Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea, arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between the Italian and Balkan peninsulas. The Strait of Otranto at its southeasterly limit links it with the Ionian Sea. It is about 500 miles (800 km) long with an average width of 100 miles, a maximum depth of 4,035 feet (1,324 metres), and an area of 50,590 sq mi (131,050 sq km). The Adriatic has been of great importance in the historical development of Mediterranean Europe and is of considerable scientific interest in itself. Modern study of the Adriatic has been carried out mainly under the auspices of several Italian and Balkan scientific institutes.

There is a striking contrast between its two shores. The Italian coast is relatively straight and continuous, having no islands, whereas the Croatian coast is full of both large and small islands, generally oblong in shape and running parallel to the continental shore. Many tortuous straits form inlets between the islands similar to those of the Norwegian fjords and make the coastline very intricate.

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The depths of the Adriatic near its shores bear a close relationship to the physiography of the adjacent coasts. Wherever such coasts are high and mountainous, the nearby sea depths are considerable, as in the case of the Istrian and Dalmatian areas of Slovenia and Croatia. Where low and sandy shores are found, the nearby sea is shallow, as in the vicinity of Venice or, farther south, near the delta of the Italian Po River. Generally speaking, the waters are shallow all along the Italian coast. The site of maximum depth of the Adriatic Sea is situated south of the central area; average depth is 1,457 feet (444 metres).

The Adriatic has two types of rather special sea bottoms, difficult to arrange in a rigorous classification but very common in the Mediterranean, namely, inlet-derived sediments and heat-altered sediments of the sea bottom proper. In general, the seabed consists of a yellowish mud and sand, containing fragments of shells, fossil mollusks, and corals. The main winds prevailing in the area are the bora, a strong northeast wind that blows from the nearby mountains into the sea, and a southeasterly wind named the sirocco that is less troublesome from a navigational point of view. During the six winter months, bora and sirocco alternate, with or without an interval of a few days calm. The tides of the Adriatic, which have been intensively studied, follow a complicated pattern, sweeping into the region from the south and being linked with those of the Ionian Sea.

The tidal range is about three feet, in contrast to the general Mediterranean tidal range of about 0.9 foot. The surface currents are chiefly influenced by the blowing winds, with currents spurred by north winds reaching a speed of four miles per hour.

Temperatures in the surface layers of the sea reach 75–77 °F (24–25 °C) during the month of August, and the minimum readings, some 50 °F (10 °C), are usually reached during January and February. In the northern Adriatic, river mouth temperatures are even lower because the waters are cooled by melting ice and snow. At greater depths (820–980 feet) the maximum temperatures fluctuate around 57 °F (14 °C), while minimum temperatures are about 52 °F (11 °C).

The Adriatic Sea, like the Mediterranean in general, is deficient in life; nutrient content, as indicated by the amount of phosphates and nitrates, is extremely low. Three main areas of marine life may nevertheless be recognized. In the northern Adriatic area, significant winter cooling and a lowered salinity further impoverish the typical Mediterranean marine life. In the middle Adriatic area, life is much richer than farther north, while the southern Adriatic area has its own distinctive forms of life.