Finding the signature of past climate transitions in the Mediterranean using the analysis of innovative geochemical tracers –specifically, isotopes of neodymium and rare-earth distribution– is the objective of the oceanographic campaign TRANSMOW, led by the experts Leopoldo Pena and Jaime Frigola, members of the consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the UB.
The Mediterranean outflow waters is a constant and strong current of warm and saline water masses moving towards the Atlantic Ocean. The properties of this hydrographic connection between both marine basins through the ocean corridor of the Gibraltar Strait are marked by the climate conditions of the Mediterranean region. Nowadays, determining the potential impact of the Mediterranean water mass on the thermo-haline Atlantic circulation system –and ultimately, on the global climatology and oceanography– is still a topic under debate in the scientific community.
TRANSMOW will describe the Mediterranean outflow waters and the circulation flow around the Iberian Peninsula with an innovative methodology. “For the first time, we will apply the analysis of innovative chemical tracers –in particular, isotopes of neodymium and rare-earth elements– to improve the estimation of the MOW mix with Atlantic surrounding waters”, notes Isabel Cacho, professor at the Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics of the UB, and principal researcher of the projects framed within this oceanographic campaign.