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Topographic and bathymetric map of the Mediterranean Basin (http://www.unipv.it/cibra/MedBathy%20800.gif)
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The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most thoroughly studied water bodies in the world.
Its location and geopolitical importance since before the rise of the Roman Empire has
stimulated study since the early eras of human civilisation. More recently, the Sea, like
many of the world’s oceans, has attracted the attention of engineers considering the
e...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... The western basin covers a surface area of 0.85 x 10 6 km 2 , while the eastern basin 16 covers 1.65 x 10 6 km 2 . The topographic features and the bathymetry of the Mediterranean Sea basin, with its two wings, are shown in Fig 2. The western basin of the Mediterranean comprises the Alboran Sea in the extreme westerly zone between Spain and Morocco; and the Balearic Sea off the Algerian coasts extending to the north to the Gulf of Lions. There are also the Ligurian and the Tyrrhenian Seas to the north and the east of this western basin, respectively. ...
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The relationship between Geography and the Visual has always been strong intertwined. As it is true that Geography has always operates through images (in the form of pictures, creative representations and above all cartographies), in the last two years, with the distance learning due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, this phenomenon has not o...
Citations
... Figure 15. Coastal rivers, karstic regions and continental margin currents of the Turkish Seas and coastal rivers (adapted from Beşiktepe et al., 1994;Nazik, 2004;Stanev, 2005;El-Geziry and Bryden, 2010;and Tartaron, 2013). ...
... As suggested with other species such as European hake (Merluccius merluccius) (Morales-Nin et al., 2014), the genetic differences observed between population samples of Solea solea into the three main areas in the Mediterranean basin are probably led by neutral drift. Limited connectivity across the Mediterranean is likely to be due to surface water-masses circulation with several cyclonic gyres as well as to biogeographic barriers (El-Geziry and Bryden, 2010). The life history traits of common sole also contribute to limiting its dispersal. ...
Investigating marine species population structure in a multidisciplinary framework can reveal signatures of potential local adaptation and the consequences for management and conservation. In this study we delineate the population structure of common sole (Solea solea) in the Mediterranean Sea using genomic and otolith data, based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) markers, otolith shape and otolith trace element composition data. We correlated SNPs with environmental and spatial variables to evaluate the impact of the selected features on the actual population structure. Specifically, we used a seascape genetics approach with redundancy (RDA) and genetic-environmental association (GEA) analysis to identify loci potentially involved in local adaptation. Finally, putative functional annotation was investigated to detect genes associated with the detected patterns of neutral and adaptive genetic variation. Results from both genetic and otolith data suggested significant divergence among putative populations of common sole, confirming a clear separation between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean Sea, as well as a distinct genetic cluster corresponding to the Adriatic Sea. Evidence of fine-scale population structure in the Western Mediterranean Sea was observed at outlier loci level and further differentiation in the Adriatic. Longitude and salinity variation accounted for most of the wide and fine spatial structure. The GEA detected significant associated outlier loci potentially involved in local adaptation processes under highly structured differentiation. In the RDA both spatial distribution and environmental features could partially explain the genetic structure. Our study not only indicates that separation among Mediterranean sole population is led primarily by neutral processes because of low connectivity due to spatial segregation and limited dispersal, but it also suggests the presence of local adaptation. These results should be taken into account to support and optimize the assessment of stock units, including a review and possible redefinition of fishery management units.
... No drifters have been observed to exit the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar. Therefore, to avoid missing data, we arbitrarily added 100 years to the travel times of pathways out of the Mediterranean Sea over the Strait of Gibraltar and added one year to the pathways going into the Mediterranean Sea, based on previous models of surface water [95,96]. We used 450 rotations within the method to reduce the reliance on travel times on the grid system used. ...
Background
Plankton seascape genomics studies have revealed different trends from large-scale weak differentiation to microscale structures. Previous studies have underlined the influence of the environment and seascape on species differentiation and adaptation. However, these studies have generally focused on a few single species, sparse molecular markers, or local scales. Here, we investigated the genomic differentiation of plankton at the macro-scale in a holistic approach using Tara Oceans metagenomic data together with a reference-free computational method.
Results
We reconstructed the F ST -based genomic differentiation of 113 marine planktonic taxa occurring in the North and South Atlantic Oceans, Southern Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea. These taxa belong to various taxonomic clades spanning Metazoa, Chromista, Chlorophyta, Bacteria, and viruses. Globally, population genetic connectivity was significantly higher within oceanic basins and lower in bacteria and unicellular eukaryotes than in zooplankton. Using mixed linear models, we tested six abiotic factors influencing connectivity, including Lagrangian travel time, as proxies of oceanic current effects. We found that oceanic currents were the main population genetic connectivity drivers, together with temperature and salinity. Finally, we classified the 113 taxa into parameter-driven groups and showed that plankton taxa belonging to the same taxonomic rank such as phylum, class or order presented genomic differentiation driven by different environmental factors.
