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In oceanography, a mediterranean sea (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a mostly enclosed sea that has limited exchange of water with outer oceans and whose water circulation is dominated by salinity and temperature differences rather than by winds or tides.<ref name="Advanced Ocean Modeling"> Template:Cite book </ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The eponymous Mediterranean Sea, for example, is almost completely enclosed by Africa, Asia, and Europe.

List of mediterranean seas by oceanEdit

Atlantic OceanEdit

Indian OceanEdit

Pacific OceanEdit

List of mediterranean seas by typeEdit

There are two types of mediterranean sea.

Concentration basinEdit

A concentration basin has a higher salinity than the outer ocean due to evaporation, and its water exchange consists of inflow of the fresher oceanic water in the upper layer and outflow of the saltier mediterranean water in the lower layer of the connecting channel.

Dilution basinEdit

A dilution basin has a lower salinity due to freshwater gains such as rainfall and rivers, and its water exchange consists of outflow of the fresher mediterranean water in the upper layer and inflow of the saltier oceanic water in the lower layer of the channel. Renewal of deep water may not be sufficient to supply oxygen to the bottom.

ExceptionsEdit

  • Hudson Bay is so shallow it functions like a huge estuary.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Having shallow channels and deep basins, the Sea of Japan could form a mediterranean sea, but the strong currents from the Pacific prevent it from having an independent water circulation.

See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

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