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Observations of the inter-ocean exchange around South Africa

Observations of the inter-ocean exchange around South Africa
Observations of the inter-ocean exchange around South Africa


There is growing evidence that the interocean exchange south of Africa is an important link in the global overturning circulation of the ocean, the so-called ocean conveyer belt. At this location, warm and salty Indian Ocean waters enter the South Atlantic and are pulled by currents that eventually reach the North Atlantic, where water cools and sinks.

A major contributor to the exchange is the frequent shedding of ring eddies from the termination of the Agulhas Current south of the tip of Africa.This shedding is controlled by developments far upstream in the Indian Ocean, and variations in this ‘Agulhas Leakage’ can lead to changes in the rate and stability of the Atlantic overturning, with possible associated global climate variations [Weijer et al., 1999]. Regional climate variations in the tropical and subtropical Indian Ocean are known to affect the whole system of the Agulhas Current, including the interocean exchanges. This article reports on some of the seminal results of ongoing multinational, multidisciplinary projects that explore these issues.
0096-3941
97-101
de Ruijter, W.P.M.
85dd535e-71a9-4397-b3d7-b1c61dfd9758
Brummer, G.-J.A.
7a15c897-7c1b-4ef2-a96d-7dbd16384731
Drijfhout, S.S.
a5c76079-179b-490c-93fe-fc0391aacf13
Lutjeharms, J.R.E.
0f364c0b-c97e-4252-a826-4283b2101171
Peters, F.
43219ab2-4030-439e-acf8-0cb72f486a23
Ridderinkhof, H.
cd0ba9af-67f5-4596-836a-9c70aa1af83c
van Aken, H.
f9c4fb45-0f29-4e8e-9fdc-1fd5c08c1380
van Leeuwen, P.J.
52371b83-1a99-4b6d-9c80-757a379a9bb3
de Ruijter, W.P.M.
85dd535e-71a9-4397-b3d7-b1c61dfd9758
Brummer, G.-J.A.
7a15c897-7c1b-4ef2-a96d-7dbd16384731
Drijfhout, S.S.
a5c76079-179b-490c-93fe-fc0391aacf13
Lutjeharms, J.R.E.
0f364c0b-c97e-4252-a826-4283b2101171
Peters, F.
43219ab2-4030-439e-acf8-0cb72f486a23
Ridderinkhof, H.
cd0ba9af-67f5-4596-836a-9c70aa1af83c
van Aken, H.
f9c4fb45-0f29-4e8e-9fdc-1fd5c08c1380
van Leeuwen, P.J.
52371b83-1a99-4b6d-9c80-757a379a9bb3

de Ruijter, W.P.M., Brummer, G.-J.A., Drijfhout, S.S., Lutjeharms, J.R.E., Peters, F., Ridderinkhof, H., van Aken, H. and van Leeuwen, P.J. (2006) Observations of the inter-ocean exchange around South Africa. Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union, 87 (9), 97-101. (doi:10.1029/2006EO090002).

Record type: Article

Abstract



There is growing evidence that the interocean exchange south of Africa is an important link in the global overturning circulation of the ocean, the so-called ocean conveyer belt. At this location, warm and salty Indian Ocean waters enter the South Atlantic and are pulled by currents that eventually reach the North Atlantic, where water cools and sinks.

A major contributor to the exchange is the frequent shedding of ring eddies from the termination of the Agulhas Current south of the tip of Africa.This shedding is controlled by developments far upstream in the Indian Ocean, and variations in this ‘Agulhas Leakage’ can lead to changes in the rate and stability of the Atlantic overturning, with possible associated global climate variations [Weijer et al., 1999]. Regional climate variations in the tropical and subtropical Indian Ocean are known to affect the whole system of the Agulhas Current, including the interocean exchanges. This article reports on some of the seminal results of ongoing multinational, multidisciplinary projects that explore these issues.

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More information

Published date: 28 February 2006
Organisations: Physical Oceanography

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 352520
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/352520
ISSN: 0096-3941
PURE UUID: 6f58bfc3-179e-4367-82c2-abeeffecf7b9
ORCID for S.S. Drijfhout: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5325-7350

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Date deposited: 15 May 2013 10:57
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:44

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Contributors

Author: W.P.M. de Ruijter
Author: G.-J.A. Brummer
Author: S.S. Drijfhout ORCID iD
Author: J.R.E. Lutjeharms
Author: F. Peters
Author: H. Ridderinkhof
Author: H. van Aken
Author: P.J. van Leeuwen

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