The Levantine Sea is bordered by Turkey in the north and north-east corner, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine in the east, Egypt in the south, and the Aegean Sea in the northwest. Where it is used as a term its western border is amorphous, hence Mediterranean is more commonly used. The open western border to the next part of the Mediterranean (the Libyan Sea) is defined as a line from headland Ras al-Helal in Libya to Gavdos, south of the western half of Crete.
The largest island in its subset of water is Cyprus. The greatest depth of 4,384 m (14,383 ft) is found in the Pliny Trench, about 80 km (50 mi) south of Crete. The Levantine Sea covers 320,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi).
The northern part of the Levantine Sea between Cyprus and Turkey can be further specified as the Cilician Sea, a term more arcane. Also in the north are two large bays, the Gulf of İskenderun (to the northeast) and the Gulf of Antalya (to the northwest).
Basinsedit
Boundaries of the Levant Basin, or Levantine Basin (US EIA)
To the west of the Levantine Deep Marine Basin is the Nile Delta Basin, followed by the Herodotus Basin, 130,000 km2 (50,000 sq mi) large and up to 3,200 m (10,500 ft) deep,[5] which – at a possible age of 340 million years – is believed to be the oldest known ocean crust worldwide.[6]
The Suez Canal was completed in 1869, linking the Levantine Sea to the Red Sea – and mainly for large vessels. The Red Sea sits a little higher than the Eastern Mediterranean, so the canal is an intermittent tidal strait discharging water into the Mediterranean. The Bitter Lakes – hypersaline natural lakes, interacting with the canal – were a bar to migration of Red Sea species northward for many decades, but as their salinity has virtually equalized with that of the Red Sea, the barrier to migration was removed, and plants and animals from the Red Sea have begun to colonize the eastern Mediterranean. This is the Lessepsian migration, after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the chief engineer of the canal.
Most of the river discharge is from the Nile. Since the Aswan High Dam sits across the river in the 1960s it has facilitated the multiplication of Egyptian agriculture and population. It has reduced, to the sea, the flow of freshwater, mountainous minerals in the silt, and the distance traveled by silt (before this, borne by floodwater). This makes the sea slightly saltier and nutrient-poorer than before. This has decimated the morning sardine litorine haul in nets but favored many Red Sea species.
^Gacic, Miroslav; Bensi, Manuel (2020-12-10). Ocean Exchange and Circulation. MDPI. p. 7. ISBN978-3-03936-152-6. It is modified flowing eastward, passes the Sicily Channel and the Ionian Sea and enters the easternmost part of the Mediterranean, the Levantine Sea.
^Ashwarya, Sujata (2019-05-03). Israel's Mediterranean Gas: Domestic Governance, Economic Impact, and Strategic Implications. Taylor & Francis. p. 2. ISBN978-0-429-53623-6. The Levantine Sea is the easternmost part of the Mediterranean that includes the territorial waters of Israel, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria.
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-02-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Hydrocarbon Potential in Herodotus Basin, Eastern Mediterranean, p. 2
^Ben-Gurion University of the Negev: Three Hundred Million Years Under the Sea
Further readingedit
Kubin, Elisabeth; Poulain, Pierre-Marie; Mauri, Elena; Menna, Milena; Notarstefano, Giulio. 2019. "Levantine Intermediate and Levantine Deep Water Formation: An Argo Float Study from 2001 to 2017" Water 11, no. 9: 1781. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11091781
Özsoy, E. and H. Güngör (1993). The Northern Levantine Sea Circulation Based on Combined Analysis of CTD and ADCP Data, In: P. Brasseur (editor), Data Assimilation: Tools for Modelling the Ocean in a Global Change Perspective, NATO ASI Series, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Sur, H. İ., Özsoy, E., and Ü. Ünlüata, (1992). Simultaneous Deep and Intermediate Depth Convection in the Northern Levantine Sea, Winter 1992, Ocean.
