The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate body of water.Sony VAIO VGN-FW190ECH Battery
The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning "inland" or "in the middle of the earth" (from medius, "middle" and terra, "earth"). It covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km² (965,000 sq mi), but its connection to the Atlantic (the Strait of Gibraltar) is only 14 km (8.7 mi) wide. Sony VAIO VGN-FW190EDH Battery
In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.
The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in theCalypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.Sony VAIO VGN-FW190NAH Battery
It was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region — the Mesopotamian, Persian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Iberian, Greek and Byzantine,Roman and Italian, Illyrian, Thracian, Levantine, Gallic, Armenian, Arabic, Berber, Jewish, Aragonese, Slavic and Turkishcultures.Sony VAIO VGN-FW190NBH Battery
The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. "For the three quarters of the globe, the Mediterranean Sea is similarly the uniting element and the centre of World History."Sony VAIO VGN-FW190NCH Battery
Name
The term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning "in the middle of earth" or "between lands" (medius, "middle, between" + terra, "land, earth"). This is on account of the sea's intermediary position between the continents of Africa and Europe.Sony VAIO VGN-FW190NDH Battery
The Greek name Mesogeios (?????????), is similarly from ????, "middle" + ??, "land, earth").
The Mediterranean Sea has been known by a number of alternative names throughout human history. For example the Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum (Latin, "Our Sea"), and occasionally Mare Internum (Sallust, Jug. 17).Sony VAIO VGN-FW190NEH Battery
In the Bible, it was primarily known as the "Great Sea" (Num. 34:6,7; Josh. 1:4, 9:1, 15:47; Ezek. 47:10,15,20), or simply "The Sea" (1 Kings 5:9; comp. 1 Macc.14:34, 15:11); however, it has also been called the "Hinder Sea", due to its location on the west coast of the Holy Land, and therefore behind a person facing the east, as referenced in the Old Testament, Sony VAIO VGN-FW198U/H Battery
sometimes translated as "Western Sea", (Deut. 11:24; Joel 2:20). Another name was the "Sea of the Philistines" (Exod.23:31), from the people occupying a large portion of its shores near the Israelites.
In Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYyam HaTtikhon (?????? ??????????), "the middle sea", a literal adaptation of the German equivalent Mittelmeer.Sony VAIO VGN-FW260J/B Battery
InTurkish, it is known as Akdeniz, "the white sea". In modern Arabic, it is known as al-Ba?r al-Abya? al-Mutawassi? (????? ?????? ???????), "the White Middle Sea," while in Islamic and older Arabic literature, it was referenced as Ba?r al-R?m (??? ?????), or "the Roman/Byzantine Sea."Sony VAIO VGN-FW280J/H Battery
History
As a sea around which some of the most ancient human civilisations were arranged, it has had a major influence on the history and ways of life of these cultures. It provided a way of trade, colonisation and war, and was the basis of life (via fishing and the gathering of other seafood) for numerous communities throughout the ages.Sony VAIO VGN-FW290JRB Battery
The combination of similarly shared climate, geology and access to a common sea has led to numerous historical and cultural connections between the ancient and modern societies around the Mediterranean.
Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states and the Phoenicians.Sony VAIO VGN-FW290JTB Battery
When Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Mediterranean sea began to be called Mare Nostrum (literally:"Our Sea") by the Romans.
Darius I of Persia, who conquered Ancient Egypt built a canal linking Mediterranean to the Red Sea. Darius's canal was wide enough that two triremes could pass each other with oars extended, and required four days to traverse.Sony VAIO VGN-FW290JTH Battery
The Roman empire began to crumble, however, in the fifth century and Rome collapsed after 476 AD. Temporarily the east was again dominant as the Byzantine Empire formed from the eastern half of the Roman one. Another power was rising in the east, that of Islam. At its greatest extent, the Arab Empire controlled 3/4 of the Mediterranean region.Sony VAIO VGN-FW290JTW Battery
Europe was reviving, however, as more organized and centralised states began to form in the later Middle Ages after the Renaissance of the 12th century.
Ottoman power continued to grow, and in 1453, the Byzantine Empire was extinguished with the fall of Constantinople. Sony VAIO VGN-FW355J/H Battery
The growing naval prowess of the European powers confronted further rapid Ottoman expansion in the region when the Battle of Lepanto checked the power of the Ottoman navy. The development of oceanic shipping began to affect the entire Mediterranean, however.Sony VAIO VGN-FW373J/B Battery
While once all trade from the east had passed through the region, the circumnavigation of Africa allowed spices and other goods to be imported directly to the Atlantic ports of western Europe.
Geography
he Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar on the west and to the Sea of Marmara and theBlack Sea, by the Dardanelles and the Bosporus respectively, on the east. Sony VAIO VGN-FW30B Battery
The Sea of Marmara is often considered a part of the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the Black Sea is generally not. The 163 km (101 mi) long man-made Suez Canal in the southeast connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.Sony VAIO VGN-FW50B Battery
Large islands in the Mediterranean include Cyprus, Crete, Euboea, Rhodes, Lesbos, Chios, Kefalonia, Corfu, Naxos and Andros in theeastern Mediterranean; Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, Cres, Krk, Bra?, Hvar, Pag, Kor?ula and Malta in the central Mediterranean; andIbiza, Majorca and Minorca (the Balearic Islands) in the western Mediterranean.Sony VAIO VGN-FW51B/W Battery
The climate is a typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Crops of the region include olives,grapes, oranges, tangerines, and cork.
Extent
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Mediterranean Sea as follows:Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF Battery
The Mediterranean Sea is bounded by the coasts of Europe, Africa and Asia, from the Strait of Gibraltar on the West to the entrances to the Dardanelles and the Suez Canal on the East.
It is divided into two deep basins as follows: Sony VAIO VGN-FW51MF/H Battery
Western Basin
On the West. A line joining the extremities of Cape Trafalgar (Spain) and Cape Spartel (Africa).
On the Northeast. The West Coast of Italy. In the Strait of Messina a line joining the North extreme of Cape Paci (15°42'E) with Cape Peloro, the East extreme of the Island of Sicily. The North Coast of Sicily.Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF Battery
On the East. A line joining Cape Lilibeo the Western point of Sicily (
37°47?N 12°22?E), through the Adventure Bank toCape Bon (Tunisia).
Eastern Basin
On the West. The Northeastern and Eastern limits of the Western Basin. Sony VAIO VGN-FW51ZF/H Battery
On the Northeast. A line joining Kum Kale (26°11'E) and Cape Helles, the Western entrance to the Dardanelles.
On the Southeast. The entrance to the Suez Canal.
On the East. The coasts of Syria and Palestine. Sony VAIO VGN-FW52JB Battery
(It should be noted that the coast referred to as belonging to Palestine in this document dating to 1953 has been within the internationally recognised borders of the country known as Israel since 1948. Of the territories administered by the Palestinian Authority, only the Gaza Strip has a sea coast.)Sony VAIO VGN-FW54FB Battery
Oceanography
Being nearly landlocked affects the Mediterranean Sea's properties; for instance, tides are very limited as a result of the narrow connection with the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean is characterized and immediately recognised by its deep blue colour.Sony VAIO VGN-FW70DB Battery
Evaporation greatly exceeds precipitation and river runoff in the Mediterranean, a fact that is central to the water circulation within the basin. Evaporation is especially high in its eastern half, causing the water level to decrease and salinity to increase eastward.Sony VAIO VGN-FW71DB/W Battery
This pressure gradient pushes relatively cool, low-salinity water from the Atlantic across the basin; it warms and becomes saltier as it travels east, then sinks in the region of the Levant and circulates westward, to spill over the Strait of Gibraltar.Thus, seawater flow is eastward in the Strait's surface waters, and westward below; once in the Atlantic, this chemically distinct Mediterranean Intermediate Water can persist thousands of kilometres away from its source.Sony VAIO VGN-FW72JGB Battery
Geology
The geologic history of the Mediterranean is complex. It was involved in the tectonic break-up and then collision of the African and Eurasian plates. The Messinian Salinity Crisis occurred in the late Miocene (12 million years ago to 5 million years ago) when the Mediterranean dried up. Geologically the Mediterranean is underlain by oceanic crust.Sony VAIO VGN-FW73JGB Battery
The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. The coastline extends for 46,000 km (29,000 mi). A shallow submarine ridge (the Strait of Sicily) between the island of Sicily and the coast of Tunisia divides the sea in two main subregions Sony VAIO VGN-FW74FB Battery
(which in turn are divided into subdivisions), the Western Mediterranean and the Eastern Mediterranean. The Western Mediterranean covers an area of about 0.85 million km² (0.33 million mi²) and theEastern Mediterranean about 1.65 million km² (0.64 million mi²).Sony VAIO VGN-FW81HS Battery
Tectonic evolution
The geodynamic evolution of the Mediterranean Sea was provided by the convergence of European and African plates. This process was driven by the differential spreading along the Atlantic ridge, which led to the closure of the Tethys Ocean and eventually to the Alpine orogenesis. Sony VAIO VGN-FW81NS Battery
However, the Mediterranean also hosts wide extensional basins and migrating tectonic arcs, in response to its land-locked configuration.
