In March 1990, combined acoustic and conductivity-temperature-depth measurements were carried out in the central Atlantic (29¿--35 ¿N, 20¿--26 ¿W) to study volume sound backscattering (VSB) at depths of Mediterranean Intermediate Water (MIW). Spatial variability of VSB in the presence of MIW was found. The influence of the intermittent character of the MIW structure of VSB at depths on 700--1900 m was revealed and examined. The possibility of acoustic detection and monitoring of both meddies and thermohaline fine structure features directly from the sea surface was discovered. This paper presents the first acoustic imaging of the MIW structure and dynamics in the central Atlantic. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1994