Articles | Volume 14, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-971-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-971-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Sep 2018
Research article |
| 10 Sep 2018
| 10 Sep 2018
A model perspective on the dynamics of the shadow zone of the eastern tropical North Atlantic – Part 1: the poleward slope currents along West Africa
Lala Kounta
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire de Physique de l'Atmosphère et de l'Océan Siméon Fongang, ESP
/UCAD, Dakar, Senegal
LOCEAN Laboratory, CNRS-IRD-Sorbonne Universités-MNHN, Paris, France
Xavier Capet
LOCEAN Laboratory, CNRS-IRD-Sorbonne Universités-MNHN, Paris, France
Julien Jouanno
LEGOS Laboratory, IRD-Univ. Paul Sabatier-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
Nicolas Kolodziejczyk
Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatial, IFREMER-IRD-CNRS-UBO, IUEM, Plouzané, France
Bamol Sow
Laboratoire d'Océanographie, des Sciences de l'Environnement et du Climat, UASZ, Ziguinchor, Senegal
Amadou Thierno Gaye
Laboratoire de Physique de l'Atmosphère et de l'Océan Siméon Fongang, ESP
/UCAD, Dakar, Senegal
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Short summary
The currents along the West African seaboard are poorly known. Based on a carefully evaluated numerical simulation the present study describes these currents in the sector 8–20°N and the physical processes that drive them. Prevailing northward flow with two intensification periods per year is identified. Both local and distant coastal winds (blowing as far as thousands of kilometers away in the Gulf of Guinea) contribute to the circulation in this sector.
The currents along the West African seaboard are poorly known. Based on a carefully evaluated...
