Sea level variability and surface eddy statistics in the Mediterranean Sea from TOPEX/POSEIDON data

Two years of TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data have successfully been used to study the mesoscale field in the Mediterranean and to investigate the seasonal and year‐to‐year variability of the sea level and eddy statistics in this basin. The mesoscale field described by TOPEX/POSEIDON revealed a strong, but subbasin dependent, seasonal signal. Year‐to‐year variations are also evident in terms of both intensity and position of the main mesoscale features. Crossover analysis indicated the existence of a meridional transport of eddy momentum away from the Algerian current due to the northward migration of mesoscale eddies. A comparison between mesoscale features detected by the altimeter and contemporaneous features observed using advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) sea surface temperature has been made for the following Mediterranean subbasins: the Algerian basin, the Levantine basin, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The results definitively prove the direct relation between sea level anomalies and the Mediterranean eddy field.