A three-dimensional sigma coordinate free-surface high-performance model is used to investigate the flow regimes within the Strait of Gibraltar. High performances are achieved through a directive-based, MPI-like, parallelization of the code, obtained using SMS tool. The model makes use of a coastal-following, curvilinear orthogonal grid, that includes the Gulf of Cadiz and the Alboran Sea, reaching very high resolution in the Strait. Four experiments with different initial salinity conditions representing the present and possible future climate conditions over the Mediterranean basin have been performed. Model results, analysed by means of the three-layer composite Froude number theory, have shown two different possible regimes within the strait; for the present climate condition the strait is subjected to a sub-maximal regime while for possible future climate conditions a maximal regime can be reached. © Società Italiana di Fisica.

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