According to a report published by Nature in 2009, scientists think that the Mediterranean Sea was mostly filled during a time period of less than two years, Sony VAIO VGN-FW81S Battery
in a major flood (the Zanclean flood) that happened approximately 5.33 million years ago, in which water poured in from the Atlantic Ocean and through the Strait of Gibraltar, at a rate three times the current flow of the Amazon River.
Eastern Mediterranean
In middle Miocene times, the collision between the Arabian microplate and Eurasia led to the separation between the Tethys and the Indian oceans. Sony VAIO VGN-FW82DS Battery
This process resulted in profound changes in the oceanic circulation patterns, which shifted global climates towards colder conditions. The Hellenic arc, which has a land-locked configuration, underwent a widespread extension for the last 20 Myr due to a slab roll-back process.Sony VAIO VGN-FW82JS Battery
In addition, the Hellenic Arc experienced a rapid rotation phase during the Pleistocene, with a counterclockwise component in its eastern portion and a clockwise trend in the western segment.
Central Mediterranean
The opening of small oceanic basins of the central Mediterranean follows a trench migration and back-arc opening process that occurred during the last 30 Myr. Sony VAIO VGN-FW82XS Battery
This phase was characterised by the anticlockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia block, which lasted until the Langhian (ca.16 Ma), and was in turn followed by a slab detachment along the northern African margin. Subsequently, a shift of this active extentional deformation led to the opening of the Tyrrenian basin.Sony VAIO VGN-FW83DS Battery
Western Mediterranean
Since Mesozoic to Tertiary times, during convergence between Africa and Iberia, the Betic-Rif mountain belts developed. Tectonic models for its evolution include: rapid motion of Alboran microplate, subduction zone and radial extensional collapse caused by convective removal of lithospheric mantle.Sony VAIO VGN-FW83JS Battery
The development of these intramontane Betic and Rif basins led to the onset of two marine gateways which were progressively closed during the late Miocene by an interplay of tectonic and glacio-eustatic processes.
Paleoenvironmental analysis
Its semi-enclosed configuration makes the oceanic gateways critical in controlling circulation and environmental evolution in the Mediterranean Sea.Sony VAIO VGN-FW83XS Battery
Water circulation patterns are driven by a number of interactive factors, such as climate and bathymetry, which can lead to precipitation of evaporites. During late Miocene times, a so-called "Messinian Salinity Crisis" (MSC hereafter) occurred, which was triggered by the closure of the Atlantic gateway.Sony VAIO VGN-FW90HS Battery
Evaporites accumulated in the Red Sea Basin (late Miocene), in the Carpatian foredeep (middle Miocene) and in the whole Mediterranean area (Messinian). An accurate age estimate of the MSC—5.96 Ma—has recently been astronomically achieved; furthermore, this event seems to have occurred synchronously.Sony VAIO VGN-FW90NS Battery
The beginning of the MSC is supposed to have been of tectonic origin; however, an astronomical control (eccentricity) might also have been involved. In the Mediterranean basin, diatomites are regularly found underneath the evaporite deposits, thus suggesting (albeit not clearly so far) a connection between their geneses.Sony VAIO VGN-FW90S Battery
The present-day Atlantic gateway, i.e. the Strait of Gibraltar, finds its origin in the early Pliocene. However, two other connections between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea existed in the past: theBetic Corridor (southern Spain) and the Rifian Corridor (northern Morocco). Sony VAIO VGN-FW91NS Battery
The former closed during Tortoniantimes, thus providing a "Tortonian Salinity Crisis" well before the MSC; the latter closed about 6 Ma, allowing exchanges in the mammal fauna between Africa and Europe. Nowadays, evaporation is more relevant than the water yield supplied by riverine water and precipitation, so that salinity in the Mediterranean is higher than in the Atlantic.Sony VAIO VGN-FW91S Battery
These conditions result in the outflow of warm saline Mediterranean deep water across Gibraltar, which is in turn counterbalanced by an inflow of a less saline surface current of cold oceanic water.
The Mediterranean was once thought to be the remnant of the Tethys Ocean. It is now known to be a structurally younger ocean basin known as Neotethys. Sony VAIO VGN-FW92DS Battery
The Neotethys formed during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassicrifting of the African and Eurasian plates.
Paleoclimate
Because of its latitudinal position and its land-locked configuration, the Mediterranean is especially sensitive to astronomically induced climatic variations, which are well documented in its sedimentary record. Sony VAIO VGN-FW92JS Battery
Since the Mediterranean is involved in the deposition of eolian dust from the Sahara during dry periods, whereas riverine detrital input prevails during wet ones, the Mediterranean marine sapropel-bearing sequences provide high-resolution climatic information.Sony VAIO VGN-FW93DS Battery
These data have been employed in reconstructing astronomically calibrated time scales for the last 9 Ma of the Earth's history, helping to constrain the time of pastGeomagnetic Reversals. Furthermore, the exceptional accuracy of these paleoclimatic records have improved our knowledge of the Earth's orbital variations in the past.Sony VAIO VGN-FW93JS Battery
Ecology and biota
As a result of the drying of the sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, the marine biota of the Mediterranean are derived primarily from the Atlantic Ocean. Sony VAIO VGN-FW93XS Battery
The North Atlantic is considerably colder and more nutrient-rich than the Mediterranean, and the marine life of the Mediterranean has had to adapt to its differing conditions in the five million years since the basin was reflooded.
The Alboran Sea is a transition zone between the two seas, containing a mix of Mediterranean and Atlantic species. Sony VAIO VGN-FW94FS Battery
The Alboran Sea has the largest population ofBottlenose Dolphins in the western Mediterranean, is home to the last population of harbour porpoises in the Mediterranean, and is the most important feeding grounds for Loggerhead Sea Turtles in Europe. The Alboran sea also hosts important commercial fisheries, including sardines and swordfish. Sony VAIO VGN-FW94GS Battery
In 2003, the World Wildlife Fundraised concerns about the widespread drift net fishing endangering populations of dolphins, turtles, and other marine animals.
Invasive species
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 created the first salt-water passage between the Mediterranean and Red Sea.Sony VAIO VGN-FW94HS Battery
The Red Sea is higher than the Eastern Mediterranean, so the canal serves as a tidal strait that pours Red Sea water into the Mediterranean. TheBitter Lakes, which are hyper-saline natural lakes that form part of the canal, blocked the migration of Red Sea species into the Mediterranean for many decades, Sony VAIO VGN-G118CN Battery
but as the salinity of the lakes gradually equalized with that of the Red Sea, the barrier to migration was removed, and plants and animals from the Red Sea have begun to colonise the Eastern Mediterranean. The Red Sea is generally saltier and more nutrient-poor than the Atlantic, so the Red Sea species have advantages over Atlantic species in the salty and nutrient-poor Eastern Mediterranean.Sony VAIO VGN-G118GN/B Battery
Accordingly, Red Sea species invade the Mediterranean biota, and not vice versa; this phenomenon is known as the Lessepsian migration (after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer) or Erythrean invasion. The construction of the Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in the 1960s reduced the inflow of freshwater and nutrient-rich silt from the Nile into the Eastern Mediterranean,Sony VAIO VGN-G118GN/T Battery
making conditions there even more like the Red Sea and worsening the impact of theinvasive species.
