The effect of Mistral wind on the Ligurian current near Provence

Claude Millot (1) , Lucien Wald (2)

1 COM - Centre d'océanologie de Marseille
2 CEP/Sophia

The effect of the mistral wind on the Ligurian current has been studied using the NOAA 5-VHRR imagery. A frontal zone separates the Ligurian current and colder water upwelled from the Gulf of Lions. It is found that the surface flow associated with the current is halted by strong westerly winds. When the wind drops, the frontal zone moves westward at speeds up to 0.3 m/sec. During a period of stratification, the Ligurian current in the surface layer tends to flow along the coasts of the Gulf of Lions.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

Claude Millot, Lucien Wald. The effect of Mistral wind on the Ligurian current near Provence. Oceanologica Acta, 1980, 3 (4), pp.399-402. ⟨hal-00463850⟩