how deep is the mediterranean sea

(ed.) [9], The Carthaginians called it the "Syrian Sea". The construction of the Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in the 1960s reduced the inflow of freshwater and nutrient-rich silt from the Nile into the Eastern Mediterranean, making conditions there even more like the Red Sea and worsening the impact of the invasive species. Water poured in from the Atlantic Ocean through a newly breached gateway now called the Strait of Gibraltar at an estimated rate of about three orders of magnitude (one thousand times) larger than the current flow of the Amazon River. Approximately 370,000,000t (360,000,000 long tons) of oil are transported annually in the Mediterranean Sea (more than 20% of the world total), with around 250300 oil tankers crossing the sea every day. Nutrient concentrations in the western part of the basin are about double the concentrations in the eastern basin. Sediment samples from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea that include evaporite minerals, soils, and fossil plants show that about 5 million years ago the strait was topographically blocked and the Sea had evaporated into a deep basin far lower in elevation than the oceans. The following countries are in the Mediterranean drainage basin while not having a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea: The following countries have a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea: Several other territories also border the Mediterranean Sea (from west to east): Exclusive economic zones in Mediterranean Sea:[50][51], The Coastline length is about 46,000km.[52][53][54]. The stratification and warming have already led to the eastern Mediterranean to become a net source of CO2 to the atmosphere [84][85] notably during summer. in The Maritime Executive, 1 January 2020. Its total area is 970,000 square miles (2,500,000 sq km) and its greatest depth is located off the coast of Greece at around 16,800 feet (5,121 m) deep. [103], The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500m (4,900ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267m (17,280ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. Many people use the terms "ocean" and "sea" interchangeably when speaking about the ocean, but there is a difference between the two terms when speaking of geography (the study of the Earth's surface). Although they are rare, tropical cyclones occasionally form in the Mediterranean Sea, typically in SeptemberNovember. [34], The 163km (101mi) long artificial Suez Canal in the southeast connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea without ship lock, because the water level is essentially the same.[10][35]. Because of its latitude and its landlocked position, the Mediterranean is especially sensitive to astronomically induced climatic variations, which are well documented in its sedimentary record. [5][6] It means 'in the middle of land, inland' in Latin, a compound of medius ("middle"), terra ("land, earth"), and -neus ("having the nature of"). [23], The development of oceanic shipping began to affect the entire Mediterranean. The report covers five sub-regions, namely the Eastern . [118], For 4,000 years, human activity has transformed most parts of Mediterranean Europe, and the "humanisation of the landscape" overlapped with the appearance of the present Mediterranean climate. [119] The diversity range[clarification needed] was enhanced by the widespread exchange and interaction of the longstanding and highly diverse local agriculture, intense transport and trade relations, and the interaction with settlements, pasture and other land use. [12][6], In Turkish, it is the Akdeniz 'the White Sea'; in Ottoman, , which sometimes means only the Aegean Sea. For example, some of the deforestation had already taken place before the Roman age. The export of grains from Egypt was re-routed towards the Eastern world. Giorgi, F. (2006). (2005). The coastline extends for 46,000km (28,600 miles). 248257 (. The sea provided routes for trade, colonization, and war, as well as food (from fishing and the gathering of other seafood) for numerous communities throughout the ages. As mentioned, there were two earlier gateways: the Betic Corridor across southern Spain and the Rifian Corridor across northern Morocco. The stable marine ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea and sea temperature provides a nourishing environment for life in the deep sea to flourish while assuring a balanced aquatic ecosystem excluded from any external deep oceanic factors. [119] The image of a simplistic, environmental determinist notion of a Mediterranean paradise on Earth in antiquity, which was destroyed by later civilisations, dates back to at least the 18th century and was for centuries fashionable in archaeological and historical circles. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 18(1). For example, the 1908 Messina earthquake and tsunami took more than 123,000 lives in Sicily and Calabria and were among the deadliest natural disasters in modern Europe. [141] 168 p. Politische Geographien Europas: Annherungen an ein umstrittenes Konstrukt, Anke Strver, LIT Verlag Mnster, 2005, p. 43. 