This work will examine the coupling between the general circulation of the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans that occurs via the Agulhas Current system. Combining diagnosis of existing model output, stability analysis of typical Agulhas Current profiles, process modeling and an analysis of regional variability in satellite-derived SSH and SST fields, the work will focus on: (a) an investigation of whether westward propagating disturbances in the tropical Indian Ocean influence the variability of the Agulhas Current retroflection, together with the mechanisms that connect the two, and (b) a study of the influence of variability in the South Atlantic subtropical gyre and in the Agulhas Current on the composition and variability of the Benguela Current system.
