The Mediterranean basin-scale circulation can be described in terms of a surface inflow of Atlantic Water from the Atlantic Ocean entering through the Strait of Gibraltar and flowing eastward at the surface towards the eastern basin, and a return flow of intermediate water originating in the Levantine Basin at subsurface, proceeding towards Gibraltar and finally exiting into the Atlantic (Malanotte-Rizzoli et al. 2014). However, the circulation of Atlantic Water in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea is still debated (Hamad et al. 2005).

The Turkish part of the Mediterranean Sea is located in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Levantine Basin in one of the two major basins of the Eastern Mediterranean. Recent advances in both observations and modeling have allowed better understanding of the factors that influence the circulation in the Eastern Mediterranean and its impacts on physics and ecosystem over a range of spatial and temporal scales. This study is a review of the present understanding of the Eastern Mediterranean in terms of flow and water mass characteristics.

In the following sections, after reviewing basic geographical features and atmospheric setting of the Eastern Mediterranean relevant to its physical oceanography, we present the current knowledge on the circulation, water masse structure and climatic changes occurring in this basin.