Shallow water fronts, river plumes and response to strong forcing – preliminary results from intensive surveys of the northern Adriatic

Quasi-synoptic, three-dimensional surveys of physical and optical variability characterize the mesoscale features that dominate the Northern and Central Adriatic, following their response to strong forcing events. During winter (February), sampling emphasized the response to episodic bora wind events. Although spring time (May) measurement program was designed to sample during the Po River spring freshette, freshwater discharge rates were more than a standard deviation below the 12-year mean and winds remained weak throughout the survey period, leading to a study of weakly forced dynamics in a strongly stratified, shallow water regime. Wintertime sampling included surveys of a strong shallow-water front and a prominent extension of the Po River plume. The surveys captured the evolution of the strong bora winds weaken. A broad survey of the northern basin characterized the structure of a bora-driven Po plume extension and reveals cyclonic (anticyclonic) circulation to the north (south) of the plume, consistent with the response found in previous numerical experiments.