LION observatory data

The Lion mooring is located in the center of the Gulf of Lion where one of the largest open sea convection happens in the winter period. This open sea convection is an active vertical mixing that concerns the whole northern Mediterranean and can reach great deep in the Gulf of Lion (where it may even reach the bottom ~ 2500m) due to the Mistral and Tramontane, cold and dry winds. This is the phenomenon of dense water formation which is the only mechanism for the ventilation of the deep waters of the entire western Mediterranean. It was observed that the deep waters can be formed 1) in a preconditioned open sea area and 2) on the shelf with a subsequent cascading down the slope. There are therefore two modes whose interannual monitoring is necessary to understand the evolution of Mediterranean deep waters and validate ocean numerical models of the region. The LION mooring is deployed and maintained since 2007. It aims to observe the winter dense water formation affecting the north-western Mediterranean Sea water circulation and deep-sea ecosystem (physical data). The mooring is deployed near the ODAS meteorological surface buoy (ODAS Lion, Meteo France) and integrated in the MOOSE network since 2010. It is part of the FIXO3 and OceanSites systems.利翁湾系泊观测站（Lion mooring）布设于利翁湾中部海域，该区域是冬季全球规模最大的开阔海对流活动发生区之一。这类开阔海对流属于活跃的垂直混合过程，影响范围覆盖整个北地中海；受密史脱拉风（Mistral）与特拉蒙塔纳风（Tramontane）这两股干冷北风的驱动，该对流可在利翁湾穿透至极深水域，最深甚至可达约2500米的海底。该过程即为高密度水形成（dense water formation）现象，也是整个西地中海深层水体通风的唯一机制。观测表明，深层水体的形成存在两种模式：其一为在预先调整就绪的开阔海区域形成，其二为在陆架区域形成后沿斜坡逐级下潜。因此，对这两种模式开展年际监测（interannual monitoring），是解析地中海深层水体演化过程、验证该区域海洋数值模型（ocean numerical models）的必要前提。该LION系泊观测站自2007年起投入布设并持续维护，其观测目标为研究影响西北地中海海水环流与深海生态系统的冬季高密度水形成过程，并采集相关物理数据。该系泊站布设于法国气象局（Meteo France）ODAS气象海面浮标（ODAS Lion）附近，并自2010年起接入MOOSE观测网络（MOOSE network），同时为FIXO3系统与OceanSites系统的组成部分。