Conclusion
Our results validate the isolation-by-current hypothesis for a non-negligible proportion of taxa and highlight the role of other physicochemical parameters in large-scale plankton genetic connectivity. The reference-free approach used in this study offers a new systematic framework to analyse the population genomics of non-model and undocumented marine organisms from a large-scale and holistic point of view.
... It has a unique characteristic with its almost land-locked environment. Surface, intermediate, and deep-water masses have different and independent current systems (El-Geziry & Bryden, 2010). The eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea is complex and its mean depth is around 1500 m (El-Geziry & Bryden, 2010). ...
... Surface, intermediate, and deep-water masses have different and independent current systems (El-Geziry & Bryden, 2010). The eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea is complex and its mean depth is around 1500 m (El-Geziry & Bryden, 2010). The deepest point in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is in the northwest part close to the island of Rhodes with a depth of about 4500 m and the central part has depth values around 2500-3000 m as depicted in Figure 1 ( Horvat et al., 2003). ...
Forecasting of the tracks of drifting objects in the sea is a complicated process due to the effects of many phenomena such currents and wind. In this research, the problem is solved with model data and a basic approach. In this approach, we apply an iterative method based on surface current and wind data to predict the trajectories of possible drifting objects in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The main surface current circulation has a cyclonic nature, and its impact on the routes of drifting objects is clearly seen. The results of the study are useful for predicting the trajectories of drifting objects and the proposed method and calculations can be roughly used for drifting trajectory prediction. The advantage of this method is that it is user-friendly and provides many tracks in a minute. The biggest uncertainty in this work is obtaining accurate information about where and when the object started to drift.
... The farthest spills are expected to be of lower or no impact to the shore; though that could change for causes that cover the geophysical forces and anthropological activities. It is known that the lithosphere formation and water circulation in this region are complex, which makes more challenging the oil behaviour predictions (El-Geziry and Bryden, 2010;Millot and Taupier-Letage, 2005). ...
An oil spill occurrence is a concerning pervasive situation that can result in significant risk, depending on where it starts, the oil properties, and the environmental conditions. In the region of Cyprus, there is an intense traffic of shipping activities which intensifies the risk of an oil spill due to vessel density and prolongated permanence time. The purpose of this work is to obtain the relative potential impact in Cyprus by performing an assessment based on mathematical simulations to identify the critical places in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, aiming at increasing the readiness for minimising the impact of an oil spill in sensitive areas, with attention to the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere. This work simulated 384 scenarios using Mohid and Opendrift platforms with the same data input. The preliminary results presented significant impact in Cyprus’ western regions, mainly. However, after interpolating with history, sensitivity, distance, and two models, only three specific regions showed a potential relative impact. Though different platforms have been used, there were some equivalences in the predictions. Based on it, a new and more specific mathematical method was proposed to assess the potential relative impact of an oil spill in Cyprus, concluding that even with much more intense oil transport in other areas of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the most significant relative risks are in fact, in the areas surrounding Cyprus. In particular, the region in the south, east and west of Cyprus. It must be emphasised that the south of Cyprus is an important region for the economy of the country.
... Except for the Rosetta transect, which showed the highest PAH levels influenced by riverine discharge, the distribution gradually increased from west to east in the three sections (Fig. 2), which is consistent with the water circulation in the Mediterranean Sea. Further, two-thirds of surface Atlantic water enters the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar, passing the eastern Mediterranean Martí et al., 2001;El-Geziry and Bryden, 2010;Marta et al., 2017). The trend of PAHs increasing from the western basin toward the eastern basin in the Mediterranean Sea was previously recorded by Berrojalbiz et al., 2011, and in surface, middle, and deep waters for the same site (El-Maradny et al., 2022). ...
The Egyptian Mediterranean coast (EMC) receives a considerable quantity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs from EMC sediments were assessed to understand the effects of marine and riverine currents on their distribution. The concentrations of total PAHs ranged between 13,156-34,852 ng/g dw. PAH levels have increased even in areas far from the shoreline under the influence of riverine inputs from the Nile River; this is attributed to the tidally induced riverine freshwater re-suspension of surface sediments in the shallow near-shore section and re-precipitation in the fare stations. PAH levels generally increase as one moves from the western to the eastern part of the studied area, owing to the effect of the marine current. Diagnostic ratios pointed toward different pyrogenic sources. SQGs were used to assess the probability of observing adverse biological effects in benthic organisms in sediment samples. The toxic and mutagenic equivalent quotient for carcinogenic PAHs was extremely high.
... Mediterranean is a small marginal sea, with a surface area of ~2.5 10 6 Km 2 (El-Geziry & Bryden, 2010), highly impacted and exploited by anthropogenic factors such as marine vessels (Hazel et al., 2007), fishing (Levy et al., 2015;Lewison et This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4332416 ...
