Abstract
Results of the monthly climatological fields of heat storage for the Eastern Mediterranean are presented. The zonal annual trend of monthly mean storage in the Levantine, Aegean, and Ionian seas are shown as well as the horizontal distribution of the amplitude of the annual signal. These distributions are presented for the upper 100- and 300-m layers to describe the global geographic characteristics of the annual cycle of heat storage for the Mediterranean Sea east of 20°E.
The data used to estimate heat storage are the 0.5-degree objectively analyzed fields, which are based on about 1300 hydrographic stations retrieved from the NODC, Washington, D.C., data file as of 1985.
For both of the layers considered, the minimum heat storage is observed in March, whereas the maximum occurs in August for the upper 0–100-m layer and in September for the 0-300-m layer. The heat storage is generally higher, and the duration of heat storage is longer in the Levantine Basin.
The geographical distribution of the amplitude of the annual signal is in good agreement with some general circulation schemes of the area under study.
