Multi-Approach Analysis of Baroclinic Internal Tide Perturbation in the Ionian Sea Abyssal Layer (Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract

Despite being widely recognized, the importance of deep layers thermohaline and mixing processes in the ocean circulation and variability is still poorly investigated, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. This limits understanding and parametrizing deep dynamics, which result in evident biases in the global circulation representation by observations and numerical ocean simulations. Having access to hydrological datasets, collected on a whole water column, we investigated the abyssal stratification and its variability of the Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean). Applying multiple analyses, we found a tidal-period oscillation and the resulting activation of mixing, pointing out that the combined effect of stratification, morphology, and tides has a key role in enhancing local diapycnal diffusivity in the deepest layers, being a mechanism that connects the whole water column with a compelling impact on the vertical transport of heat and tracers.