The Balearic current and volume transports in the Balearic basin

The Balearic basin is a semi-enclosed basin located in the western Mediterranean Sea, connecting the Gulf of Lions and the Alboran basin. While the characteristics and circulation of the water masses have been rather well established, the exchanges with adjacent basins, essential to our understanding of the circulation in the western Mediterranean and for validating outputs of general circulation models, have never been determined in detail. We present here the data from the FE-89 (June 1989) Spanish cruise, during which high-resolution CTD and ADCP measurements were performed on the open boundaries of the Balearic basin. The fluxes for all the boundaries were calculated in a quasi-synoptic fashion. The values found in the Ibiza and Mallorca channels contrast with those given by other authors. The cruise also allowed us to sample and determine the main characteristics of the Balearic front; the associated current flows SW to NE along the Balearic shelf, and the transport found is about 0.75 Sv. In contrast with the findings from previous analyses, these results suggest that the Balearic front is a permanent feature.