Studies on the Interaction of the Ocean Upper Layer with the Atmosphere in the Mediterranean

Although the climate evolution of our planet is strictly linked to the knowledge of air-sea interaction processes occurring in the ocean few experiments have been performed in order to investigate these phenomena. A realistic assessment of atmospheric and marine parameters involved in these processes, their spatial and temporal scales, the analysis of their effects on water masses movements and atmospheric circulation as well as studies on the ecosystem remains one of the main open issues of scientific research. This is particularly valid for the Mediterranean basin, where knowledge of air-sea interaction processes is still inadequate. Nowadays, ocean circulation models can reproduce with sufficient accuracy both currents dynamics on global scale and the major thermohaline stratifications of the Mediterranean Sea, but they don't provide yet a complete definition of the dynamics of the basin neither their variability at different spatio-temporal scales. The lack of specific studies often leads to generalize the results obtained elsewhere without taking into account the temporal and geographical variability of the major marine and atmospheric parameters and the specificity of the involved processes. By integrating various skills, a research group of the National Research Council (CNR) has developed tools and methodologies for accurately measuring the most important meteo-marine parameters from both fixed and mobile platforms.