The North-western part Mediterranean basin is characterised by
an anticlockwise (cyclonic) gyre. The current is relatively
strong (about 0.25 to 0.5 m/s) and the surface water masses
(incoming from the Atlantic Ocean trough the Strait of
Gibraltar) flow from Corsica Island towards Spain along the
French coast and following the Shelf break in the Gulf of Lion.
This permanent current is called the Ligurian current or the
North current. The wind, the evaporation, the seasonal cooling
and warming of the sea can generate perturbation of this mean
motion. The equations of the water motion due to all physical
processes are approximated using a computer. This kind of
calculation is called numerical modelling and modellers are able
to evaluate at each position the velocity, the temperature and
the salinity of a water particle. Obviously, numerical models
are not perfect and don’t reproduce exactly the behaviour of a
water parcel at each position and at any time. You will
certainly find differences between the simulati