Ekman estimates of upwelling at Cape Columbine based on measurements of longshore wind from a 35-year time-series

Abstract

Cape Columbine is a prominent headland on the south-west coast of Africa at approximately 32°50′S, where there is a substantial upwelling tongue, enhancing the ambient upwelling on the shelf, produced by wind-stress curl. From hourly records of wind measured there, the longshore component of wind stress was calculated and the consequent Ekman transport arising through the coastal divergence was estimated.