Coastal Ocean Monitoring in the Easter Mediterranean Sea - THEMO Array: Applications to Offshore Energy and Contaminants Transport

Deployed in 2017, the THEMO (The Texas A&M - University of Haifa Eastern Mediterranean Observatory) Array has provided near-real time oceanographic and meteorological observations for coastal monitoring of transports and environmental constituents near offshore energy facilities and operations. THEMO is composed of two real-time buoys in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Haifa, Israel, one shallow buoy with a depth of 150m in the coastal zone of the Levant Basin, one deep (1500m) buoy 60km from shore, and one StandAlone MMP (McLane Moorned Profiler). We characterize the seasonal variability of the water column structure of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Vertical current structure is mostly baratropic, with indications of surface response to episodic atmospheric forcing. In the lower water column interior (800-1200m), acoustic backscatter observations show low-frequency (i.e weeks) variability indicating particulate material transport. In the deep water column (> 1200m), there are some indications of bottom boundary layer intensification and particulate resuspension possibly due to abyssal storms. Tidal current variability tends to be small (<0.5 m pressure range, and <5 cm/s amplitudes). THEMO provides near real-time information to regional coastal managers and decision makers in the context of offshore energy operations and serves as a foundation for a predictive network to guide emergency response assets in the event of accidental disasters, such as hydrocarbon leaks or spills and contamination, as well as environmental hazards such as weather events and harmful algal blooms. Needed are to validate general circulation models of the region for transport and water quality skill. Recommendations for additional observations include chemical constituents such as nutrients, oxygen, and pH. The data are freely available to the public.*(Funded through a joint arrangement of Texas A&M University and the University of Haifa).