Benguela Current

One of the earliest descriptions of the Benguela Current came from James Rennell. In 1832, he described what he called the South Atlantic Benguela Current as flowing north along the western coast of Africa until it reached the equator, where it turned sharply west to become the (South) Equatorial Current. He made a chart of the Atlantic Ocean, but it did not show the current running up to the equator; instead, it showed the current separating from the coast at around 30°S, much like in modern illustrations of the Benguela Current. Apparently Rennell did not discuss this depiction of the current because he would later suggest that cool waters at the equator were transported there by the Benguela Current from cold southern latitudes.

Modern observations and theory indicate that the cool equatorial waters are due to upwelling induced by divergent Ekman transport. The sources of the Benguela Current include Indian and South Atlantic subtropical thermocline water; saline, low-oxygen tropical Atlantic water; and cooler, fresher subantarctic water. In the area between the continental shelf and Walvis Ridge it was found that 50% of the source water came from the central Atlantic, 25% came from the Indian Ocean, and 25% came from the Agulhas Current and the tropical Atlantic.
The Benguela Current has a well-defined mean flow that is mostly confined near the continent and a more variable transient flow on its western side. The transient flow is dominated by large eddies shed from the Agulhas Retroflection. Barotropic and baroclinic components are equally important for the mean flow, while the variability is mostly barotropic.

Lodges and Camps in Namibia: Beach Lodge - Casa Piccolo - Mahangu Safari Lodge - Mazambala - Oase Guest House - Phantom Farmhouse - The Desert Homestead

Botswana Destinations: Chobe National Park

Zimbabwe Destinations: Victoria Falls

Animals of Namibia: African Wild Dog - African Elephant - Cheetah - Flamingos - Giraffe - Hartebeest - Hippo - Leopard - Lion - Red Lechwe - Roan Antelope - Sitatunga -Spotted Hyena - Springbok - Wildebeest - Zebra