A water mass that originates as Atlantic Water (AW) entering the Mediterranean Sea via the Gibraltar Straits. It spreads via the Sicily Straits into the eastern Mediterranean as MAW in a layer confined to the upper 200 m. The Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) flowing westward beneath it exits into the northern Atlantic where it constitutes the salty Mediterranean outflow water. MAW becomes progressively saltier along its route from the Sicily Straits to the Levantine basin, but exhibits little seasonality.