Recurrent intrusions of transitional waters of Eastern Mediterranean origin in the Cretan Sea as a tracer of Aegean Sea dense water formation events

•Low salinity and oxygen waters of EMed origin recurrently enter the Cretan Sea.•The TMW inflow compensates Cretan outflow linked to dense water formation events.•The TMW appearance can be used as a tracer of dense water formation events.

Available temperature and salinity data in the Cretan Sea from 1955 up to 2014 as well as literature sources were revisited in order to trace the appearance of low salinity, temperature, oxygen and nutrient-rich waters inside the basin at depths below the intermediate layer. First appearing as far back as 1961 in literature, these waters were found originating in the layers that separate intermediate and deep waters of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMed) and were named Transitional Mediterranean Water (TMW) in the 1990s. Data analysis showed that the appearance of TMW in the Cretan Sea is a recurrent phenomenon connected to water mass exchanges between the Aegean Sea and the EMed. In particular, the inflow of TMW in the Cretan basin acts as compensation for the outflow of equally dense or denser masses from the Aegean. This export is a result of dense water formation (DWF) events taking place inside the Aegean Sea triggering TMW compensatory inflow into the Cretan Sea through the Cretan Straits. In this context, TMW intrusions in the Cretan basin can be used as a tracer of DWF in the Aegean Sea while the depth of the intrusion can provide valuable information about the intensity of the DWF event. The importance of TMW intrusions is not solely restricted to the tracing and evaluation of DWF events but could additionally expand to the impact on local ecological processes as TMW is a nutrient carrier for the oligotrophic Cretan Sea.