In the summer of 2022, atmospheric conditions characterized by persistent anticyclonic anomalies caused an extreme marine heatwave in the western Mediterranean Sea. Time series of temperature profiles at various points along the northeastern coast of the Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean Sea) showed exceptional temperatures down to depths of 30 m, which led to massive mortality of benthic species. A hydrodynamic numerical simulat...

As the largest individual contributor of freshwater inflow to the basin, the Rhone River is likely to be one of the main sources of microplastics (MPs) to the Mediterranean Sea. In order to predict the fate of MPs discharged by the Rhone River, an innovative 3D Lagrangian dispersion of its particles associated with vertical velocities was modeled in Mediterranean ocean currents. Through winter and summer scenarios, the seasona...

Summer monsoon southwest wind induces the South Vietnam Upwelling (SVU) over four main areas along the southern and central Vietnamese coast: upwelling offshore of the Mekong shelf (MKU), along the southern and northern coasts (SCU and NCU), and offshore (OFU). Previous studies have highlighted the roles of wind and ocean intrinsic variability (OIV) in intraseasonal to interannual variability in the SVU. The present study comp...

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most critically polluted areas due to its semi-enclosed structure and its highly anthropized shoreline. Rivers are significant vectors for pollutant transfers from the continental to the marine environment. In this context, a 3D Lagrangian simulation of the dispersion of riverine microplastics (MPs) was performed, which included the application of a recently developed model that reassessed t...

The South Vietnam Upwelling (SVU) develops in the South China Sea (SCS) under the influence of southwest monsoon winds. To study the role of small spatiotemporal scales on the SVU functioning and variability, a simulation was performed over 2009–2018 with a high-resolution configuration (1 km at the coast) of the SYMPHONIE model implemented over the western region of the SCS. Its capability to represent ocean dynamics and wate...

We study the daily to interannual variability of the Red River plume in the Gulf of Tonkin from numerical simulations at high resolution over 6 years (2011–2016). Compared with observational data, the model results show good performance. To identify the plume, passive tracers are used in order to (1) help distinguish the freshwater coming from different continental sources, including the Red River branches, and (2) avoid the l...

The North Balearic Front forms the southern branch of the cyclonic gyre in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Its dynamics exhibit significant seasonal variability. During autumn, the front spreads northward during the calm wind periods and rapidly moves back southward when it is exposed to strong northerly wind events such as the tramontane and mistral. These strong winds considerably enhance the air–sea exchanges. To invest...

In the north-western Mediterranean, the strong, dry, cold winds, the Tramontane and Mistral, produce intense heat and moisture exchange at the interface between the ocean and the atmosphere leading to the formation of deep dense waters, a process that occurs only in certain regions of the world. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the ability of a new coupled ocean–atmosphere modelling system based on MESONH-SURFEX-SYM...