Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026
04:35
Preparation of Free-Surface Hyperbolic Water Vortices
Published on: July 28, 2023
Abyssal undular vortices in the Eastern Mediterranean basin
A Rubino1, F Falcini, D Zanchettin
1Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, University of Venice, Calle Larga Santa Marta, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123 Venice, Italy. rubino@unive.it
Nature Communications
|May 17, 2012
Summary
Abyssal vortices, swirling ocean currents, were discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. These newly found underwater eddies impact our understanding of deep-sea water mass evolution.
Area of Science:
- Oceanography
- Astrophysics
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- The Neutrino Mediterranean Observatory aims to build a km³-scale underwater telescope for detecting high-energy cosmic neutrinos.
- Interdisciplinary research between subnuclear physics and experimental oceanography can yield novel insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate abyssal temperature and velocity in the Eastern Mediterranean.
- To identify and characterize deep-sea vortices in the Ionian abyssal plain.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing observational data from the Neutrino Mediterranean Observatory project.
- Analyzing temperature and velocity measurements at depths exceeding 2,500 meters south of Sicily.
Main Results:
- Confirmed the existence of abyssal vortices in the Eastern Mediterranean for the first time.
- Observed eddies as chains of pulsating mesoscale cyclones and anticyclones.
- Detected an abyssal current flowing towards the North-Northwest, embedding these vortices.
Conclusions:
- The presence of abyssal vortices adds complexity to understanding water mass structure and evolution in the Eastern Mediterranean.
- The origin of these vortices is uncertain, with local generation being probable but remote genesis not excluded.
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