199226. Tourism is a source of income for small coastal communities, including islands, independent of urban centres. Bthoux, J. P., Morin, P., Madec, C., and Gentili, B. [122] Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland, while others, Mount Etna and Stromboli, are on neighbouring islands. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 created the first salt-water passage between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. From the end of the 19th century, in particular, the beaches became places of longing for many Europeans and travellers. It lies between latitudes 30 and 46 N and longitudes 6 W and 36 E. Its westeast length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Alexandretta, on the southeastern coast of Turkey, is about 4,000 kilometres (2,500mi). on the international level with the cooperation of NGOs, states, regional and municipality authorities and private persons. In many cases this reflects an expansion favoured by a warming trend of sub-tropical Atlantic waters, and also by a fast-growing maritime traffic of the natural range of species that now enter the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. Upon reaching the Levantine Sea, the surface waters having warmed and increased its salinity from its initial Atlantic state, is now denser and sinks to form the Levantine Intermediate Waters (LIW). As a consequence, primary productivity is very low between June and October. Accordingly, Red Sea species invade the Mediterranean biota, and not vice versa; this phenomenon is known as the Lessepsian migration (after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer) or Erythrean ("red") invasion. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 26(2). [106] In the late Miocene the closure of the Betic Corridor triggered the so-called "Messinian salinity crisis" (MSC), characterized by the deposition of a thick evaporitic sequence with salt deposits up to 2km thick in the Levantine sea and by a massive drop in water level in much of the Basin. In the 20th century, the 1st and 2nd World Wars as well as the Suez Crisis and the Cold War led to a shift of trade routes to the European northern ports, which changed again towards the southern ports through European integration, the activation of the Silk Road and free world trade. Below are 10 Deepest Seas in the World you need to know about. Environmental issues", "Mediterranean Monk Seal Fact Files: Overview", 10398/08c83467-00f6-4f56-9833-1beda9f7734f, "Marine heatwave: Record sea temperatures seen in the Mediterranean could devastate marine life", "Marine heatwaves drive recurrent mass mortalities in the Mediterranean Sea", Mediterranean Sea Microorganisms: 180+ images of Foraminifera, Eastern Mediterranean Sea Long Term Ecological Research Station, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mediterranean_Sea&oldid=1164054221. Red Sea, Arabic Al-Bar Al-Amar, narrow strip of water extending southeastward from Suez, Egypt, for about 1,200 miles (1,930 km) to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects with the Gulf of Aden and thence with the Arabian Sea. Invasive species have become a major component of the Mediterranean ecosystem and have serious impacts on the Mediterranean ecology, endangering a number of local and endemic Mediterranean species. The term Mare Mediterrneum appears later: Solinus apparently used this in the 3rd century, but the earliest extant witness to it is in the 6th century, in Isidore of Seville. The ghostly white minerals are one. Whatever wording is chosen, they represent a threat to the native Mediterranean biodiversity, because they are non-indigenous to this sea. Biogeosciences, 6(2): 139148. Reductions in natural wealth may reduce the incentive for tourists to visit. [127] The largest amount of funding requests in the EU relates to forest fires, followed by floods and earthquakes. Here is where the vast majority of water exchange occurs. Twenty-two countries border the Mediterranean Sea. These waters have different physical and chemical characteristics, and the periodic inversion of the North Ionian Gyre (called Bimodal Oscillating System or BiOS) changes the Mediterranean circulation and biogeochemistry around the Adriatic and Levantine regions. By 2100 the overall level of the Mediterranean could rise between 3 and 61cm (1.2 and 24.0in) as a result of the effects of climate change. Mediterranean Sea Ibiza Mediterranean Sea, an intercontinental sea that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to Asia on the east and separates Europe from Africa. The Byzantines in the mid-8th century retook control of the area around the north-eastern part of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Sea is practically a closed system. in World Cargo News, 17. Spatial and seasonal evolution of dissolved oxygen and nutrients in the Southern Levantine Basin (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): chemical characterization of the water masses and inferences on the N: P ratios. [137] Sea level rise for the next century (2100) could be between 30cm (12in) and 100cm (39in) and temperature shifts of a mere 0.050.1C in the deep sea are sufficient to induce significant changes in species richness and functional diversity. Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy, on the Ligurian coast. The Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) of the United Nations Environment Programme was established in 1975 by Mediterranean governments as the first regional action plan under the UNEP Regional Seas Programme with clear objectives to foster regional collaboration for combatting marine pollution and promoting integrated planning and sustainable use . The Mediterranean is also plagued by marine debris. Coastal areas have submarine karst springs or vruljas, which discharge pressurised groundwater into the water from below the surface; the discharge water is usually fresh, and sometimes may be thermal.[104][105]. Seasonal and interannual variability in algal biomass and primary production in the Mediterranean Sea, as derived from 4 years of SeaWiFS observations: Mediterranean Sea Biomass and Production. Large open-water fish like tuna have been a shared fisheries resource for thousands of years but the stocks are now dangerously low. The discharge of chemical tank washings and oily wastes also represent a significant source of marine pollution. [81] Deep water temperatures have increased by 0.12C (0.22F) between 1959 and 1989. However, the Norsemen developed the trade from Norway to the White Sea, while also trading in luxury goods from Spain and the Mediterranean. Many diatomites are found underneath the evaporite deposits, suggesting a connection between their[clarification needed] formations. The Red Sea is higher than the Eastern Mediterranean, so the canal functions as a tidal strait that pours Red Sea water into the Mediterranean. [126] Tsunamis are also an often-underestimated hazard in the region. The Mediterranean Sea encompasses a vast number of islands, some of them of volcanic origin. [115] Furthermore, the exceptional accuracy of these paleoclimatic records has improved our knowledge of the Earth's orbital variations in the past. The Pacific Ocean is the world's largest and deepest ocean. In Islamic and older Arabic literature, it was Bar al-Rm() ( or ) 'the Sea of the Romans' or 'the Roman Sea'. The Vallesian crisis indicates a typical extinction and replacement of mammal species in Europe during Tortonian times following climatic upheaval and overland migrations of new species:[113] see Animation: Messinian salinity crisis (and mammal migrations), at right. [73], In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea, the European Mediterranean Sea or the African Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. and Zenetos, A. The start of the MSC was recently estimated astronomically at 5.96 mya, and it persisted for some 630,000 years until about 5.3 mya;[108] see Animation: Messinian salinity crisis, at right. Following the Punic Wars in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the Roman Republic defeated the Carthaginians to become the preeminent power in the Mediterranean. U.S. naval officer Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard, in 1960 reached the bottom of the Challenger Deep canyon inside a deep-sea vessel. [143] Accidental oil spills happen frequently with an average of 10 spills per year. The Mediterranean Sea constitutes 0.7% of the global water surface and yet receives 17% of global marine oil pollution. The productive areas of the Mediterranean Sea are few and small. Many marine species have been almost wiped out because of the sea's pollution. In particular, the Maritime Silk Road from Asia and Africa leads through the Suez Canal directly into the Mediterranean Sea to its deep-water ports in Valencia, Piraeus, Trieste, Genoa, Marseilles and Barcelona. The, Tectonics and paleoenvironmental analysis, Desiccation and exchanges of flora and fauna, Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets, Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback, Not including the area of the Mediterranean Sea. However, the deepest known part of the World Ocean is Challenger Deep, which has a depth of about 11 km. Redfield demonstrated that most of the world's oceans have an average N:P ratio around 16. Especially after the naval battles of Abukir (1799, Battle of the Nile) and Trafalgar (1805), the British had for a long time strengthened their dominance in the Mediterranean. in southern and northern Italy. Spatio-temporal variability of micro-, nano- and pico-phytoplankton in the Mediterranean Sea from satellite ocean colour data of SeaWiFS. [93][91], Oceanographic expeditions uncovered a characteristic feature of the Mediterranean Sea biogeochemistry: most of the chlorophyll production does not occur on the surface, but in sub-surface waters between 80 and 200 meters deep.
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