Invasive species have become a major component of the Mediterranean ecosystem and have serious impacts on the Mediterranean ecology, endangering many local and endemic Mediterranean species.Sony VAIO VGN-G118TN/B Battery
A first look at some groups of exotic species show that more than 70% of the non-indigenous decapods and about 63% of the exotic fishes occurring in the Mediterranean are of Indo Pacific origin, introduced into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. This makes the Canal as the first pathway of arrival of “alien” species into the Mediterranean. Sony VAIO VGN-G118TN/S Battery
The impacts of some lessepsian species have proven to be considerable mainly in the Levantine basin of the Mediterranean, where they are replacing native species and becoming a “familiar sight”.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature definition, as well as Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) and Ramsar Convention terminologies, they are alien species, Sony VAIO VGN-G11VN/T Battery
as they are non-native (non-indigenous) to the Mediterranean Sea, and they are outside their normal area of distribution which is the Indo-Pacific region. When these species succeed in establishing populations in the Mediterranean sea, compete with and begin to replace native species they are “Alien Invasive Species”, as they are an agent of change and a threat to the native biodiversity.Sony VAIO VGN-G11VN/TC Battery
Depending on their impact, Lessepsian migrants are either alien or alien invasive species. In the context of CBD, “introduction" refers to the movement by human agency, indirect or direct, of an alien species outside of its natural range (past or present). The Suez Canal, being an artificial (man made) canal, is a human agency.Sony VAIO VGN-G11XN/B Battery
Lessepsian migrants are therefore “introduced” species (indirect, and unintentional). Whatever wording is chosen, they represent a threat to the native Mediterranean biodiversity, because they are non-indigenous to this sea.Sony VAIO VGN-G1AAPS Battery
In recent years, the Egyptian government's announcement of its intentions to deepen and widen the canal have raised concerns from marine biologists, fearing that such an act will only worsen the invasion of Red Sea species into the Mediterranean, facilitating the crossing of the canal for yet additional species. Sony VAIO VGN-G1AAPSA Battery
Arrival of new tropical Atlantic species
In recent decades, the arrival of exotic species from the tropical Atlantic has become a noticeable feature. Whether this reflects an expansion of the natural area of these species that now enter the Mediterranean through the Gibraltar strait, because of a warming trend of the water caused by Global Warming; Sony VAIO VGN-G1AAPSB Battery
or an extension of the maritime traffic; or is simply the result of a more intense scientific investigation, is still an open question. While not as intense as the “lessepsian” movement, the process deserves to be studied and monitored.
Sea-level rise
Europe may be less threatened by sea-level rise than many developing country regions.Sony VAIO VGN-G1AAPSC Battery
However, coastal ecosystems do appear to be threatened, especially enclosed seas such as the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. These seas have only small and primarily east-west orientated movement corridors, which may restrict northward displacement of organisms in these areas.Sony VAIO VGN-G1ABNS Battery
Sea level rise for the next century (2100) could be between 30 cm (12 in) and 100 cm (39 in) and temperature shifts of a mere 0.05-0.1°C in the deep sea are sufficient to induce significant changes in species richness and functional diversity.
Pollution
Pollution in this region has been extremely high in recent years. Sony VAIO VGN-G1KAP Battery
The United Nations Environment Programme has estimated that 650,000,000 t (720,000,000 short tons) of sewage, 129,000 t (142,000 short tons) of mineral oil, 60,000 t (66,000 short tons) of mercury, 3,800 t (4,200 short tons) of lead and 36,000 t (40,000 short tons) of phosphates are dumped into the Mediterranean each year.Sony VAIO VGN-G1KBN Battery
The Barcelona Convention aims to 'reduce pollution in the Mediterranean Sea and protect and improve the marine environment in the area, thereby contributing to its sustainable development.' Many marine species have been almost wiped out because of the sea's pollution. Sony VAIO VGN-G1KBNA Battery
One of them is the Mediterranean Monk Seal which is considered to be among the world's most endangered marine mammals.
The Mediterranean is also plagued by marine debris. A 1994 study of the seabed using trawl nets around the coasts of Spain, France and Italy reported a particularly high mean concentration of debris;Sony VAIO VGN-G1LAP Battery
an average of 1,935 items per km². Plastic debris accounted for 76%, of which 94% was plastic bags.
Shipping
Some of the world’s busiest shipping routes are in the Mediterranean Sea. It is estimated that approximately 220,000 merchant vessels of more than 100 tonnes cross the Mediterranean Sea each year — about one third of the world’s total merchant shipping.Sony VAIO VGN-G1LBN Battery
These ships often carry hazardous cargo, which if lost would result in severe damage to the marine environment.
The discharge of chemical tank washings and oily wastes also represent a significant source of marine pollution. The Mediterranean Sea constitutes 0.7% of the global water surface and yet receives seventeen percent of global marine oil pollution.Sony VAIO VGN-G218LN/T Battery
It is estimated that every year between 100,000 t (98,000 long tons) and 150,000 t (150,000 long tons) of crude oil are deliberately released into the sea from shipping activities.
Approximately 370,000,000 t (360,000,000 long tons) of oil are transported annually in the Mediterranean Sea (more than 20% of the world total), with around 250-300oil tankers crossing the Sea every day.Sony VAIO VGN-G218N/B Battery
Accidental oil spills happen frequently with an average of 10 spills per year. A major oil spill could occur at any time in any part of the Mediterranean.
Tourism
With a unique combination of pleasant climate, beautiful coastline, rich history and diverse culture the Mediterranean region is the most popular tourist destination in the world — attracting approximately one third of the world’s international tourists.Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP/B Battery
Tourism is one of the most important sources of income for many Mediterranean countries. It also supports small communities in coastal areas and islands by providing alternative sources of income far from urban centres. However, tourism has also played major role in the degradation of the coastal and marine environment.Sony VAIO VGN-G2AANS Battery
Rapid development has been encouraged by Mediterranean governments to support the large numbers of tourists visiting the region each year. But this has caused serious disturbance to marine habitats such as erosion and pollution in many places along the Mediterranean coasts.Sony VAIO VGN-G2AAPS Battery
Tourism often concentrates in areas of high natural wealth, causing a serious threat to the habitats of endangered Mediterranean species such as sea turtles and monk seals. It is ironic that tourism in this region is destroying the foundations of its own existence. And it is inevitable that the tourists will leave the Mediterranean as it becomes more depleted of its natural beauty.Sony VAIO VGN-G2AAPSA Battery
Overfishing
Fish stock levels in the Mediterranean Sea are alarmingly low. The European Environment Agency says that over 65% of all fish stocks in the region are outside safe biological limits and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation,Sony VAIO VGN-G2AAPSB Battery
that some of the most important fisheries — such as albacore and bluefin tuna, hake,marlin, swordfish, red mullet and sea bream — are threatened.
There are clear indications that catch size and quality have declined, often dramatically, and in many areas larger and longer-lived species have disappeared entirely from commercial catches.Sony VAIO VGN-G2AAPSC Battery
Large open water fish like tuna have been a shared fisheries resource for thousands of years but the stocks are now dangerously low. In 1999, Greenpeace published a report revealing that the amount of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean had decreased by over 80% in the previous 20 years and government scientists warn that without immediate action the stock will collapse.Sony VAIO VGN-G2KAN Battery
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is expanding rapidly — often without proper environmental assessment — and currently accounts for 30% of the fish protein consumed worldwide. The industry claims that farmed seafood lessens the pressure on wild fish stocks, yet many of the farmed species are carnivorous, consuming up to five times their weight in wild fish.Sony VAIO VGN-G2KANA Battery
Mediterranean coastal areas are already over exposed to human influence, with pristine areas becoming ever scarcer. The aquaculture sector adds to this pressure, requiring areas of high water quality to set up farms. The installation of fish farms close to vulnerable and important habitats such as seagrass meadows is particularly concerning.Sony VAIO VGN-G2KBNA Battery
Aquaculture production in the Mediterranean also threatens biodiversity through the introduction of new species to the region, the impact of the farms' organic and chemical effluents on the surrounding environment and coastal habitat destruction.Sony VAIO VGN-NR160E/S Battery
The history of the Mediterranean region is the history of the interaction of the cultures and people of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea —the central superhighway of transport, trade and cultural exchange between diverse peoples. Its history is important to understanding the origin and development of the Israel and Judah, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Canaanites, Greek, Roman, Carthaginian, Byzantine, Ottoman, Christian, andIslamic cultures.Sony VAIO VGN-NR160E/T Battery
Dawn of civilization
Its origins can be thought to have been with the Zanclean flood of 5.33 million years ago, described in more detail underMediterranean basin. Two of the first commonly noted human civilizations began near the eastern Mediterranean sea.Sony VAIO VGN-NR160E/W Battery
Common rhetoric suggests that Civilization first developed in Mesopotamia beginning with Sumer in the 4th millennium BC. Soon after, the Nile River valley of ancient Egypt was unified under the Pharaohs in the 4th millennium BC, and civilization quickly spread through theFertile Crescent to the east coast of the sea and throughout the Levant,Sony VAIO VGN-NR180E/S Battery
which happens to make the Mediterranean countries ofEgypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel part of the cradle of civilization. These areas shared similar climates and geographies, but it was more difficult to spread technologies and crops, such as flax, lentil, peas, barley, and cotton to other portions of the Mediterranean basin.Sony VAIO VGN-NR180E/T Battery
In time, large empires developed in Asia Minor, such as the Hittites. The main expansion was delayed until ships sturdy enough to cross the sea were developed. Cyprus and the other islands developed, and the Minoan civilization flourished on the island ofCrete.Sony VAIO VGN-NR290E/S Battery
While the river valley civilizations always had larger populations, the trading societies on the coast of the sea soon became the most prosperous, and rose to power.
