The lodos is the strong south-westerly wind which may predominate episodically in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

and

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

as well as the Mediterranean coast of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

all the year round; it frequently raises high seas and may give violent westerly

squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...

s. The word ''lodos'' is Turkish, coming from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word "

Notus In Greek mythology and religion, Notus () is the god of the south wind and one of the Anemoi (wind-gods), sons of the dawn goddess Eos and the star-god Astraeus. A desiccating wind of heat, Notus was associated with the storms of late summer and ...

", and originally means "southern wind".

Description

The predominant wind-driven surface current of the Aegean Sea is from northwest to southeast, but about twenty times a year the wind shifts southwards, pushing from the Mediterranean towards the Black Sea. If it continues long enough, the surface current also reverses, creating treacherous going for mariners. When Lodos is blowing, the winds in the

Turkish Straits The Turkish Straits () are two internationally significant waterways in northwestern Turkey. The Straits create a series of international passages that connect the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to the Black Sea. They consist of the Dardanelles ...

begin to shift during the early morning hours. The Black Sea's currents are also affected by Lodos. They are at their strongest in the afternoon and often die down at night, but sometimes lodos winds last for days without a break. Similar winds blow in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

and Ionian maritime regions. Lodos winds are dangerous to sailors because they come up in clear weather without warning and can blow at 9-10 Beaufort. Most vessels cannot sail under such conditions. Lodos brings wind and waves from the south from October to April, with a peak season in December. Along with warm waters from the South, lodos also brings African dust from the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

, which contains many minerals such as sulfate, iron, zinc and other minerals that are beneficial to plants.

Safety

During strong lodos winds, especially in December, large vessels are warned against crossing the

Bosphorus Strait The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental b ...

and at times, the strait is closed to all naval traffic due to lodos shifting charted surface currents. Vessels are most vulnerable to these shifting currents if they lack speed or experience an engine failure. In this case, the only means to halt a vessel would be anchoring, but there is not enough distance at Bosphorus for such a measure, and disaster becomes inevitable.

References

{{Reflist Winds Turkish words and phrases Aegean Sea Sea of Marmara

Description

Safety

See also

References