Sources of the Levantine Intermediate Water in Winter 2019

Climatic changes and interannual variability in the Mediterranean overturning circulation are crucially linked to dense water formation Levantine Sea, namely Intermediate Water whose zone, comprising multiple intermittent sources, extends over fluctuating pathways. To probe into of this spreading, a unique dataset was collected during winter 2019 western via oceanographic cruises, profiling floats glider, at spatio-temporal distribution suited resolve mesoscale features convection events. This study highlights competition between two source regions, Cretan Sea Rhodes Cyclonic Gyre, supply Water. The estimated as most abundant, supported by increasingly saltier masses coming from under pumping effect deficit caused strong outflow towards Ionian Sea.