Classical antiquity
Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilizations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states and the Phoenicians. Sony VAIO VGN-NR290E/T Battery
The Greeks expanded throughout the Black Sea and south through the Red Sea. The Phoenicians spread through the western Mediterranean reaching North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. They often provided the naval forces of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and their heartland in the Levant was still dominated by powers rooted east in Mesopotamia or Persia.Sony VAIO VGN-NR298E/S Battery
Hellenistic period
In the northern-most part of ancient Greece, in the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, technological and organizational skills were forged with a long history of cavalry warfare. The hetairoi (Companion cavalry) was considered the strongest of their time.Sony VAIO VGN-NR460E/L Battery
Under Alexander the Great, this force turned east, and in a series of three decisive battles, routed the Persian forces and took their empire, which included Egypt and the Phoenician lands. The major centres of the Mediterranean at the time became part of Alexander's empire as a result. Sony VAIO VGN-NR460E/P Battery
His empire quickly disintegrated, and the Middle East, Egypt, and Greece were soon again independent. Alexander's conquests spread Greek knowledge and ideas throughout the region.
Roman-Carthaginian rivalry
These eastern powers soon began to be overshadowed by those further west. Sony VAIO VGN-NR498E/L Battery
In North Africa the former Phoenician colony of Carthagerose to dominate its surroundings with an empire that contained many of the former Phoenician holdings. However, it was a city on the Italian Peninsula, Rome, that would eventually dominate the entire Mediterranean basin. Sony VAIO VGN-NR498E/S Battery
Spreading first through Italy, Rome defeated Carthage in the Punic Wars, despite Hannibal's famous efforts against Rome in the Second Punic War. After the Third Punic War, Rome then became the leading force in the Mediterranean region. The Romans soon spread east taking Greece, and the Greek heritage played an important role in the Roman Empire.Sony VAIO VGN-NR498E/T Battery
By this point the coastal trading cultures were thoroughly dominant over the inland river valleys that had once been the heart of the great powers. Egyptian power moved from the Nile cities to the coastal ones, especially Alexandria. Mesopotamia became a fringe border region between the Roman Empire and the Persians.Sony VAIO VGN-NR498E/W Battery
Roman Lake
When Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Mediterranean sea began to be called Mare Nostrum (Latin: "Our Sea") by the Romans. Their empire was centered on this sea and all the area was full of commerce and naval development. Sony VAIO VGN-NR50 Battery
For the first time in history an entire sea (the Mediterranean) was free of piracy. For several centuries the Mediterranean was a "Roman Lake", surrounded on all sides by the empire.
The empire began to crumble, however, in the fifth century and Rome collapsed after 476 AD.Sony VAIO VGN-NR50B Battery
Temporarily the east was again dominant as the Byzantine Empire formed from the eastern half of the Roman one. The western part of the empire, Gaul, Iberia, and the Maghreb were invaded by nomadic horse peoples from the Eurasian steppe. These conquerors soon became settled, and adopted many of the local customs, forming many small and warring kingdoms.Sony VAIO VGN-NR51 Battery
Islamic Golden Age
Another power was rising in the east, that of Islam, whilst the Byzantine Roman and Sassanid Persian empires were both weakened by centuries of stalemate warfare during the Roman-Persian Wars. Sony VAIO VGN-NR51B Battery
In a series of rapid Muslim conquests, the Arab armies, motivated by Islam and led by the Caliphs and skilled military commanders such as Khalid ibn al-Walid, swept through most of the Middle East;reducing Byzantine lands by more than half and completely engulfing the Persian lands.Sony VAIO VGN-NR52 Battery
In Anatolia, their expansion was blocked by the still capable Byzantines with the help of the Bulgarians. The Byzantine provinces of Roman Syria, North Africa, and Sicily, however, could not mount such a resistance, and the Muslim conquerors swept through those regions. Sony VAIO VGN-NR52B Battery
At the far west, they crossed the sea taking Visigothic Hispania before being halted in southern France by the Franks. At its greatest extent, the Arab Empirecontrolled 3/4 of the Mediterranean region, the only other empire besides the Roman Empire to control most of the Mediterranean Sea.Sony VAIO VGN-NR71B Battery
Much of North Africa became a peripheral area to the main Muslim centres in the Middle East, but Iberia (Al Andalus) and Morocco soon broke from this distant control and founded one of the world's most advanced societies at the time, along with Baghdad near the eastern Mediterranean.Sony VAIO VGN-NR71B2 Battery
Between 831 and 1071, the Emirate of Sicily was one of the major centres of Islamic culture in the Mediterranean. After its conquest by the Normans the island developed its own distinct culture with the fusion of Arab, Western and Byzantine influences. Palermo remained a leading artistic and commercial centre of the Mediterranean well into the Middle Ages.Sony VAIO VGN-NR72B Battery
Europe was reviving, however, as more organized and centralized states began to form in the later Middle Ages after the Renaissance of the 12th century. Motivated by religion and dreams of conquest, the kings of Europe launched a number of Crusades to try to roll back Muslim power and retake the holy land. Sony VAIO VGN-NS10E/S Battery
The Crusades were unsuccessful in this goal, but they were far more effective in weakening the already tottering Byzantine Empire that began to lose increasing amounts of territory to the Seljuk Turks and later to the Ottoman Turks. They also rearranged the balance of power in the Muslim world as Egypt once again emerged as a major power in the eastern Mediterranean.Sony VAIO VGN-NS10J/S Battery
Late Middle Ages
Europe continued to increase in power as the Renaissance began in Italy. The Italian "Repubbliche Marinare" (Maritime Republics) of Venice, Genoa, Amalfi and Pisa developed their own "empires" in the Mediterranean shores. Sony VAIO VGN-NS10L/S Battery
The Islamic states had never been major naval powers, and trade from the east to Europe was soon in the hands of Italian traders, especially the Venetians, who profited immensely from it. Republic of Ragusa used diplomacy to further trade and maintained a libertarian approach in civil matters to further sentiment in its inhabitants. Sony VAIO VGN-NS110E/L Battery
The Western Mediterranean sea was dominated by the Crown of Aragon: thanks to their possessions of Sicily, the Kingdom of Naples, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, the Duchy of Athens the Duchy of Neopatria, and several northern African cities, by the 1420s they kept tight control over the trade routes of that linked the Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Sony VAIO VGN-NS110E/S Battery
Their army was the biggest in the Mediterranean sea, and during the 15th century its power remained unchallenged.
Ottoman power continued to grow, and in 1453, the Byzantine Empire was extinguished with the fall of Constantinople. Sony VAIO VGN-NS110E/W Battery
The Ottomans already controlled Greece, Bulgaria and much of the Balkans (except Albania, due to its resistance), and soon also began to spread through North Africa. North Africa had grown wealthy from the trade across the Sahara Desert, but the Portuguese, who, along with other Christian powers, Sony VAIO VGN-NS115N/S Battery
had been engaged in a long campaign to evict the Muslims from Iberia, had found a method to circumvent this trade by trading directly with West Africa. This was enabled by a new type of ships, the caravel, that made trade in the rough Atlantic waters profitable for the first time. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11ER/S Battery
The reduction in the Saharan trade weakened North Africa, and made them an easy target for the Ottomans.
Modern era
The growing naval prowess of the European powers confronted further rapid Ottoman expansion in the region when the Battle of Lepanto checked the power of the Ottoman navy. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11E/S Battery
However, as Braudel argued forcefully, this only slowed the Ottoman expansion instead of ending it. The prized island of Cyprus became Ottoman in 1571. The last resistance in Tunisia ended in 1574 and almost a generation long siege in Crete pushed Venetians out of this strategic island in 1669. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11J/S Battery
A balance of power was then established between Spain and Ottoman Empire until 18th century, each dominating their respective half of Mediterranean, reducing Italian navies as naval powers increasingly more irrelevant. Furthermore, the Ottoman Empire had succeeded in their objective of extending Muslim rule across the North African coast.Sony VAIO VGN-NS11L/S Battery
The development of oceanic shipping began to affect the entire Mediterranean, however. While once all trade from the east had passed through the region, the circumnavigation of Africa allowed gold, spices, and dyes to be imported directly to the Atlantic ports of western Europe. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11MR/S Battery
The Americas were also a source of extreme wealth to the western powers, from which some of the Mediterranean states were largely cut off. The base of European power thus shifted northward and the once wealthy Italy became a peripheral area dominated by foreigners. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11M/S Battery
The Ottoman Empire also began a slow decline that saw its North African possessions gain de facto independence and its European holdings gradually reduced by the increasing power of Austria and Russia.
