The frigid waters of the north-flowing Benguela current move from the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica along the west coast of Africa as far as Angola. For other uses, see Africa (disambiguation). ...
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Boundaries
The Benguela current forms the eastern boundary of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre. Its sources include Indian and South Atlantic subtropical thermocline water; saline, low-oxygen tropical Atlantic water; and cooler, fresher subantarctic water. The Benguela current is 2-300 km wide and widens further as it flows north. Its western, seaward edge is ill-defined, with many temporary and seasonal eddies. For other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation) The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ...
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Effect
Where the icy Benguela and the warm, south-flowing Agulhas current mix, there is a richly productive marine ecosystem off the Cape of Good Hope but storms and turbulence above. The Agulhas Current is the Western Boundary Current of the South-West Indian Ocean and is part of the westward-flowing South Equatorial Current. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ...
The cold current creates the desert conditions of the shore of Namibia, and the persistent fogs of the Skeleton Coast. A Benguela El Niño effect has been detected, less intense and less frequent than the Pacific Ocean phenomenon. The Skeleton Coast is located on the west coast of Namibia, where the upwelling of the cold Benguela current gives rise to dense ocean fogs for much of the year. ... Chart of ocean surface temperature anomaly [°C] during the last strong El Niño in December 1997 El Niño and La Niña (also written in English as El Nino and La Nina) are major temperature fluctuations in surface waters of the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. ...
The BenguelaCurrent is the eastern boundary current of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre.
The BenguelaCurrent is the eastern boundary current of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre (Peterson and Stramma 1991, Wedepohl et al.
Conceding that the definition of the seaward boundary of the BenguelaCurrent is ambiguous and variable, Shannon (1985) nevertheless observed that there is a well-developed oceanic front in the south.
A principal demonstration of the effect of the trade winds is the BenguelaCurrent (Shannon and Agenbag, 1987), the dominant dynamical component in Benguela waters.
During such events, a disorderly pattern of eddies and residual currents are observed, as was the case during the cruise with R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in February 2000 (Sundby et al, 2000, in prep.).
Turning south, it opposes the BenguelaCurrent and is deflected westwards in a wide arc, leaving a trail of eddies and whirls after the encounter (Brown et al, 1989).
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