Editing Mediterranean Sea (section)

===Other events affecting water circulation===
Being a semi-enclosed basin, the Mediterranean experiences transitory events that can affect the water circulation on short time scales. In the mid-1990s, the Aegean Sea became the main area for deep water formation in the eastern Mediterranean after particularly cold winter conditions. This transitory switch in the origin of deep waters in the eastern Mediterranean was termed Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT) and had major consequences on water circulation of the Mediterranean.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gasparini |first1=G.P. |last2=Ortona |first2=A. |last3=Budillon |first3=G. |last4=Astraldi |first4=M. |last5=Sansone |first5=E. |title=The effect of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient on the hydrographic characteristics in the Strait of Sicily and in the Tyrrhenian Sea |journal=Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers |date=June 2005 |volume=52 |issue=6 |pages=915–935 |doi=10.1016/j.dsr.2005.01.001 |bibcode=2005DSRI...52..915G}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lascaratos |first1=Alex |last2=Roether |first2=Wolfgang |last3=Nittis |first3=Kostas |last4=Klein |first4=Birgit |title=Recent changes in deep water formation and spreading in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: a review |journal=Progress in Oceanography |date=August 1999 |volume=44 |issue=1–3 |pages=5–36 |doi=10.1016/S0079-6611(99)00019-1 |bibcode=1999PrOce..44....5L}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Theocharis |first1=Alexander |last2=Nittis |first2=Kostas |last3=Kontoyiannis |first3=Harilaos |last4=Papageorgiou |first4=Emanuel |last5=Balopoulos |first5=Efstathios |title=Climatic changes in the Aegean Sea influence the eastern Mediterranean thermohaline circulation (1986–1997) |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |date=1 June 1999 |volume=26 |issue=11 |pages=1617–1620 |doi=10.1029/1999GL900320 |bibcode=1999GeoRL..26.1617T |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Another example of a transient event affecting the Mediterranean circulation is the periodic inversion of the North Ionian Gyre, which is an [[Anticyclonic rotation|anticyclonic]] [[ocean gyre]] observed in the northern part of the [[Ionian Sea]], off the Greek coast. The transition from anticyclonic to cyclonic rotation of this gyre changes the origin of the waters fueling it; when the circulation is anticyclonic (most common), the waters of the gyre originate from the Adriatic Sea. When the circulation is cyclonic, the waters originate from the [[Levantine Sea]]. These waters have different physical and chemical characteristics, and the periodic inversion of the North Ionian Gyre (called Bimodal Oscillating System or BiOS) changes the Mediterranean circulation and biogeochemistry around the Adriatic and Levantine regions.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Civitarese | first1=G. | last2=Gačić | first2=M. | last3=Lipizer | first3=M. | last4=Eusebi Borzelli | first4=G. L. | title=On the impact of the Bimodal Oscillating System (BiOS) on the biogeochemistry and biology of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas (Eastern Mediterranean) | journal=Biogeosciences | publisher=Copernicus GmbH | volume=7 | issue=12 | date=15 December 2010 | issn=1726-4189 | doi=10.5194/bg-7-3987-2010 | doi-access=free | pages=3987–3997| bibcode=2010BGeo....7.3987C }}</ref>