The analysis of a compilation of deep CTD cast conducted in the western Mediterranean from 1998 to 2009 have documented the role that dense shelf water cascading off the Gulf of Lions plays in transporting suspended particulate matter from the coastal regions down to the basin. Deep CTD casts revealed that after the 1999 and 2005-2006 major cascading events the Western Mediterranean Deep Water was characterized by the presence of a thick bottom nepheloid layer that scaled in thickness with a thermo-haline anomaly generated by the mixture of dense waters formed by deep convection at open sea and by cascading off the Gulf of Lions shelf. The aim of this contribution is to characterize the observed bottom nepheloid layers and determine their spreading and residence time in the western Mediterranean basin

39e Congrès de la CIESM : 39th CIESM Congress, 10-14 May 2010, Venice, Italie.-- 1 page, 1 figure

Peer Reviewed