Coupling between the Canary current and the upwelling system off northwest Africa

Abstract

During the last three years the Physical Oceanography Group at the Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) has undertaken several efforts to investigate the existence and variability of an eastern branch of the Canary Current, which recirculates southward along the African continetal slope and platform. These efforts include the maintenance of periodic XBT lines, hydrographic cruises, launching of drifters, analysis of historial data and modeling. Here we present some of our results, which confirme the presence of significant onshore flow between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Canary Islands.