First results of the athapoc mooring at the ne of Menorca, Western Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

The deep water thermohaline anomaly, named Western Mediterranean Transition (WMT) (CIESM, 2009) was first observed in winter 2005 (López-Jurado et al. 2005) NE of Menorca, at a deep station (2500 m water depth) sampled on a seasonal basis since 2001, within the RADMED Program (López-Jurado et al. 2015). To improve the knowledge of the evolution of this thermohaline anomaly, an instrumented mooring was deployed in 2015 at the same station during the ATHAPOC Project. This mooring is composed of 5 current meters, 8 CTDs, 8 thermistors and covers most of the water column, allowing for a continuous record of salinity, temperature and currents that characterize the different water masses present in the region, including those that contribute to the anomaly. The mooring also includes 1 turbidity sensor and 2 sediment traps to evaluate the sediment dynamics and the associated particle fluxes. Designed to be operative at least during two years, this contribution presents the preliminary results of the first 9 months of deployment, when 40 days period oscillations are observed from the sea bottom to 400 m below the surface