The Mozambique Current is an

ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, sh ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, usually defined as warm surface waters flowing south along the African east coast in the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...

, between

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and the island of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. The classical definition of the Mozambique Current is that it is a strong, steady, western boundary current. Modern research has challenged that assumption, and indicates that rather than a strong western boundary current, there are often a series of large anti-cyclonic eddies in the channel. Direct evidence for these eddies has been found in satellite altimetry data,Schouten, M., W. de Ruijter, P. van Leeuwen, and R. Ridderinkhof (2003), Eddies and variability in the Mozambique Channel. Deep-Sea Research Part II,50, 1987-2003. ship borne surveys,De Ruijter, W. P. M., H. Ridderinkhof, J. R. E. Lutjeharms, M. Schouten, and C. Veth (2002), Observations of flow in the Mozambique Channel, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 1401-1403 and moored current meter records.Ridderingkhof, H., and W. de Ruijter (2003), Moored current observations in the Mozambique Channel, Deep-Sea Research Part II, 50, 1933-1955. These same current meter records, that were over two years in length, failed to show a strong, consistent current along the Mozambican coast, largely dispelling the notion of a steady Mozambique Current. Nonetheless, it is impossible to rule out the possibility that the Mozambique Current may appear intermittently, for short durations. Indeed, numerical model simulations in the Mozambique Channel show the appearance of a current on the Mozambican Coast, during periods between eddies.

Mozambique Channel Eddies

Mozambique Channel Eddies are large, warm, anti-cyclonic eddies that propagate southwards in the Mozambique Channel. These eddies may have diameters of up to 300 km, and maximum swirl velocities of nearly 1 m/s. The exact causal mechanism, and location of the eddies formation is still debated. The frequency of eddy occurrence reduces from around seven per year in the north of the Channel, to around four per year in the south. Once the eddies exit the Mozambique Channel, they contribute to the variability of the Agulhas Current, including the generation of the Natal Pulse, and Agulhas Rings.

References

External links

New Concepts on the Flow in the Mozambique Channel

Satellite Observations of the Agulhas Current System
{{Indian Ocean Currents of the Indian Ocean Mozambique Channel Geography of Madagascar Geography of Mozambique

Mozambique Channel Eddies

See also

References

External links