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Catalan Sea (Southern) - Environment

North to south circulation of the water in the southern Catalan Sea follows the shelf- slope front and the structure of masses of water of the western Mediterranean Sea and its circulation (Font et al. 1988, Salat 1996). This front is associated with the Liguro-Provenzal-Catalan current that runs parallel to the coast from the Sea of Liguria towards the south-west above the continental slope.
Generally, there is a superficial water layer of Atlantic origin (North Atlantic Water, NAW) between the 0 and 200 m depths, with important annual oscillations depending on evaporation and the contribution of continental waters (Font et al.. 1988). Water temperature varies seasonally and salinity is highly dependent on freshwater inputs. An intermediate water layer of Levantine origin (Levantine Intermediate Water, LIW) between the 200 and 600 ms of depth is present, having an average temperature of 13.5ºC and salinity from 38.6 to 38.5 ppm.