On the dynamical conditions concomitant with the bottom anoxia in the Northern Adriatic Sea: A numerical case study for the 1977 event

The aim of the present investigation is to explain the dramatic phenomenon of anoxia/hypoxia waters observed in the Northern Adriatic Sea during August 1977 by using the data collected in the DINAS 2 oceanographic campaign and modelling them by means of a three-dimensional numerical model for the whole basin. The model has been forced with ECMWF surface reanalysis data wind stress, heat fluxes and river discharges. The main result lies in the high temporal and spatial correlation between the observed anoxia areas and the centres of anticyclonic circulation produced by the model. Further investigations seem to be necessary for a better matching between observed and simulated thermolialine fields.