By the nineteenth century the European States were vastly more powerful, and began to colonize North Africa. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11SR/S Battery
France spread its power south by taking Algeria in 1830 and later Tunisia. Britain gained control of Egypt in 1882. Italy conquered Libya from the Ottomans in 1911. The Ottoman Empire finally collapsed in the First World War, and its holdings were carved up among France and Britain,Sony VAIO VGN-NS11S/S Battery
but the Turkish regions quickly regained their independence, becoming the independent state of Turkey in 1923. During the first half of the twentieth century the Mediterranean was at the center of the expansion of the Kingdom of Italy, and was one of the main areas of battle during World War II between the Axis and the Allies. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11ZR/S Battery
Post-world war period was marked by increasing activity in the Eastern Mediterranean, where naval actions formed part of ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict and Turkey had occupied the northern part of Cyprus. American naval power made the Mediterranean its permanent base during the Cold war. Sony VAIO VGN-NS11Z/S Battery
Today, the Mediterranean Sea is the southern border of the European Union.
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation. Sony VAIO VGN-NS12M/S Battery
As a rule of thumb, the Mediterranean Basin is the Old World region where olive trees grow.
Geography
The Mediterranean basin covers portions of three continents, Europe, Asia, and Africa.Sony VAIO VGN-NS12M/W Battery
Europe lies to the north, and three large Southern European peninsulas, the Iberian Peninsula, Italian Peninsula, and the Balkan Peninsula, extend into the Mediterranean-climate zone. A system of folded mountains, including the Pyreneesdividing Spain from France, the Alps dividing Italy from Central Europe, Sony VAIO VGN-NS12S/S Battery
the Dinaric Alps along the eastern Adriatic, and the Balkan and Rhodope mountains of the Balkan Peninsula divide the Mediterranean from the temperate climate regions of Western and Central Europe.
The Mediterranean Basin extends into Western Asia, covering the western and southern portions of the peninsula ofTurkey, excluding the temperate-climate mountains of central Turkey.Sony VAIO VGN-NS21M/P Battery
It includes the Mediterranean climate Levant at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, bounded on the east and south by the Syrian and Negev deserts.
The northern portion of the Maghreb region of northwestern Africa has a Mediterranean climate, separated from theSahara Desert, which extends across North Africa, by the Atlas Mountains. Sony VAIO VGN-NS21M/W Battery
In the eastern Mediterranean the Sahara extends to the southern shore of the Mediterranean, with the exception of the northern fringe of the peninsula of Cyrenaica in Libya, which has a dry Mediterranean climate.
Geology and paleoclimatology
The Mediterranean Basin was shaped by the ancient collision of the northward-moving African-Arabian continent with the stable Eurasian continent. Sony VAIO VGN-NS21S/S Battery
As Africa-Arabia moved north, it closed the former Tethys Sea, which formerly separated Eurasia from the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, of which Africa was part. At the same time about 170 mya in the Jurassic, a small Neotethys ocean basin formed shortly before the Tethys Sea was closed at the eastern end.Sony VAIO VGN-NS21S/W Battery
The collision pushed up a vast system of mountains, extending from the Pyrenees in Spain to the Zagros Mountains in Iran. This episode of mountain building, known as the Alpine orogeny, occurred mostly during the Oligocene (34 to 23 million years ago (mya)) and Miocene (23 to 5.3 mya) epochs. Sony VAIO VGN-NS21Z/S Battery
The Neotethys became larger during these collisions and associated folding and subduction. About 6 mya during the late Miocene, the Mediterranean was closed at its western end by drifting Arabia, which caused the entire sea to evaporate. The episodes of sea drawdown and reflooding are best known in the Messinian Salinity Crisis, when the Atlantic reflooded the basin at least 69 times.Sony VAIO VGN-NS31M/P Battery
The end of the Miocene also marked a change in the Mediterranean Basin's climate. Fossil evidence shows that the Mediterranean Basin had a relatively humid subtropical climate with summer rainfall during the Miocene, which supported laurel forests. Sony VAIO VGN-NS31M/W Battery
The shift to a Mediterranean climate occurred within the last 3.2 - 2.8 million years, during the Pliocene epoch, as summer rainfall decreased. The subtropical laurel forests retreated, although they persisted on the islands ofMacaronesia off the Atlantic coast of Iberia and North Africa, and the present Mediterranean vegetation evolved, Sony VAIO VGN-NS31S/S Battery
dominated by coniferous trees and sclerophylloustrees and shrubs, with small, hard, waxy leaves that prevent moisture loss in the dry summers. Much of these forests and shrublands have been altered beyond recognition by thousands of years of human habitation. There are now very few relatively intact natural areas in what was once a heavily wooded region.Sony VAIO VGN-NS31Z/P Battery
Flora and fauna
Phytogeographically, the Mediterranean basin together with the nearby Atlantic coast, the Mediterranean woodlands and forests and Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe of North Africa, the Black Sea coast of northeasten Anatolia,Sony VAIO VGN-NS31Z/S Battery
the southern coast of Crimea between Sevastopol and Feodosia and the Black Sea coast betweenAnapa and Tuapse in Russia forms the Mediterranean Floristic Region, which belongs to the Tethyan Subkingdom of the Boreal Kingdom and is enclosed between theCircumboreal, Irano-Turanian, Saharo-Arabian and Macaronesian floristic regions.Sony VAIO VGN-NS31Z/W Battery
The genera Aubrieta, Sesamoides, Cynara, Dracunculus, Arisarum and Biarum are nearly endemic. Among the endemic species prominent in the Mediterranean vegetation are the Aleppo Pine, Stone Pine, Mediterranean Cypress, Bay Laurel, Oriental Sweetgum, Holm Oak, Kermes Oak, Strawberry Tree, Greek Strawberry Tree, Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/P Battery
Mastic, Terebinth,Common Myrtle, Oleander, Acanthus mollis, Vitex agnus-castus. Moreover, many plant taxa are shared with one of the four neighboring floristic regions only. According to different vesions of Armen Takhtajan's delineation, the Mediterranean Region is further subdivided into seven to nine floristic provinces:Sony VAIO VGN-NS38M/W Battery
Southwestern Mediterranean (or Southern Moroccan and Southwestern Mediterranean), Ibero-Balearian (or Iberian and Balearian), Liguro-Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, East Mediterranean, South Mediterranean and Crimeo-Novorossiysk.
The Mediterranean Basin is the largest of the world's five Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub regions. It is home to a number of plant communities, which vary with rainfall, elevation, latitude, and soils.Sony VAIO VGN-NS130E/L Battery
- Scrublands occur in the driest areas, especially areas near the seacoast where wind and salt spray are frequent. Low, soft-leaved scrublands around the Mediterranean are known as garrigue in France, phrygana in Greece, tomillares in Spain, and batha in Israel.Sony VAIO VGN-NS130E/S Battery
- Shrublands are dense thickets of evergreen sclerophyll shrubs and small trees, and are the commonest plant community around the Mediterranean. Mediterranean shrublands are known as matorral in Spain, macchia in Italy, and maquis in France, Malta and elsewhere around the Mediterranean. Sony VAIO VGN-NS130E/W Battery
- In some places shrublands are the mature vegetation type, and in other places the result of degradation of former forest or woodland by logging or overgrazing, or disturbance by major fires.
- Savannas and grasslands occur around the Mediterranean, usually dominated by annual grasses. Sony VAIO VGN-NS140E/L Battery
- Woodlands are usually dominated by oak and pine, mixed with other sclerophyll and coniferous trees.
- Forests are distinct from woodlands in having a closed canopy, and occur in the areas of highest rainfall and in riparian zones along rivers and streams where they receive summer water. Sony VAIO VGN-NS140E/S Battery
- Mediterranean forests are generally composed of evergreen trees, predominantly oak and pine. At higher elevations Mediterranean forests transition to mixed broadleaf and tall conifer forests similar to temperate zone forests.Sony VAIO VGN-NS140E/W Battery
The Mediterranean Basin is home to considerable biodiversity, including 22,500 endemic vascular plant species. Conservation International designates the region as abiodiversity hotspot, because of its rich biodiversity and its threatened status. The Mediterranean Basin has an area of 2,085,292 km², of which only 98,009 km² remains undisturbed.Sony VAIO VGN-NS190J/L Battery
Endangered mammals of the Mediterranean Basin include the Mediterranean Monk Seal, the Barbary Macaque, and the Iberian Lynx.
Neanderthals inhabited western Asia and the non-glaciated portions of Europe starting about 230,000 years ago. Modern humans moved into western Asia from Africa less than 100,000 years ago.Sony VAIO VGN-NS190J/S Battery
Modern humans, known as Cro-Magnons, moved into Europe approximately 50-40,000 years ago.
