Program
Marine Science Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)
Date
2015-11-19Online Publication Date
2015-11-19Print Publication Date
2015-11Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/582758
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A variety of data based on hydrographic measurements, satellite observations, reanalysis databases, and meteorological observations are used to explore the interannual variability and factors governing the deep water formation in the northern Red Sea. Historical and recent hydrographic data consistently indicate that the ventilation of the near-bottom layer in the Red Sea is a robust feature of the thermohaline circulation. Dense water capable to reach the bottom layers of the Red Sea can be regularly produced mostly inside the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. Occasionally, during colder than usual winters, deep water formation may also take place over coastal areas in the northernmost end of the open Red Sea just outside the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. However, the origin as well as the amount of deep waters exhibit considerable interannual variability depending not only on atmospheric forcing but also on the water circulation over the northern Red Sea. Analysis of several recent winters shows that the strength of the cyclonic gyre prevailing in the northernmost part of the basin can effectively influence the sea surface temperature (SST) and intensify or moderate the winter surface cooling. Upwelling associated with periods of persistent gyre circulation lowers the SST over the northernmost part of the Red Sea and can produce colder than normal winter SST even without extreme heat loss by the sea surface. In addition, the occasional persistence of the cyclonic gyre feeds the surface layers of the northern Red Sea with nutrients, considerably increasing the phytoplankton biomass.Citation
Factors governing the deep ventilation of the Red Sea 2015:n/a Journal of Geophysical Research: OceansPublisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Additional Links
http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/2015JC010996ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/2015JC010996