The Mediterranean Sea is one of the first regions where sea surface temperature (SST) increase was linked to greenhouse effects and global warming. Due to its sensitivity to climate variability and its high impact on local and remote climate conditions, much effort has been made to assess the SST variability in the Mediterranean as a whole. However, the Mediterranean is composed of several basins, each of which plays a different role in its conveyor belt’s function. This study focuses on the basin of the Tyrrhenian Sea which represents one of the crucial areas for deep mixing of the Mediterranean main water masses. Thirty-seven years (1982–2018) of satellite-derived data were used to investigate the SST variability in relation to large-scale and local forcing mechanisms. A significant warming trend of 0.034 ± 0.004 °C/year was found, which led to an average warming of 1.288 ± 0.129 °C over the considered period. The observed warming presents time-dependent spatial patterns as well as changes in the seasonal cycle. Our results highlight that the Tyrrhenian’s individual long-term surface variability has different characteristics than the Mediterranean as a whole and provide insight into the relative influence of large-scale teleconnection patterns and local air-sea interaction on this variability.

Contrasting surface warming of a marginal basin due to large-scale climatic patterns and local forcing / Krauzig, N; Falco, P; Zambianchi, E. - In: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. - ISSN 2045-2322. - ELETTRONICO. - 10:(2020). [10.1038/s41598-020-74758-7]

Contrasting surface warming of a marginal basin due to large-scale climatic patterns and local forcing

Falco P
Writing – Review & Editing
;
2020-01-01

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the first regions where sea surface temperature (SST) increase was linked to greenhouse effects and global warming. Due to its sensitivity to climate variability and its high impact on local and remote climate conditions, much effort has been made to assess the SST variability in the Mediterranean as a whole. However, the Mediterranean is composed of several basins, each of which plays a different role in its conveyor belt’s function. This study focuses on the basin of the Tyrrhenian Sea which represents one of the crucial areas for deep mixing of the Mediterranean main water masses. Thirty-seven years (1982–2018) of satellite-derived data were used to investigate the SST variability in relation to large-scale and local forcing mechanisms. A significant warming trend of 0.034 ± 0.004 °C/year was found, which led to an average warming of 1.288 ± 0.129 °C over the considered period. The observed warming presents time-dependent spatial patterns as well as changes in the seasonal cycle. Our results highlight that the Tyrrhenian’s individual long-term surface variability has different characteristics than the Mediterranean as a whole and provide insight into the relative influence of large-scale teleconnection patterns and local air-sea interaction on this variability.
2020
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
KFZ2020_scie_rep.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza d'uso: Creative commons
Dimensione 3.64 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
3.64 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11566/290032
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 9
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 10
social impact