The most recent glacial period, the Wisconsin glaciation, reached its maximum extent approximately 21,000 years ago, and ended approximately 12,000 years ago. A warm period, known as the Holocene climatic optimum, followed the ice age.Sony VAIO VGN-NS190J/W Battery
Food crops, including wheat, chickpeas, and olives, along with sheep and goats, were domesticated in the eastern Mediterranean in the 9th millennium BCE, which allowed for the establishment of agricultural settlements. Near Eastern crops spread to southeastern Europe in the 7th millennium BCE.Sony VAIO VGN-NS235J/L Battery
Poppy and oats were domesticated in Europe from the 6th to the 3rd millennium BCE. Agricultural settlements spread around the Mediterranean Basin. Megaliths were constructed in Europe from 4500 – 1500 BCE.
A strengthening of the summer monsoon 9000–7000 years ago increased rainfall across the Sahara, which became a grassland, with lakes, rivers, and wetlands.Sony VAIO VGN-NS235J/P Battery
After a period of climatic instability, the Sahara settled into a desert state by the 4th millennium BCE.
Agriculture
Wheat is the dominant grain grown around the Mediterranean Basin. Pulses and vegetables are also grown. The characteristic tree crop is the olive. Figs are another important fruit tree, and citrus, especially lemons, are grown where irrigation is present.Sony VAIO VGN-NS235J/S Battery
Grapes are an important vine crop, grown for fruit and to make wine. Riceand summer vegetables are grown in irrigated areas.
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate. Sony VAIO VGN-NS235J/W Battery
The lands around the Mediterranean Sea form the largest area where this climate type is found, but it also prevails in much ofCalifornia, in parts of Western and South Australia, in southwestern South Africa, and in parts of central coastal Chile.Sony VAIO VGN-NS240E/L Battery
Characteristics
The climate is characterized by warm to hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. Mediterranean climate zones are associated with the five large subtropical high pressure cells of the oceans, the Azores High, South Atlantic High, and Indian Ocean high.Sony VAIO VGN-NS290J/L Battery
These high pressure cells shift towards the poles in the summer and towards the equator in the winter, playing a major role in the formation of the world's tropical deserts and the Mediterranean Basin's climate.
The South Atlantic High is similarly associated with the Namib Desert and the Mediterranean climate of the western part of South Africa. Sony VAIO VGN-NS290J/S Battery
The North Pacific High is related to the Sonoran Desert and California's climate, while the South Pacific High is related to the Atacama Desert and central Chile's climate, and the Indian Ocean High is related to the deserts of western Australia (Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, and Gibson Desert) and the Mediterranean climate of southwest and south-central Australia.Sony VAIO VGN-NS50B/L Battery
Most large, historic cities of the Mediterranean basin, including Athens, Barcelona, Beirut, Jerusalem, Lisbon, Marseille and Rome, lie within Mediterranean climatic zones, as do major cities outside of the Mediterranean basin, such as Cape Town, Los Angeles, Adelaide, Perth, San Francisco, and Santiago de Chile.Sony VAIO VGN-NS50B/W Battery
Köppen climate classification
Under the Köppen climate classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates (classified as Csa andCsb) are often referred to as "Mediterranean". Under the Köppen-Geiger system, "C" zones have an average temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) in their warmest months, Sony VAIO VGN-NS51B/L Battery
and an average in the coldest between 18 °C (64 °F) and ?3 °C. (26.6 °F) (or, in some applications, between 20 °C and 0 °C (32 °F)). The second letter indicates the precipitation pattern: "s" represents dry summers: first, Köppen has defined a dry month as a month with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month, and with less than 30 mm of precipitations in a summer month. Sony VAIO VGN-NS51B/P Battery
But ulterior updates will rather use a 40 mm level. The third letter indicates the degree of summer heat: "a" represents an average temperature in the warmest month above 22 °C (72 °F), with at least four months averaging above 10 °C (50 °F); "b", an average temperature in the warmest month below 22 °C, and again with at least two months averaging above 10 °C.Sony VAIO VGN-NS51B/W Battery
Under this classification, dry-summer subtropical climates (Csa, Csb) usually occur on the western sides of continents. Csb zones include areas normally associated with Oceanic climates, not Mediterranean, such as much of the Pacific Northwest, much of southern Chile, parts of west-central Argentina, northern Portugal and, north-western Spain.Sony VAIO VGN-NS52JB/L Battery
Additional highland areas in the subtropics also meet Cs requirements, though they, too, are not normally associated with Mediterranean climates, as do a number of oceanic islands such as Madeira, the Juan Fernández Islands, the western part of the Canary Islands and the eastern part of the Azores.Sony VAIO VGN-NS52JB/P Battery
Under Trewartha's modified Koeppen climate classification, the two major requirements for a Cs climate are revised. Under Trewartha's system, at least eight months must have average temperatures of at least 10 °C, and the average annual precipitation must not exceed 900 mm (35 in).Sony VAIO VGN-NS52JB/W Battery
Thus, under this system, many Csb zones (including the Pacific Northwest), become DO Oceanic.
Precipitation
During summer, regions of Mediterranean climate are dominated by subtropical high pressure cells, with dry sinking air capping a surface marine layer of varying humidity and making rainfall impossible or unlikely except for the occasional thunderstorm, Sony VAIO VGN-NS70B/W Battery
while during winter the polar jet stream and associated periodic storms reach into the lower latitudes of the Mediterranean zones, bringing rain, with snow at higher elevations. As a result, areas with this climate receive almost all of their yearly rainfall during their winter season, and may go anywhere from 4 to 6 months during the summer without having any significantprecipitation.Sony VAIO VGN-NS71B/W Battery
Toward the equatorial latitudes, winter precipitation decreases as a share of annual precipitation as the climate grades equatorward into the steppe climate usually characterized as BSHs normally too dry to support unirrigated agriculture. Toward the polar latitudes, total moisture usually increases;Sony VAIO VGN-NS72JB/W Battery
in Europe there is more summer rain further north while along the American west coast the winters become more intensely wet and the dry seasons shorter as one moves north. In the northwestern Mediterranean Basin, the rainiest season is divided into a primary maximum during the autumn and a secondary in spring, making for a shorter dry season than in the classic Mediterranean climate.Sony VAIO VGN-NS90HS Battery
Temperature
The majority of the regions with Mediterranean climates have relatively mild winters and very warm summers. However winter and summer temperatures can vary greatly between different regions with a Mediterranean climate. Sony VAIO VGN-NS92JS Battery
In the case of winters for instance, Lisbon experiences very mild temperatures in the winter, with frost and snow practically unknown, whereasThessaloniki has colder winters with annual frosts and snowfall. In the case of summers for instance, Athens experiences rather high temperatures in the summer (48.0°C has been measured in nearby Eleusina). Sony VAIO VGN-NS92XS Battery
In contrast, San Francisco has mild summers due to the upwelling of cold subsurface waters along the coast producing regular summer fog.
Because most regions with a Mediterranean climate are near large bodies of water,Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/S Battery
temperatures are generally moderate with a comparatively small range of temperatures between the winter low and summer high (although the daily range of temperature during the summer is large due to dry and clear conditions, except along the immediate coasts). Sony VAIO VGN-NW11S/T Battery
Temperatures during winter only occasionally fall below the freezing point and snow generally is seldom seen. In the summer, the temperatures range from mild to very hot, depending on distance from a large body of water, elevation, and latitude. Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/S Battery
Even in the warmest locations with a Mediterranean-type climate, however, temperatures usually do not reach the highest readings found in adjacent desertregions because of cooling from water bodies, although strong winds from inland desert regions can sometimes boost summer temperatures, quickly increasing the risk of Wildfires.Sony VAIO VGN-NW11Z/T Battery
As in every climatologic domain, the highland locations of the Mediterranean domain can present cooler temperatures in winter than the lowland areas, temperatures which can sometimes prohibit the growth of typical Mediterranean plants. Some Spanish authors opt to use the term Sony VAIO VGN-NW21EF/S Battery
"Continental Mediterranean climate" for some regions with lower temperature in winter than the coastal areas (direct translation from Clima Mediterráneo Continentalizado), but most climate classifications (including Köppen's Cs zones) show no distinction.Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF Battery
Additionally, the temperature and rainfall pattern for a Csa or even a Csb climate can exist as a microclimate in some high-altitude locations adjacent to a rare tropical As (summer-drought tropical climate, typically in a rainshadow region).
