To provide context for the interpretation of their sedimentary and paleoceanographic record, semi-enclosed seas are here investigated through the application of basic theory. The principles of conservation of water, salt and heat, in combination with a representation of flow through the seaway to the ocean, are used to chart how basin geometry, connectivity and atmospheric forcing together control basin-averaged salinity and temperature and the exchange flux. Data on present-day semi-enclosed seas of the wider Mediterranean region are used for illustration. First, ignoring the heat balance and with forcing constant in time, a dimensionless form of the governing equations is derived which clarifies the role of the various controlling parameters. This is applied to aspects of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. In the second part of the analysis the forcing is made a generalised periodic function of time. This informs us how basin salinity, its amplitude of variation and lag relative to the forcing, depend on basin and strait properties and varies with the period of forcing. Insights are applied to the precessional variation observed in the record of the Mediterranean Sea. In the third and fourth part of the analysis we include the balance of heat and basin-averaged temperature. Examination of the budget equations allows us to derive a relationship between the average air-sea heat flux and basin restriction. Finally, re-introducing strait flow, we study the interplay of basin temperature and salinity and establish under which conditions heat flux and temperature play a role, in addition to net evaporation and salinity.

为了提供解释其沉积和古海洋记录的背景，这里通过应用基本理论研究了半封闭海。水、盐和热守恒的原则，结合通过海道到海洋的流量表示，用于绘制盆地几何形状、连通性和大气强迫如何共同控制盆地平均盐度和温度以及交换通量。更广泛的地中海地区当今半封闭海域的数据用于说明。首先，忽略热平衡并在时间上强制常数，推导出控制方程的无量纲形式，它阐明了各种控制参数的作用。这适用于墨西拿盐度危机的各个方面。在分析的第二部分，强迫是时间的广义周期函数。这告诉我们盆地盐度、其相对于强迫的变化幅度和滞后是如何取决于盆地和海峡的特性并随强迫周期而变化的。洞察力适用于在地中海记录中观察到的岁差变化。在分析的第三和第四部分，我们包括热量和盆地平均温度的平衡。预算方程的检查使我们能够推导出平均海气热通量与盆地限制之间的关系。最后，重新引入海峡流，我们研究了盆地温度和盐度的相互作用，并确定了除了净蒸发和盐度之外，热通量和温度在哪些条件下起作用。