salinity ranging seasonally from 4 to 11 °C and from 33.8 to 34.4 %, respectively
(Bastida et al. 1992). On the other hand, the Brazil Current is a warm oligotrophic
south-flowing branch of the South Equatorial Current (Garzoli and Garraffo 1989;
Bastida et al. 1992). Nutrient concentration increases gradually from north to
south, with lowest values in the subtropical region coincident with the lowest value
of chlorophyll-a (Brandini et al. 2000).
The Brazil and the Malvinas Currents converge along the continental margin of
South America within latitudes 35°–45°S as the Brazil-Malvinas confluence (BMC)
(Garzoli and Garraffo 1989; García et al. 2004). The front shows a substantial
spatial and temporal variation forming a large area of intense mixing of subtropical
Fig. 11.2 The Argentine Continental Shelf (ACS). Scheme of major upper level currents,
Malvinas and Brazil currents and the Brazil-Malvinas confluence (BMC) (adapted from Brandini
et al. 2000). It shows the Río de la Plata (RP), San Matías gulf (SMG), San José gulf (SJG),
Nuevo gulf (NG), San Jorge gulf (SJOG), the Malvinas Islands (MI) and Tierra del Fuego (TF)
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