The ocean boundary along the northwest African coast: Circulation and oceanographic properties at the sea surface

Abstract

Wind data from coastal stations, model simulations, and historical data are used to update the description of the large-scale seasonal oceanographic variations at the sea surface off Northwest Africa. The patterns of the seasonal temperature, salinity, and density distributions document seasonal and local upwelling along the Northwest African coast between the Strait of Gibraltar and 9°N. Moreover, they provide useful indications with regard to the general surface circulation. This applies especially to latitudes south of 25°N, where more data are available, since most upwelling studies in the past concentrated in the southern region. The structure and seasonal variations of the year-round occurring gyre offshore the Mauritanian coast now assumes a more definite form than in former representations.