Most sea turtles conservation efforts worldwide are focused on nesting beaches. After offspring reach the sea, monitoring, research and conservation are not prioritized, resulting in a gap of knowledge regarding the next stage when turtles are passive migrators inhabiting epipelagic habitats. In this paper, we used Israel's Sea Turtle Rescue Center database from 1999-2020 to study the biology and threats of this population. Using length frequency analysis we created the first month-specific growth rates of Loggerhead and green sea turtles in their first years of life (0.76 cm month-1 in the first 19 months, and 0.92 cm month-1 in the first 11 months, respectively). The main cause of injury for patients ≤40cm CCL (45%) was entanglements in Polypropylene sacks which had increased in recent years to become a major threat. We suspect the sacks' origin is livestock carrier related and preventing it is crucial and requires international collaboration.
... Some of these streams have small drainage basins of only a few square kilometers, while others have drainage basins exceeding 1000 km 2 [24]. The eastern Mediterranean Sea can be divided into four sub-seas or basins (from west to east): the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean, and Levantine Seas [32]. The latter is characterized by hot, dry summers with stable atmospheric conditions; cold, wet winters; and relatively short transitional seasons in spring and autumn [33,34]. ...
In the last 100 years, the population of the land of Israel has increased dramatically, accompanied by a very intense and accelerated economic and industrial growth. The objective of the present review is to reveal how these major changes have affected the Mediterranean marine and coastal environment. The present review analyzes the global, regional, and local factors and processes that cause substantial environmental changes affecting a variety of marine habitats and taxa. These include: (1) seawater warming that enhances the considerable introduction and establishment of non-indigenous tropical, i.e., Lessepsian, species; (2) overfishing of native biota that seems to contribute to this process; (3) sea-level rise, associated with global warming, which may threaten the sensitive intertidal abrasion platforms; (4) chemical, noise, and light pollution and marine debris; (5) massive sand mining from the beaches, which caused severe erosion in many coastal sections and was banned in Israel in 1964; (6) extensive dredging in the sea, mainly related to the construction and development of large ports, which can be detrimental for the benthic biota, especially in rocky substrates; and (7) marine structures (harbors, marinas, detached breakwaters) that interfere with the natural pattern of sand transport along the coast and cause morphological changes (sand erosion or accumulation) on nearby beaches and the seabed. Israel’s coast is presently characterized by intense anthropogenic activity and many stakeholders with considerable conflicts between them and with the marine ecosystem. A few environmental impacts have ceased, and others have been reduced considerably, but the extent of many additional types have increased significantly, and new impacts have appeared in recent years. Some environmental impacts are beyond our control, and others can be reduced by proper management, but it is predicted that certain major environmental impacts, such as Lessepsian migration, will continue in the future at enhanced rates.
... It is defined by a water surface of 2.5 × 106 km 2 , which represents 0.82% of the world's oceans and 0.32% of the world water volume. Beside these, the average depth is close to 1.5 km, while a maximum of 5.1 km may be found in the Ionian Sea [12]. Fig. 1 presents the Mediterranean Sea, from which three target areas, denoted with A, B and C, were highlighted. ...
The objective of this work is to provide a comprehensive picture of the benefits that may occur from the implementation of some offshore wind projects in the island environments from the Mediterranean Sea. This takes into account the fact that in the Mediterranean Sea there are many relatively densely populated islands As a first step, the wind speed fields (at 100 m height) provided by the ERA5 dataset is processed to obtain a general image of the wind energy potential in the entire area. Some significant island environments are targeted, as for example Sardinia, Cyprus, or Malta, for which a more detailed analysis is carried out. Considering the Exclusive Economic Zones, the most promising areas in terms of the wind conditions are highlighted. This is the case of the areas located near Sardinia or Cyprus, where the average wind speed is close to 9 m/s. The results of the study also show that the best performances of a wind turbine are expected in the northwestern part of this basin, where a generator can operate on a full capacity for at least 6% of the time.
... Some of these streams have small drainage basins of only a few square kilometers, while others have drainage basins exceeding 1000 km 2 [24]. The eastern Mediterranean Sea can be divided into four sub-seas or basins (from west to east): the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean, and Levantine Seas [32]. The latter is characterized by hot, dry summers with stable atmospheric conditions; cold, wet winters; and relatively short transitional seasons in spring and autumn [33,34]. ...
Beachrock is composed of intertidal-associated sediments, rapidly cemented by calcium carbonate, and has important implications for understanding coastal morphological processes. This study focuses on the morphodynamic erosion patterns of Late Holocene beachrock outcrops along the Mediterranean coast of Israel that have formed since the sea reached its present level about 4,000 years ago. Exposed beachrock is subjected to erosion, affecting its seaward and landward facing fronts and upper surface, and creating distinct morphological features due to wave pounding and coastal currents which remove unconsolidated sediment supporting layers. The current state of beachrock morphology is presented, based on field measurements and field relation interpretations of selected sites, backed by petrographic and sedimentological data. It shows and studies selected beachrock exposures along Israel’s coast, and characterizes their morphological features in various field-relation configurations. A classification is developed of the main erosion patterns of beachrock embedded on loose, hard, partly hard and partly loose substrate.