Mediterranean Biome
The Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome is closely associated with Mediterranean climate zones. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF Battery
Particularly distinctive of the climate are sclerophyllshrublands, called maquis in the Mediterranean Basin, chaparral in California, matorral in Chile, fynbos in South Africa, and mallee and kwongan shrublands in Australia. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery
Aquatic communities in Mediterranean climate regions are adapted to a yearly cycle in which abiotic (environmental) controls of stream populations and community structure dominate during floods, Biotic component (e.g. competition and predation) controls become increasingly important as the discharge declines, Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF Battery
and environmental controls regain dominance as environmental conditions become very harsh (i.e. hot and dry); as a result, these communities are well suited to recover from droughts, floods, and fires.
Much native vegetation in Mediterranean climate area valleys have been cleared for agriculture.Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W Battery
In places such as the Sacramento Valley and Oxnard Plain inCalifornia, draining marshes and estuaries combined with supplemental irrigation has led to a century of intensive agriculture. Much of the Overberg in the southern Cape of South Africa, once covered with renosterveld, has likewise been largely converted to agriculture, mainly wheat. Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF Battery
In hillside and mountainous areas, away fromurban sprawl, ecosystems and habitats of native vegetation are more sustained.
The fynbos vegetation in the South-western Cape in South Africa is famed for its high floral diversity, and includes such plant types as members of the Restionaceae,Ericas (Heaths) and Proteas. Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/B Battery
Representatives of the Proteaceae also grow in Australia, such as Banksias. The palette of California native plants is also renowned for its species and cultivar diversity.
Hot-summer Mediterranean climate
This subtype of the Mediterranean climate (Csa) is the most common form of the Mediterranean climate, therefore it is also known as “Typical Mediterranean climate”. Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/TC Battery
As stated earlier, regions with this form of a Mediterranean climate experiences average monthly temperatures in excess of 21.8°C (72°F) during its warmest month and an average in the coldest month between 18°C (64°F) and ?3°C (26.6°F) or, in some applications, between 18°C and 0°C (32°F).Sony VAIO VGN-NW35E Battery
Also, at least four months must average above 10°C (50°F). Regions with this form of the Mediterranean climate typically experience hot, sometimes very hot and dry summers and mild, wet winters. In a number of instances, summers here can closely resemble summers seen in arid and semiarid climates. Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/S Battery
However, high temperatures during summers are generally not quite as high as those seen in arid or semiarid climates due to the presence of a large body of water. All areas with this subtype have wet winters. However, some areas with a hot Mediterranean subtype can actually experience very chilly winters, complete with occasional snowfall.Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/T Battery
Precipitation is heavier during the colder months. However, there are a number of clear, sunny days during the wetter months.
Csa climates are mainly found around the Mediterranean Sea, southwestern Australia, southwestern South Africa and in the interior of California.Sony VAIO VGN-NW50JB Battery
Warm-summer Mediterranean climate
Occasionally also termed “Cool-summer Mediterranean climate”, this subtype of the Mediterranean climate (Csb) is the less common form of the Mediterranean climate.Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/N Battery
As stated earlier, regions with this subtype of the Mediterranean climate experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 21.8°C (72°F) during its warmest month and an average in the coldest month between 18°C (64°F) and ?3°C (26.6°F) or, in some applications, between 18°C and 0°C (32°F). Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/W Battery
Also, at least four months must average above 10°C (50°F). Winters are rainy and can be mild to chilly. In a few instances, snow can fall on these areas. Precipitation is heavier during the colder months, but there are a number of clear sunny days even during the wetter seasons.Sony VAIO VGN-NW70JB Battery
As stated earlier, in some instances, regions with this subtype of the Mediterranean climate closely resembles an Oceanic climate. Unlike typical Mediterranean climates, for the majority of the year, these regions experience generally cloudier and damper conditions.Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/N Battery
However, sunshine duration remains higher than in the Cfb areas, and during the summer months, these regions experience sunny, dry and warm conditions, where almost no rain falls. There is the legitimate threat of forest fires in these areas, in regions such as Galicia and the Pacific Northwest.Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/W Battery
Despite the fact that these climates are technically Csb climates, a number of scientists (and others) do not consider the climate “Mediterranean”, primarily because of the predominantly oceanic characteristics that these places exhibit. They are instead categorized as a form of an oceanic climate.Sony VAIO VGN-NW91FS Battery
Csb climates are found in northwestern Iberia, coastal California and parts of the Pacific Northwest, central Chile, parts of southern Australia and sections of southwestern South Africa.
The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional recommendation inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of southern Italy, Crete and much of the rest of Greecein the 1960s.Sony VAIO VGN-NW91GS Battery
On November 17, 2010, UNESCO recognized this diet pattern as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Italy, Greece, Spain and Morocco, thus reinforcing it not only as a fundamental part of their history and background, but also as a great contribution to the world.Sony VAIO VGN-NW91VS Battery
Despite its name, this diet is not typical of all Mediterranean cuisine. In Northern Italy, for instance, lard and butter are commonly used in cooking, and olive oil is reserved for dressing salads and cooked vegetables.In North Africa, wine is traditionally avoided by Muslims. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery
In both North Africa and the Levant, along with olive oil, sheep's tail fat and rendered butter (samna) are traditional staple fats.
The most commonly understood version of the Mediterranean diet was presented, amongst others, by Dr Walter Willett of Harvard University's School of Public Healthfrom the mid-1990s on, including a book for the general public.Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery
Based on "food patterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s", this diet, in addition to "regular physical activity," emphasizes "abundant plant foods, fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert, olive oil as the principal source of fat, dairy products (principally cheese and yogurt),Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D Battery
and fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts, zero to four eggs consumed weekly, red meat consumed in low amounts, and wine consumed in low to moderate amounts". Total fat in this diet is 25% to 35% of calories, with saturated fat at 8% or less of calories.Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/B Battery
The principal aspects of this diet include high olive oil consumption, high consumption of legumes, high consumption of unrefined cereals, high consumption of fruits, high consumption of vegetables, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yogurt), moderate to high consumption of fish, low consumption of meat and meat products, and moderate wine consumption.Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/P Battery
Olive oil is particularly characteristic of the Mediterranean diet. It contains a very high level of monounsaturated fats, most notably oleic acid, which epidemiological studies suggest may be linked to a reduction in coronary heart disease risk.Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/S Battery
There is also evidence that the antioxidants in olive oil improve cholesterol regulation and LDL cholesterol reduction, and that it has other anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive effects.
History
Although it was first publicized in 1945 by the American doctor Ancel Keys stationed in Salerno, Italy, the Mediterranean diet failed to gain widespread recognition until the 1990s. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E Battery
Objective data showing that Mediterranean diet is healthy first originated from the Seven Countries Study.
Mediterranean diet is based on what from the point of view of mainstream nutrition is considered a paradox: that although the people living in Mediterranean countries tend to consume relatively high amounts of fat, they have far lower rates of cardiovascular disease than in countries like the United States, where similar levels of fat consumption are found. A parallel phenomenon is known as the French Paradox.Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/B Battery
A diet rich in salads was promoted in England during the early Renaissance period by Giacomo Castelvetro in A Brief Account of the Fruits, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy.[16] He attempted, without success, to convince the English to eat more fruits and vegetables.Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/P Battery
Health effects
A number of diets have received attention, but the strongest evidence for a beneficial health effect and decreased mortality after switching to a largely plant based diet comes from studies of Mediterranean diet, e.g. from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/S Battery]
The Mediterranean diet is often cited as beneficial for being low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber. One of the main explanations is thought to be the health effects of olive oil included in the Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean diet is high in salt content. Foods such as olives, salt-cured cheeses, anchovies, capers, salted fish roe, and salads dressed with olive oil all contain high levels of salt.Sony VAIO VGN-SR140N/S Battery
A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry shows that people who followed the Mediterranean diet were less likely to develop depression.
In addition, the consumption of red wine is considered a possible factor, as it contains flavonoids with powerful antioxidant properties.Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/B Battery
Mireille Guiliano credits the health effects of the Mediterranean diet to factors such as small portions, daily exercise, and the emphasis on freshness, balance, and pleasure in food.
