The oceanography of the Alboran Sea (AS) has been the subject of intensive research for decades. Chief among the reasons for this interest is the variety of physical processes taking place in the basin, spanning from coastal upwelling, dynamic of density fronts, internal waves, and strong meso- and submesoscale turbulence. Historical fieldwork and an increasing number of numerical studies in recent years have led to a more complete—although more dispersed—description and knowledge of process dynamics in the AS and their role in shaping primary productivity and regional fisheries resources. In this review, we summarize and put together old and new research to get an updated picture of the AS circulation and its variability at different time scales, with an emphasis on physical–biological interactions. As part of the review, we identify gaps in our understanding regarding the physical drivers for seasonal and for rapid transitions between the most recurrent one-gyre and two-gyre modes of circulation of the AS. We also point at possible research strategies based on end-to-end regional biophysical modeling to gain new insights into past and present physical control on fisheries resources and for assessing plausible climate change impacts on the AS ecosystem.

几十年来，阿尔伯兰海 (AS) 的海洋学一直是深入研究的主题。引起这种兴趣的主要原因之一是盆地中发生的各种物理过程，包括沿海上升流、密度前沿的动态、内波以及强烈的中尺度和亚中尺度湍流。近年来，历史实地工作和越来越多的数值研究导致了对 AS 过程动态及其在塑造初级生产力和区域渔业资源中的作用的更完整（尽管更分散）的描述和知识。在这篇综述中，我们总结并汇总了新旧研究，以获得关于 AS 环流及其在不同时间尺度上的变化的最新图景，重点是物理-生物相互作用。作为审查的一部分，我们发现我们对季节性物理驱动因素的理解存在差距，以及 AS 最常见的单环和双环循环模式之间的快速过渡。我们还指出了基于端到端区域生物物理模型的可能研究策略，以获得对过去和现在对渔业资源的物理控制的新见解，并评估气候变化对 AS 生态系统的合理影响。