Large scale flow separation and mesoscale eddy formation in the Algerian Basin

During the ELISA/MATER experiment floats released at about 600 m depth in the Levantine Intermediate Water layer south of Sardinia in July 1997 have revealed the existence of a coherent eddy, approximately 50 km in diameter and lasting for several months. This anticyclonic eddy was first observed south-west of Sardinia in November 1997 and drifted inside the Algerian Basin during the following months until April 1998. This eddy contained Levantine Intermediate Water at intermediate level and seemed to be related to 2 main large scale features: (a) a cyclonic gyre (250 km in diameter and 3–4 months period) located in the Algerian Basin and (b) a boundary current located along the continental slope south and west of Sardinia and originating from the Sardinia–Tunisia channel. We will first describe the “Sardinian” eddy, from a kinematical point of view, and the Algerian Gyre and second, give some insights about the eddy origin and its importance for LIW large scale spreading in the Western Mediterranean Sea.