Surface circulation of the Egyptian Mediterranean waters using satellite-tracked lagrangian drifters

الملخص EN

Within the framework of the EGYTTO-EGYPT programs, the spatial structure and the temporal variability of the surface circulation in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean were studied using satellite-tracked drifters.

A total of 81 SVP drifters were deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean area from September 2005 to October 2006.

Only 5 drifters entered the Egyptian waters; three drifters were released during November 2005 and two in April 2006.

The movement of these 5 drifters is used to study the surface circulation of the southeastern Mediterranean waters off Egypt.

As computed until 29 August 2006, the maximum drifter lifetime was 128 days and the mean half-life (the time after deployment for which 50 % of the instruments still provide useful data) was about 63 days.

The movement of the drifters released during the present study indicated the existence of the eastward flow, Mersa Matruh and Ierapetra gyres.

The calculated mean flow was strong of about 20-25 cm / sec and flow eastward along the continental slope off Egypt.

Mean Kinetic Energy (MKE) and Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE) for the study area were computed to point out the most energetic circulation features and the areas characterized by large variability.

Summer was more energetic than winter.

The MKE was 12.