The Benguela Current is a cold, wide current that flows northwards along the west coast of southern Africa. It is an Eastern Boundary Current and forms the eastern flank of the South Atlantic Gyre The ocean current “begins” roughly where the eastward-flowing South Atlantic Current swings northward at the Agulhas.
Which country is affected by Benguela?
Abstract. Southwestern Africa is strongly affected by the Benguela Current, which is one of the world’s four major eastern boundary currents, influencing the coastal environments of western South Africa, Namibia and southern Angola.
Is the Benguela Current?
Benguela Current, oceanic current that is a branch of the West Wind Drift of the Southern Hemisphere. It flows northward in the South Atlantic Ocean along the west coast of southern Africa nearly to the Equator before merging with the westward-flowing Atlantic South Equatorial Current.
What causes Benguela Current?
The Benguela Current is driven by the prevailing South Easterly trade winds of the South Atlantic Ocean. Inshore of the Benguela Current proper, the south easterly winds cause coastal upwelling, forming the Benguela Upwelling System. … The intensity of upwelling events is determined by wind strength.
Where does the Benguela Current start and end?
The Benguela Current /bɛŋˈɡɛlə/ is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela front in the north, at around 16°S.
Where does the Agulhas and Benguela meet?
South Africa’s two prevailing currents — Benguela and Algulhas, which meet at the Cape of Good Hope — make it one of the most dynamic landscapes in the world. Nowhere else are two contrastingly different ecosystems found in such close proximity.
How cold is the Benguela Current?
The surface temperatures of the Benguela Current are about 14 degrees F (8 degrees C) colder than average for coastlines in these latitudes.
How strong is the Benguela Current?
(2000) found that the mean speeds of the current vary from <11 cm s–1 to a maximum of 23 cm s–1. Apparently the highest speeds occur in the south during summer and in the north during winter, a pattern that corresponds with seasonal wind fields.
In which country is Namibia?
Republic of Namibia show Name in national languages | |
---|---|
Internet TLD | .na |
How does Benguela Current affect temperature?
The problem facing the Benguela Current from global warming and climate change comes from a rise in the temperature of the water in the oceans, which has led to a rise in the temperature of the waters of the Benguela Current. A Benguela El Niño effect has already been detected.
Is the Gulf Stream warm or cold?
Originating at the tip of Florida, the Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that follows the eastern coastline of the US and Canada before crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. It ensures that the climate of Western Europe is much warmer than it would otherwise be.
What kind of water does Benguela Current take along explain?
Flowing along the coast of South Africa, Namibia, and Angola, the Benguela Current is the eastern boundary of a large gyre in the South Atlantic Ocean. The current mixes water from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as they meet off the capes of South Africa.
How does the Benguela Current affect Namibia?
For example, Namibian sites associated with the Benguela Current Marine Ecosystem support the entire Namibian breeding populations of Cape Gannets, African Penguins, and Cape Fur seals, while nearly 25% of the global breeding population of Crowned Cormorants and approximately 80% of the global population of the …
How Benguela current is different from Agulhas current?
The main near-surface ocean circulations near South Africa are shown in Fig 1. The Mozambique/Agulhas current is relatively warm, whereas the Benguela current is cooled by coastal upwelling along the west coast of S. Africa and Namibia.
Where is the California Current?
The California current is the eastern boundary current of the North Pacific Gyre, running southward from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico. This current draws cool, nutrient rich waters from the Alaska current down along the western coast of North America.
What is special about Cape Agulhas?
Cape Agulhas has a spectacular coastline, consisting of a gradually curving coastline with rocky and sand beaches. … The waters of the Agulhas Bank off the coast are quite shallow and are renowned as one of the best fishing grounds in South Africa.
Is the saltiest sea in the world?
The Red Sea, for instance, has an average temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). It is also the saltiest sea, containing 41 parts of salt per 1,000 parts of seawater.
Where does the cold Benguela current flow?
The icy Benguela current moves from the Southern Ocean (around Antartica) and flows northwards along the West Coast of Africa. Because the Benguela reaches as far north as Angola, ships found it extremely difficult to travel south of Angola by following the coast.
Why is the Mozambique current warm?
Because it is fed from lower latitudes, the Agulhas Current is warm, ranging in temperature from 57 to 79 °F (14 to 26 °C) at the surface. The average temperature is lower in southern sections near Antarctica. The Agulhas is noted as a major western boundary current in the Southern Hemisphere.
Is California Current warm or cold?
The California Current is a cold water Pacific Ocean current that moves southward along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia and ending off southern Baja California Sur.
What is the speed of the Benguela Current?
The Benguela Current has a width of 200 km in the south and 750 km in the north. The mean speeds of the current vary from <II cm’s” to a maximum of 23 cm·s·l.
Where is the Irminger Current located?
Irminger Current, branch of the warm North Atlantic Current, flowing generally westward along the south coast of Iceland. It divides into two currents west of Iceland.
Is Namibia a poor country?
Despite its high income, Namibia has a poverty rate of 26.9 percent, an unemployment rate of 29.6 percent and an HIV prevalence rate of 16.9 percent. Poverty in Namibia is acute in the northern regions of Kavango, Oshikoto, Zambezi, Kunene and Ohangwena, where upwards of one-third of the population lives in poverty.
Are Namibian people friendly?
As a whole, Namibians are incredibly friendly, the country’s infrastructure is good, and the level of corruption found here is far less than neighbouring countries. It is, overwhelmingly, a peaceful and welcoming country.
Is Namibia a third world country?
The World Bank classifies Namibia as upper middle income, but the authorities insist that theirs is in fact a developing country. Namibia certainly has some of the difficulties we associate with less-developed economies. It has to develop a very large and arid country with a small population.
Is Agulhas current warm or cold?
Because it is fed from lower latitudes, the Agulhas Current is warm, ranging in temperature from 57 to 79 °F (14 to 26 °C) at the surface. The average temperature is lower in southern sections near Antarctica. The Agulhas is noted as a major western boundary current in the Southern Hemisphere.
What are the 4 oceans?
Historically, there are four named oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. However, most countries – including the United States – now recognize the Southern (Antarctic) as the fifth ocean. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian are the most commonly known.
What happens if the Gulf Stream collapses?
In the event of the AMOC collapse, rainfall would be disrupted in India, South America and West Africa, which would cause mass food shortages. Increasing storms and colder temperatures would be felt across Europe, and the sea level would rise off the eastern coast of North America.
Is the Gulf Stream slowing down?
The study, which appeared in the journal Nature Climate Change, found several signs that Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), of which the Gulf Stream is a part, is slowing down and might be about to collapse.
What cools current circles entire earth?
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, or ACC, is the strongest ocean current on our planet. It extends from the sea surface to the bottom of the ocean, and encircles Antarctica. It is vital for Earth’s health because it keeps Antarctica cool and frozen. It is also changing as the world’s climate warms.
What is the Gulf Stream?
The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean. It extends all the way up the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean.
Is the Benguela Current poleward or Equatorward?
The oceanography off the west coast of southern Africa is dominated, like the regions off California, Peru and North West Africa, by coastal upwelling; but the Benguela is unique in that it is bounded on both the equatorward and poleward ends by warm water regimes.