Data from twenty consecutive cruises, carried out over a period of five years, were investigated in order to reveal temporal changes in the characteristics of the AW (Atlantic Waters) and the LIW (Levantine Intermediate Waters) in the Southeastern Levantine basin. The results indicated a seasonal trend in the AW, which appear to be poorly defined during winter and spring but which, as the year progresses and as the LSW (Levantine Surface Waters) form and penetrate downward, become better defined, and occupy a narrower layer whose depth increases. There appeared to be no season related variations in the LIW. Moreover, abrupt, significant, and apparently irreversible changes in the characteristic salinity of the AW and the LIW occurred in the Southeastern... |