Historical record of upwelling-favorable winds in Southern Benguela 1833–2014
Abstract As a result of the high volume of maritime traffic along the coasts of Namibia and western South Africa, mariners recorded numerous in-situ wind observations since early times. Many of these historical data are currently available through the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Dat...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00925-0 |
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| Summary: | Abstract As a result of the high volume of maritime traffic along the coasts of Namibia and western South Africa, mariners recorded numerous in-situ wind observations since early times. Many of these historical data are currently available through the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS). Here, we make use of these historical data to develop an instrumental index for the characterization of the upwelling-favorable winds over the southern Benguela Upwelling System from 1833 to 2014. Our results suggest that upwelling in this region has increased since the mid-1980s, in good agreement with previous research. However, when the entire period is considered, our index does not evidence a long-term trend but a multidecadal variability with an oscillation period between 20 and 30 years. We found a significant influence of ENSO exerted through the modulation of the position of the South Atlantic high-pressure system. However, this teleconnection may be highly non-stationary. |
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| ISSN: | 2397-3722 |