7B South Africa South Coast 



Eckart H. Schumann 



Department of Oceanography 

 University of Port Elizabeth 

 Port Elizabeth, South Africa 



The dominating oceanographic feature along the southern tip of Africa 

 is the Agulhas Current. This current flows poleward along the eastern edge 

 of the Agulhas Bank, paralleling the southern coast of South Africa, and 

 turns into the West Wind Drift of the Circumpolar Current. It is a warm- 

 water current, generally very low in nutrients in the surface waters. Large 

 eddies are a common feature on the northern front of the current, and a 

 cold-eddy can be enclosed within the bight of such a meander. Upwelling 

 also takes place along the inshore frontal region, and may be an important 

 source of nutrients for the whole bank area. 



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