Mediterranean sea (oceanography)
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/92.13.23.240|92.13.23.240]] ([[User talk:92.13.23.240|talk]]) to last version by 75.164.209.139
: ''For the Mediterranean Sea between [[Europe]] and [[Africa]], see the [[Mediterranean Sea]].''
In [[oceanography]], a '''mediterranean sea''' is a mostly enclosed [[sea]] that has limited exchange of deep water with outer [[ocean]]s and where the water circulation is dominated by [[salinity]] and temperature differences rather than winds.
==List of mediterranean seas==
=====The mediterranean seas of the [[Atlantic Ocean]]=====
* The [[Mediterranean Sea]] (or ''the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea'' or ''the European Mediterranean Sea''): including the [[Black Sea]], the [[Sea of Azov]], the [[Aegean Sea]] and the [[Sea of Marmara]].
* The [[Arctic Ocean]] (or ''the Arctic Mediterranean Sea'', considered an ocean by many)
* The American Mediterranean Sea: the combination of the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and the [[Caribbean Sea]].
* The [[Baltic Sea]]
* [[Baffin Bay]]
=====The mediterranean seas of the [[Indian Ocean]]=====
* The [[Persian Gulf]]
* The [[Red Sea]]
=====The mediterranean sea between the Indian and [[Pacific Ocean]]s=====
* The Australasian Mediterranean Sea: the sea enclosed by the [[Sunda Islands]] and the [[Philippines]], including the [[Banda Sea]], the [[Sulu Sea]], the [[Sulawesi Sea]], the [[Java Sea]], etc.
==Types of mediterranean seas==
There are two types of mediterranean sea.
=====Concentration basin=====
*A '''concentration basin''' has a higher salinity than the outer ocean due to evaporation, and its water exchange consists of inflow of the fresher oceanic water in the upper layer and outflow of the saltier mediterranean water in the lower layer of the connecting [[channel (geography)|channel]].
**The Red Sea
**The Persian Gulf
**The Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea is also a concentration basin as a whole, but the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea are dilution basins (see below) owing to the [[Danube]], [[Don River, Russia|Don]], and [[Dnieper River|Dnieper]] Rivers and the [[Po River]] respectively.
=====Dilution basin=====
*A '''dilution basin''' has a lower salinity due to freshwater gains such as rainfall and rivers, and its water exchange consists of outflow of the fresher mediterranean water in the upper layer and inflow of the saltier oceanic water in the lower layer of the channel. Renewal of deep water may not be sufficient to supply [[oxygen]] to the bottom.
**The Arctic Ocean
**The American Mediterranean Sea
**The Baltic Sea
**Baffin Bay
**The Australasian Mediterranean Sea
==Exceptions==
*The [[Hudson Bay]] is so shallow it functions like a huge [[estuary]].
*Having shallow channels and deep basins, the [[Sea of Japan]] could form a mediterranean sea, but the strong currents from the Pacific prevent it from having an independent water circulation.
*The [[Baltic Sea]] is a [[brackish water|brackish]] [[inland sea]], alleged to be the largest body of brackish water in the world (other possibilities include the [[Black Sea]]). It occupies a basin formed by glacial erosion.
==See also==
*[[Ocean]]
*[[Marginal sea]]
*[[Inland sea]]
*[[Seven seas]]
==References==
*Matthias Tomczak and J. Stuart Godfrey. 2003. ''Regional Oceanography: an Introduction''. (see [http://www.es.flinders.edu.au/~mattom/regoc/ the site])
[[Category:Oceanography]]
[[Category:Seas]]
[[Category:Arctic Ocean]]
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