TY - JOUR T1 - Regionalisation of the Mediterranean basin, a MERMEX synthesis A1 - Ayata,Sakina-Dorothee A1 - Irisson,Jean-Olivier A1 - Aubert,Anais A1 - Berline,Leo A1 - Dutay,Jean-Claude A1 - Mayot,Nicolas A1 - Nieblas,Anne-Elise A1 - D'Ortenzio,Fabrizio A1 - Palmieri,Julien A1 - Reygondeau,Gabriel A1 - Rossi,Vincent A1 - Guieu,Cecile AD - UPMC Univ Paris 06, Sorbonne Univ, CNRS, LOV, F-06230 Villefranche Sur Mer, France. AD - Natl Museum Nat Hist, CRESCO, 38 Rue Port Blanc, F-35800 Dinard, France. AD - Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Toulon, CNRS, Mediterranean Inst Oceanog MIO UM 110,IRD, F-13288 Marseille 09, France. AD - Univ Paris Saclay, CEA CNRS UVSQ, Lab Sci Climat Environm LSCE IPSL, F-91191 Gif Sur Yvette, France. AD - Inst Francais Rech Exploitat Mer IFREMER, UMR MARBEC, Ave Jean Monnet,BP171, F-34203 Sete, France. AD - CAP RUN Hydro Reunion, Magasin 10,25 Hauturiere, F-97420 Le Port, Ile De La Reuni, France. AD - Southampton Univ, Natl Oceanog Ctr, Waterfront Campus,European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, Hants, England. AD - Univ British Columbia, Nippon Fdn, Nereus Program, Aquat Ecosyst Res Lab, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. AD - Univ British Columbia, Changing Ocean Res Unit, Inst Oceans & Fisheries, Aquat Ecosyst Res Lab, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. AD - CSIC UIB, IFISC Inst Cross Disciplinary Phys & Complex Syst, Palma De Mallorca 07122, Spain. AD - New York Univ Abu Dhabi, Ctr Prototype Climate Modeling, POB 129188, Abu Dhabi, U Arab Emirates. UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2017.09.016 DO - 10.1016/j.pocean.2017.09.016 KW - Mediterranean Sea KW - Regionalisation KW - Biogeochemistry KW - Circulation KW - Mesoscale features KW - Epipelagic ocean KW - Management KW - Spatial planning N2 - Regionalisation aims at delimiting provinces within which physical conditions, chemical properties, and biological communities are reasonably homogeneous. This article proposes a synthesis of the many recent regionalisations of the open-sea regions of the Mediterranean Sea. The nine studies considered here defined regions based on different, and sometimes complementary, criteria: dynamics of surface chlorophyll concentration, ocean currents, three-dimensional hydrological and biogeochemical properties, or the distribution of organisms. Although they identified different numbers and patterns of homogeneous regions, their compilation in the epipelagic zone identifies nine consensus frontiers, eleven consensus regions with relatively homogeneous conditions, and four heterogeneous regions with highly dynamical conditions. The consensus frontiers and regions are in agreement with well-known hydrodynamical features of the Mediterranean Sea, which constrain the distribution of hydrological and ecological variables. The heterogeneous regions are rather defined by intense mesoscale activity. The synthesis proposed here could constitute a reference step for management actions and spatial planning, such as the application of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and for future biogeochemical and ecological studies in the Mediterranean Sea. Y1 - 2018/04 PB - Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd JF - Progress In Oceanography SN - 0079-6611 VL - 163 SP - 7 EP - 20 ID - 51673 ER -