Lenses of extremely cold water in the central Ionian Sea

Two lenses of cold water with core temperature 12.5 degrees C were observed in the central Ionian Sea between the thermocline and the salinity maximum due to Levantine Intermediate Water. The estimated salinity in the lenses is 37.8. The relevance of the observation is assured by the high number of expendable probes deployed. The lens diameters are estimated at 30 km. Anal ogy with a less spectacular feature contained in oceanographic measurements in the following year implies that the lenses rotate clockwise. The cold w ater lenses originate from the Adriatic Sea with a generation mechanism equ ivalent to meddy formation at the Iberian peninsula (eddy of Mediterranean water in the Atlantic Ocean). Year to year differences in cold lens generat ion are expected to be high. (C) 2000 Ifremer/CNRS/IRD/Editions scientifiqu es et medicales Elsevier SAS.