The relatively saline water that flows out of the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar in a subsurface layer just above the sill depth. The outflow consists mainly of Levantine Intermediate Water, which is formed in the extreme eastern basin of the Mediterranean. Once in the Atlantic, the relatively dense Mediterranean Water quickly sinks and spreads westward around a depth of 1000 m. The salinity anomaly of the Mediterranean Water can be detected several thousand kilometers west of the Strait of Gibraltar. See Mediterranean lenses, Gibraltar outflow water.