External linksedit
Media related to Levantine Sea at Wikimedia Commons
November 01, 2023
levantine, arabic, بحر, الشام, romanized, baḥr, shām, arabic, البحر, الشامي, romanized, baḥr, shāmī, turkish, levanten, denizi, greek, Θάλασσα, του, Λεβάντε, romanized, thálassa, levánte, hebrew, הים, הלבנטיני, romanized, levantíni, easternmost, part, mediterr. The Levantine Sea Arabic بحر الشام romanized baḥr as Sham or Arabic البحر الشامي romanized al Baḥr as Shami Turkish Levanten Denizi Greek 8alassa toy Lebante romanized Thalassa tou Levante Hebrew הים הלבנטיני romanized ha Yam ha Levantini is the easternmost part of the Mediterranean Sea 1 2 Levantine SeaMap of the Levantine SeaLevantine SeaThe location of the Levantine SeaLocationMediterraneanCoordinates34 N 34 E 34 N 34 E 34 34 Levantine Sea TypeSeaBasin countriesGreece Turkey Egypt Syria Lebanon Israel Palestine Jordan Cyprus Iraq A large number of countries included in drainage basins for inflow riversSurface area320 000 km2 120 000 sq mi Extent of the Levantine Sea Contents 1 Geography 2 Basins 3 Ecology 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksGeography editThe Levantine Sea is bordered by Turkey in the north and north east corner Syria Lebanon Israel and Palestine in the east Egypt in the south and the Aegean Sea in the northwest Where it is used as a term its western border is amorphous hence Mediterranean is more commonly used The open western border to the next part of the Mediterranean the Libyan Sea is defined as a line from headland Ras al Helal in Libya to Gavdos south of the western half of Crete The largest island in its subset of water is Cyprus The greatest depth of 4 384 m 14 383 ft is found in the Pliny Trench about 80 km 50 mi south of Crete The Levantine Sea covers 320 000 km2 120 000 sq mi The northern part of the Levantine Sea between Cyprus and Turkey can be further specified as the Cilician Sea a term more arcane Also in the north are two large bays the Gulf of Iskenderun to the northeast and the Gulf of Antalya to the northwest Basins edit nbsp Boundaries of the Levant Basin or Levantine Basin US EIA The Leviathan gas field is quite central in the south eastern corner the Levantine Basin 3 4 To the west of the Levantine Deep Marine Basin is the Nile Delta Basin followed by the Herodotus Basin 130 000 km2 50 000 sq mi large and up to 3 200 m 10 500 ft deep 5 which at a possible age of 340 million years is believed to be the oldest known ocean crust worldwide 6 Ecology editMain articles Mediterranean Sea River Nile Lake Nasser and Lessepsian migration The Suez Canal was completed in 1869 linking the Levantine Sea to the Red Sea and mainly for large vessels The Red Sea sits a little higher than the Eastern Mediterranean so the canal is an intermittent tidal strait discharging water into the Mediterranean The Bitter Lakes hypersaline natural lakes interacting with the canal were a bar to migration of Red Sea species northward for many decades but as their salinity has virtually equalized with that of the Red Sea the barrier to migration was removed and plants and animals from the Red Sea have begun to colonize the eastern Mediterranean This is the Lessepsian migration after Ferdinand de Lesseps the chief engineer of the canal Most of the river discharge is from the Nile Since the Aswan High Dam sits across the river in the 1960s it has facilitated the multiplication of Egyptian agriculture and population It has reduced to the sea the flow of freshwater mountainous minerals in the silt and the distance traveled by silt before this borne by floodwater This makes the sea slightly saltier and nutrient poorer than before This has decimated the morning sardine litorine haul in nets but favored many Red Sea species See also editEastern Mediterranean LevantReferences edit Gacic Miroslav Bensi Manuel 2020 12 10 Ocean Exchange and Circulation MDPI p 7 ISBN 978 3 03936 152 6 It is modified flowing eastward passes the Sicily Channel and the Ionian Sea and enters the easternmost part of the Mediterranean the Levantine Sea Ashwarya Sujata 2019 05 03 Israel s Mediterranean Gas Domestic Governance Economic Impact and Strategic Implications Taylor amp Francis p 2 ISBN 978 0 429 53623 6 The Levantine Sea is the easternmost part of the Mediterranean that includes the territorial waters of Israel Gaza Strip Lebanon and Syria Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 17 Retrieved 2011 07 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 18 Retrieved 2011 02 12 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Hydrocarbon Potential in Herodotus Basin Eastern Mediterranean p 2 Ben Gurion University of the Negev Three Hundred Million Years Under the SeaFurther reading editKubin Elisabeth Poulain Pierre Marie Mauri Elena Menna Milena Notarstefano Giulio 2019 Levantine Intermediate and Levantine Deep Water Formation An Argo Float Study from 2001 to 2017 Water 11 no 9 1781 https doi org 10 3390 w11091781 Ozsoy E and H Gungor 1993 The Northern Levantine Sea Circulation Based on Combined Analysis of CTD and ADCP Data In P Brasseur editor Data Assimilation Tools for Modelling the Ocean in a Global Change Perspective NATO ASI Series Springer Verlag Berlin Sur H I Ozsoy E and U Unluata 1992 Simultaneous Deep and Intermediate Depth Convection in the Northern Levantine Sea Winter 1992 Ocean External links edit nbsp Media related to Levantine Sea at Wikimedia Commons Study and Analysis of Water Masses Formation in the Levantine Sea Long Term Ecological Research Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Levantine Sea amp oldid 1166310505, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
