ALBERT

Description: The West African seaboard is one of the upwelling sectors that has received the least attention and in situ observations relevant to its dynamics are particularly scarce. The current system in this sector is not well known and understood, e.g., in terms of seasonal variability, across-shore structure, forcing processes. This knowledge gap is addressed in a suite of two studies that analyze the mean seasonal cycle of an eddy-permitting numerical simulation of the tropical Atlantic. Part 1 is concerned with the circulation over the West African continental slope at the outmost reach of the Canary current system, between ∼10 and 20°N. The focus is on the depth range most directly implicated in the wind-driven circulation (offshore/coastal upwellings and Sverdrup transport), located above the potential density σt=26.7kgm−3 in the model (approx. above 250m depth). In this sector and for this depth range, the flow is predominantly poleward as a direct consequence of positive wind stress curl forcing, but the degree to which the magnitude of the upper ocean poleward transport reflects Sverdrup theory varies with latitude. The model poleward flow also exhibits a marked semi-annual cycle with transport maxima in spring and fall. Dynamical rationalizations of these characteristics are offered in terms of wind forcing of coastal trapped waves and Rossby wave dynamics. Remote forcing by seasonal fluctuations of coastal winds in the Guinea Gulf play an instrumental role in the fall intensification of the poleward flow. The spring intensification appears to be related to wind fluctuations taking place at shorter distances, north of the Guinea Gulf entrance and also locally. Rossby wave activity accompanying the semi-annual fluctuations of the poleward flow in the coastal wave guide varies greatly with latitude, which in turn, exerts a major influence on the vertical structure of the poleward flow. Although the realism of the model West African boundary currents is difficult to determine precisely, the present in-depth investigation provides a renewed framework for future observational programs in the region.