Summer breakout of trapped bottom dense water from the northern Adriatic

Various data (temperature series and vertical T-S profiles, currents, meteorological measurements, and satellite images) have been analyzed in order to understand conditions which preceded, were active, and followed the breakout episode.

A stationary bottom pool of dense water, generated during the previous winter, has been suspected to be a source of the dense water observed during the breakout, with a permanent position established by a stationary northern Adriatic cyclonic-anticyclonic gyre system. The breakout lasted for 3 days, advecting the bottom waters more than 2°C colder than residing waters at the oil rig site. The main result of modeling experiments concerns the generative force for the observed breakout which was found to be a mesoscale storm that occurred over the open north Adriatic on 8 August 2004.