Mediterranean sea (oceanography)

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For the Mediterranean Sea between Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, see the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
.

List of mediterranean seas

The mediterranean seas of the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....

• The Mediterranean Sea
  Mediterranean Sea
  
  The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
   (or the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea): including the Black Sea
  Black Sea
  
  The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
  , the Sea of Azov
  Sea of Azov
  
  The Sea of Azov is the world's shallowest sea, linked by the Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south. It is bounded on the north by Ukraine, on the east by Russia and on the west by the Crimean peninsula....
  , the Aegean Sea
  Aegean Sea
  
  The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkans and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively....
  , the Adriatic Sea
  Adriatic Sea
  
  The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges....
  , the Ligurian Sea
  Ligurian Sea
  
  The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera and the islands of Corsica and Elba. The sea is probably named after the ancient Ligures people....
  , the Tyrrhenian Sea
  Tyrrhenian Sea
  
  The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.It is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, and Calabria , and Sicily ....
  , the Ionian Sea
  Ionian Sea
  
  The Ionian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy, including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula, to the west, by southwestern Albania, including Saranda and Himara, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and Lefkas to the east....
  , and the Sea of Marmara
  Sea of Marmara
  
  The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts....
  .
• The Arctic Ocean
  Arctic Ocean
  
  The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
   (or the Arctic Mediterranean Sea, considered an ocean by many)
• The American Mediterranean Sea: the combination of the Gulf of Mexico
  Gulf of Mexico
  
  The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
   and the Caribbean Sea
  Caribbean Sea
  
  The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
  .
• The Baltic Sea
  Baltic Sea
  
  The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
  
• Baffin Bay
  Baffin Bay
  
  Baffin Bay is a sea between the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean oceans. It is 1,130 km across from north to south. It is not navigable most of the year because of the presence of large numbers of icebergs....
  

The mediterranean seas of the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....

• The Persian Gulf
  Persian Gulf
  
  The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes Persian Gulf naming dispute referred to as the Arabian Gulf by certain Arab countries or simply The Gulf, although nei...
  
• The Red Sea
  Red Sea
  
  The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
  

The mediterranean sea between the Indian and Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
s

• The Australasian Mediterranean Sea: the sea enclosed by the Sunda Islands
  Sunda Islands
  
  The Sunda Islands are a group of islands in the western part of Maritime Southeast Asia.They are divided into two groups, with the Greater Sunda group being referred to much less than the Lesser Sunda....
   and the Philippines
  Philippines
  
  The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
  , including the Banda Sea
  Banda Sea
  
  The Banda Sea is the sea of the South Moluccas in Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera Sea and Ceram Seas....
  , the Sulu Sea
  Sulu Sea
  
  The Sulu Sea is a large sea in the southwestern area of the Philippines. It is separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan, and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago....
  , the Sulawesi Sea, the Java Sea
  Java Sea
  
  The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east....
  , etc.

Types of mediterranean seas

Concentration basin

• A concentration basin has a higher salinity than the outer ocean due to evaporation, and its water exchange consists of inflow of the fresher oceanic water in the upper layer and outflow of the saltier mediterranean water in the lower layer of the connecting channel
  Channel (geography)
  
  In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar , bay, or any shallow body of water....
  .
• The Red Sea
• The Persian Gulf
• The Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea is also a concentration basin as a whole, but the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea are dilution basins (see below) owing to the Danube
  Danube
  
  The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
  , Don, and Dnieper
  Dnieper River
  
  The Dnieper River , is one of the major rivers in Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea. Its total length is , of which lie within Russia, within Belarus, and within Ukraine....
   Rivers and the Po River
  Po River
  
  The Po is a river that flows 652 km eastward across northern Italy, from Monviso to the Adriatic Sea near Venice. It has a drainage area of 71,000 km? and is the longest river in Italy....
   respectively.

Dilution basin

• A dilution basin has a lower salinity due to freshwater gains such as rainfall and rivers, and its water exchange consists of outflow of the fresher mediterranean water in the upper layer and inflow of the saltier oceanic water in the lower layer of the channel. Renewal of deep water may not be sufficient to supply oxygen
  Oxygen
  
  Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
   to the bottom.
• The Arctic Ocean
• The American Mediterranean Sea
• The Baltic Sea
• Baffin Bay
• The Australasian Mediterranean Sea

Exceptions

• The Hudson Bay
  Hudson Bay
  
  Hudson Bay is a large , relatively shallow body of water in northeastern Canada. It is approximately 850 miles long and 650 miles wide. It drains a very large area that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, and the southeastern area of Nunavut...
   is so shallow it functions like a huge estuary
  Estuary
  
  An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
  .
• Having shallow channels and deep basins, the Sea of Japan
  Sea of Japan
  
  The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Russia. It is referred to in North Korea as the Korea East Sea and in South Korea as the East Sea....
   could form a mediterranean sea, but the strong currents from the Pacific prevent it from having an independent water circulation.
• The Baltic Sea
  Baltic Sea
  
  The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
   is a brackish
  Brackish water
  
  Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuary, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers....
   inland sea
  Inland Sea
  
  Formally named the , the Inland Sea is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the main islands of Japan. It serves as an international waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan....
  , alleged to be the largest body of brackish water in the world (other possibilities include the Black Sea
  Black Sea
  
  The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
  ). It occupies a basin formed by glacial erosion.

See also

• Ocean
  Ocean
  
  An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
  
• Marginal sea
  Marginal sea
  
  A marginal sea is a part of ocean partially enclosed by Landform such as islands, archipelagos, or peninsulas. Unlike mediterranean sea s, marginal seas have ocean currents caused by ocean winds....
  
• Inland sea
  Inland Sea
  
  Formally named the , the Inland Sea is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the main islands of Japan. It serves as an international waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan....
  
• Seven seas
  Seven Seas
  
  The phrase "Seven Seas" can refer either to a particular set of seven seas or to a great expanse of water in general. Different time periods have used different definitions of the phrase "Seven Seas"....