Tracking the Mediterranean Abyss

Abstract. The abyssal velocity of the Northern Current, in the north-western Mediterranean has been estimated using for the first time MERMAIDs, i.e. submarine drifting instruments that record seismic waves. In this study the Northern Current shows an intense activity even in deep layers of the water column. Through pseudo-eulerian statistics different components of the observed variability are analysed and described, revealing the turbulent nature of the Liguro-Provencal basin abyssal circulation.