Estimation of the Atlantic inflow through the Strait of Gibraltar from climatological and in situ data

Abstract

Atmospheric data from reanalysis, satellite, and experimental observations have been combined to calculate a four‐year time series of the Atlantic inflow through the Strait of Gibraltar. The net flow through the strait, estimated from the Mediterranean water budget, and the Mediterranean outflow, estimated from currentmeter observations in Espartel sill (western Strait of Gibraltar) from October 2004 to January 2009, made it possible to estimate the Atlantic inflow as the sum of both of them. The obtained mean net flow is 0.038 ± 0.007 Sv, with a seasonal cycle of 0.042 ± 0.018 Sv annual amplitude and maximum in September. The Mediterranean outflow shows a seasonal signal with annual amplitude of 0.027 ± 0.015 Sv peaking in April (in absolute value), and a mean value of −0.78 ± 0.05 Sv. The resulting Atlantic inflow has a mean value of 0.81 ± 0.06 Sv and a seasonal cycle with annual amplitude of 0.034 ± 0.011 Sv, peaking in September, and high interannual variability. The inflow seasonal cycle is the result of a barotropic forcing associated with the cycle of the net flow, driven by the evaporative cycle, and a baroclinic forcing linked to the seasonal cycle of the reduced gravity that drives the exchange.