Agulhas retroflection rings in the South Atlantic Ocean

The western boundary current rings shed from the Agulhas retroflection may be responsible for a considerable transfer of heat, salt and energy from the South Indian into the South Atlantic Ocean. Few hydrographic measurements have been collected from Agulhas rings in the South Atlantic Ocean and their characteristics and influence on the waters of the Cape Basin through which they pass are thus little known. The temperature, salinity, and nutrient data presented in the thesis were collected from three Agulhas rings on a number of recent hydrographic cruises in the South Atlantic Ocean. Temperature profiles, conductivity-temperature-depth measurements, nutrient data, GEOSAT altimeter data, and NOAA-11 satellite imagery were used to investigate one of the rings in May 1989. It had previously been postulated that the rings could have an important effect on the Benguela upwelling system and this thesis demonstrates the interaction of the ring with a filament from the upwelling system. An adverse influence of this interaction on the anchovy larval population is postulated, and cited as a possible cause of the very poor anchovy yearclass of 1989. The other two rings were encountered during winter (August 1990 and June 1992), closer to the retroflection, and only hydrographic observations were possible. One of the rings showed a very deep isothermal surface layer and evidence of a deep pycnostad at its centre. The deep stad is shown to be likely due to vortex stretching and possible sources for the water in the stad are suggested. Comparative hydrographic characteristics, water mass structure, velocity fields, and the potential for contribution to interbasin transfer of the three rings are presented and discussed in the thesis

The importance of monitoring the Greater Agulhas Current and its inter-ocean exchanges using large mooring arrays

The 2013 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, using CMIP5 and EMIC model outputs suggests that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) is very likely to weaken by 11–34% over the next century, with consequences for global rainfall and temperature patterns. However, these coupled, global climate models cannot resolve important oceanic features such as the Agulhas Current and its leakage around South Africa, which a number of studies have suggested may act to balance MOC weakening in the future. To properly understand oceanic changes and feedbacks on anthropogenic climate change we need to substantially improve global ocean observations, particularly within boundary current regions such as the Agulhas Current, which represent the fastest warming regions across the world’s oceans. The South African science community, in collaboration with governing bodies and international partners, has recently established one of the world’s most comprehensive observational networks of a western boundary current system, measuring the Greater Agulhas Current System and its inter-ocean exchanges south of Africa. This observational network, through its design for long-term monitoring, collaborative coordination of resources and skills sharing, represents a model for the international community. We highlight progress of the new Agulhas System Climate Array, as well as the South African Meridional Overturning Circulation programme, which includes the Crossroads and GoodHope hydrographic transects, and the South Atlantic MOC Basin-wide Array. We also highlight some of the ongoing challenges that the programmes still face