Dietary factors are only part of the reason for the health benefits enjoyed by certain Mediterranean cultures. A healthy lifestyle (notably a physically active lifestyle or labour) is also beneficial.Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/P Battery
Environment may also be involved. However, on the population level, i.e. for the population of a whole country or a region, the influence of genetics is rather minimal, because it was shown that the slowly changing habits of Mediterranean populations, from a healthy active lifestyle and Mediterranean diet to a not so healthy, Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/S Battery
less physically active lifestyle and a diet influenced by the Western pattern diet, significantly increases risk of heart disease. There is an inverse association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the incidence of fatal and non fatal heart disease in initially healthy middle aged adults in the Mediterranean region.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBJ Battery
A 10-year study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) found that adherence to a Mediterranean diet and healthful lifestyle was associated with more than a 50% lowering of early death rates. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBQ Battery
The putative benefits of the Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular health are primarily correlative in nature; while they reflect a very real disparity in the geographic incidence of heart disease, identifying the causal determinant of this disparity has proven difficult.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EEJ/C Battery
The most popular dietary candidate, olive oil, has been undermined by a body of experimental evidence that diets enriched in monounsaturated fats such as olive oil are not atheroprotective when compared to diets enriched in either polyunsaturated or even saturated fats.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NAB Battery
A recently emerging alternative hypothesis to the Mediterranean diet is that differential exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation accounts for the disparity in cardiovascular health between residents of Mediterranean and more northerly countries. The proposed mechanism is solar UVB-induced synthesis of Vitamin D in the oils of the skin,Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NBB Battery
which has been observed to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, and which rapidly diminishes with increasing latitude.[31] Interestingly, residents of the Mediterranean are also observed to have very low rates of skin cancer (which is widely believed to be caused by over-exposure to solar UV radiation);Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NDB Battery
incidence of melanomas in the Mediterranean countries is lower than in Northern Europe and significantly lower than in other hot countries such as Australia and New Zealand. Its been hypothesized that some components of the Mediterranean diet may provide protection against skin cancer.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NEB Battery
Medical research
The Seven Countries Study found that Cretan men had exceptionally low death rates from heart disease, despite moderate to high intake of fat. The Cretan diet is similar to other traditional Mediterranean diets, consisting mostly of olive oil, bread, abundant fruit and vegetables, fish, and a moderate amount of dairy foods and wine.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NGB Battery
The Lyon Diet Heart Study set out to mimic the Cretan diet, but adopted a pragmatic approach. Realizing that some of the people in the study (all of whom had survived a first heart attack) would be reluctant to move from butter to olive oil, they used a margarine based on rapeseed (canola) oil.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PAB Battery
The dietary change also included 20% increases in vitamin C-rich fruit and bread and decreases in processed and red meat. On this diet, mortality from all causes was reduced by 70%. This study was so successful that the ethics committee decided to stop the study prematurely so that the results of the study could be made available to the public immediately.Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PCB Battery
According to a 2008 study published in the British Medical Journal, the traditional Mediterranean diet provides substantial protection against type 2 diabetes. The study involved over 13 000 graduates from the University of Navarra in Spain with no history of diabetes,Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PFB Battery
who were recruited between December 1999 and November 2007, and whose dietary habits and health were subsequently tracked. Participants initially completed a 136-item food frequency questionnaire designed to measure the entire diet. The questionnaire also included questions on the use of fats and oils, cooking methods and dietary supplements. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery
Every two years participants were sent follow-up questionnaires on diet, lifestyle, risk factors, and medical conditions. New cases of diabetes were confirmed through medical reports. During the follow-up period (median 4.4 years) the researchers from the University of Navarra found that participants who stuck closely to the diet had a lower risk of diabetes. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery
A high adherence to the diet was associated with an 83% relative reduction in the risk of developing diabetes.
A 2008 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine examined the effects of three diets: low-carb, low-fat, and Mediterranean. The study involved 322 participants and lasted for two years.Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VRN Battery
The low-carb and Mediterranean diet resulted in the greatest weight loss, 12 lbs and 10 lbs, respectively. The low-fat diet resulted in a loss of 7 lbs. One caveat of the study is that 86% of the study participants were men. The low-carb and Mediterranean diets produced similar amounts of weight loss in the overall study results and in the men.Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery
In the remaining participants who were women, the Mediterranean diet produced 3.8 kg (8.4 lbs) more weight loss on average than the low-carb diet.
A meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal in 2008 showed that following strictly the Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of dying from cancer and cardiovascular disease as well as the risk of developing Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery
The results report 9%, 9%, and 6% reduction in overall, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality respectively. Additionally a 13% reduction in incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases is to be expected provided strict adherence to the diet is observed. Sony VAIO VGN-SR210J/S Battery
As well, a 2007 study found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MeDi) may affect not only risk for Alzheimer disease (AD) but also subsequent disease course: Higher adherence to the MeDi is associated with lower mortality in AD. The gradual reduction in mortality risk for higher MeDi adherence tertiles suggests a possible dose-response effect.Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery
A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2009 showed some components of the Mediterranean diet, such as high vegetable consumption and low meat and meat product consumption, are more significantly associated with low risk of mortality than other components, such as cereal consumption and fish consumption. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery
As part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study, researchers followed more than 23,000 Greek men and women for 8.5 years to see how various aspects of a Mediterranean diet affect mortality. Moderate alcohol consumption, high fruit and nut consumption, and high legume consumption were also associated with lower risk of mortality.Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/S Battery
Mediterranean Diet, articulated into extensive lifestyles interventions in a clinical follow-up study, improves renal artery circulation, decreasing renal resistive index, even without significant modifications of Insulin Resistance. This is a beneficial effect and modifies the pathophysiology of essential hypertension.Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B Battery
Another study (reported on in the news in February 2010) found that the diet may help keep the brain healthy by reducing the frequency of the mini-strokes that can contribute to mental decline. Mediterranean Diet is becoming a comprehensive popular and successful translational paradigm for the promotion of healthier lifestyles .Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H Battery
A 2011 meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology analyzed the results of 50 studies (35 clinical trials, 2 prospective and 13 cross-sectional) covering about 535,000 people to examine the effect of a Mediterranean diet on metabolic syndrome. Sony VAIO VGN-SR240J/B Battery
The researchers reported that a Mediterranean diet is associated with lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides.
Researcher Antonia Trichopoulou and her team made use of data gathered in the Greek portion of a large-scale European study known as EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition).Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B Battery
For their study, they focused on nearly 15,000 Greek women who joined the study when they were between the ages of 20 and 86. Each woman answered a detailed food-frequency questionnaire that addressed their usual style of eating within the previous year.Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTH Battery
They also responded to questions about their lifestyle, including smoking status and amount of physical activity, and their reproductive history. Their Body Mass Index was calculated and recorded, and those with a history of cancer were excluded from the study.Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTJ Battery
Using the food-frequency questionnaire, the researchers were able to calculate each woman's adherence to the Mediterranean Diet by assigning a score ranging from 0 to 9. For those components of the diet that are frequently eaten, such as vegetables, legumes or fish, the women received a score of 1 if their intake was above average, and a 0 if their consumption was below average.Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTQ Battery
Similarly, for those components that are less frequently eaten, such as dairy or red meat, those women who ate less than the average amount also received a 1, while those who ate more than the average received a 0. (This scoring system is a standard one used often in studies of The Mediterranean Diet.)Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVB/C Battery
After a follow-up of 10 years, the researchers compared the incidence of breast cancer with each woman's Mediterranean Diet score. After controlling for such variables as age, smoking status, physical activity, Body Mass Index and use of hormone replacement therapy, the researchers found that overall,Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVH/C Battery
there was no statistically significant link between higher Mediterranean Diet adherence and the risk of breast cancer. They then grouped the women in pre- and post-menopausal status at the start of the study and compared their Mediterranean Diet scores with their risk of breast cancer. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290NTB Battery
And they found that for postmenopausal women, those who had high scores on the Mediterranean Diet adherence scale - that of a 6 to 9 - were 41% less likely to develop breast cancer than those whose scores were low - 0 to 3. In fact, an increase of just 2 points on the Mediterranean Diet scale decreased a postmenopausal woman's risk of breast cancer by 22%.Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S Battery
Epidemiology
A lesser known but highly skilled scientist named Dr. Leland Allbaugh was appointed Field Director by the Rockefeller Foundation in the early 1950s to investigate the causes of the high rates of death on the Greek island of Crete and to report to the Greek government on a model which could provide sustainable change. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S Battery
It was envisioned that any results could be adopted into model that could then be taken to other countries suffering with similar rates of high mortality and deprivation.
After systematically reviewing every aspect of life on Crete and comparing it to life in mainland Greece and America, Dr. Allbaugh’s work provided some insightful data on heart disease and mortality rates.Sony VAIO VGN-SR2RVN/S Battery
Dr. Allbaugh documented that the rates of death in Crete were high, but the primary problem was poor public health infrastructure, poor access to good quality medical care and the availability of drugs to combat infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid and dysentery.Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAB Battery
Dr. Allbaugh’s data had also inadvertently highlighted that the adults of Crete had substantially better rates of heart disease than in America with a third fewer deaths related to cardiovascular disease and just under a third fewer deaths from cancer.Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAH Battery
Although no link was made at the time between diet and heart disease, the research found that the number of daily calories eaten by a typical family in Crete was relatively high and was composed of similar components as found in an American diet, but in substantially different food groups and nutrient sources for the main calories.Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR49VN/H Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S Battery
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