The Southern Adriatic represents a key area for the entire Eastern Mediterranean, being a site where the thermohaline cell originates through open-ocean deep water formation processes. The nutrient pool of the basin is mainly controlled by the inflow of nutrient-rich intermediate water from south and by the autotrophic consumption during the spring bloom. In this work, two new production estimates are given: the first from the post-convection decrease of the nutrient pool, and the second from surface nitrate consumption. The new production does not seem to be affected by the increase of the nutrient amount imported from south during the last decade as a result of the new deep circulation pattern in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the other hand, the winter climatic conditions act as year-to-year controlling mechanisms in determining the magnitude of the convective mixing, and, ultimately of the amount of new nutrients available to the autotrophs. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union