Considerations generales sur l'oceanographie physique

This introduction to the Colloquium recalls some of the outstanding features of the physical oceanography of the Mediterranean. On the basis of what is known concerning the budget of transfers and exchanges across the sea-surface and their impact on the hydrographical characters of the waters and their movements, and concerning the external conditions imposed on the sea, the author presents, the effect of the constraints imposed on the sea due to the existence of straits with sills and, primarily, the Strait of Gibraltar.