RENEWAL OF DEEP-WATER IN THE RED-SEA DURING 1982-1987

Between October 1982 and May 1983 the deep water in the northern Red S ea was ventilated through slope convection. The deep water became cool er, fresher, and more oxygenated. Dense bottom water formed in the Gul f of Suez during winter cooling sank down the continental slope, there by entraining near-surface and intermediate depth waters. From the app lication of a one-dimensional plume model a vertical transport of 0.58 x 10(6) m(3) s(-1) over a period of 7 months was estimated. Long-term time series of atmospheric heat fluxes shaw that such a major convect ion event can occur every 4-7 years. The corresponding renewal time of the Red Sea deep water is thus of the order of 40-90 years, in agreem ent with previous estimates.