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Oceanographic observations of eddies impacting the Prince Edward Islands, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2010

Jonathan V. Durgadoo ,
Isabelle J. Ansorge  and
Johann R.E. Lutjeharms
Jonathan V. Durgadoo*
Affiliation:
Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
Isabelle J. Ansorge
Affiliation:
Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
Johann R.E. Lutjeharms
Affiliation:
Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

The ecosystem of the isolated Prince Edward Islands, south of the African continent, is strongly impacted by ocean eddies that are associated with the eastward flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Satellite altimetry has revealed that the archipelago lies in a region of enhanced eddy kinetic energy. In the late 1990s it became apparent that in order to understand the influence of these eddies on the islands’ ecosystem, the source, trajectory and nature of these eddies needed to be studied and understood. To this end a special research project with a strong ocean-going component was designed, the DEIMEC (Dynamics of Eddy Impact on Marion’s ECosystem) programme. In this review we focus on the physical oceanography and summarize the aims, the results and the successes of this South African research initiative. In the vicinity of the Prince Edward Islands, an average of three intense well-defined eddies is observed per year. Their advection speeds are of the order of a few kilometres per day and longevities of 7–11 months. These features, of c. 100 km in diameter and reaching depths of at least 1000 m, transport anomalous water masses across the Polar Frontal Zone.

Keywords

DEIMECMarion IslandMesoscale eddiesSouth African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP)Southern OceanSouth-West Indian Ridge
Type
Review
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , June 2010 , pp. 211 - 219
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2010

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