ecology
The Adriatic Sea is a
part of eastern Mediterranean Sea basin, surrounded by the Italian peninsula
to the West and by the Balkan peninsula to the East. It is linked to Mediterranean
Sea through the Otranto Strait on South. The Adriatic basin is orientated
a NW-SE direction with length a length of 800 km and medium width of 180
km. Adriatic covers are of 139000 km2 and has volume of 35000 km3 of water.
Analysis show that the total renewal of waters within the Adriatic Sea takes
place in a period from three to ten years. The Adriatic basin is divided
into three different basins: the Northern Adriatic basin, Mid Adriatic basin
and South Adriatic basin. Northern Adriatic basin reaches maximum depth
of 70 m and decreases towards Northern zone where the average depth is 30
m. Mid Adriatic basin has maximum depth of 280 m (Jabuka pit) and South
Adriatic basin separated from the Mid Adriatic basin by the 170 m deep Palagruza
Sill reaches maximum depth of 1200 m. The bottom rises toward the Strait
of Otranto with average depth of 325 m and approximate width of 75 km. This
is one of two regions within Mediterranean where fresh water input exceeds
evaporation. This is due mostly to outflow from the river Po on the North.
Seasonally, the winter circulation is characterized by a prevalence of warmer
Mediterranean inflow reinforced by southerly winds. In summer, there is
a stronger outflow of fresher and warmer Adriatic water along the Western
coast supported by the Etesian winds. |
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