Mediterranean eddies carry 50% more energy in winter

Small eddies in the Mediterranean Sea carry around 50% more energy of motion at their winter peak than at their summer low. A study published on Thursday, 15 October 2026, finds that older satellite measurements missed this seasonal shift. The Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies led the work, with the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing System taking part.

The team used more than three years of observations from Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT), a satellite developed by NASA and the French space agency CNES. Its measurements let researchers examine currents and eddies just a few dozen kilometres across. The winter increase is clearest in structures between 20 and 60 kilometres wide.

SWOT also detects about 1.8 times as much kinetic energy — energy of motion — in these eddies and surface currents as conventional satellite measurements of sea height had estimated. The researchers say small-scale movements help transport heat, energy and materials through the sea.

That matters in a Mediterranean warming faster than the global ocean. The study’s authors say these smaller currents and eddies must be observed to describe accurately how the sea works.

Topics: Sea & coast

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com