Chapter 1
The African Marginal and Enclosed Seas:
An Overview
Vittorio Barale
Abstract The African Seas include marginal basins of two major oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian, a miniature ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and an infant ocean,
the Red Sea. The main geographical traits of all near-coastal regions surrounding the
African continent are reviewed, focusing in particular on the surface current systems
of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which influence physical as well as ecological processes of local areas. These are the Canary, Guinea, Angola and Benguela Currents,
in the Atlantic African waters; the Monsoon Currents, the Somali, South Equatorial
and East African Currents, the Mozambique Current and/or Channel Eddies, the
East Madagascar Current and the Agulhas Current system, including the Agulhas
Return Current and the Agulhas Leakine, in the Indian Ocean African waters. Further, the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea (and the main African Great Lakes) are
also reviewed, in order to introduce their environmental peculiarities and special
challenges. While some of these basins have been sailed since ancient times, others
remain surprisingly uncharted, in particular from the scientific point of view. Systematic and synoptic application of remote sensing techniques can provide clues to
help compose the unique mosaic of dynamical and bio-geo-chemical features of the
African Seas.
1.1 Introduction
The heterogeneity of the marine regions surrounding Africa matches that of the
geographic and cultural scenes typical of this vast continent. TheAfrican Seas include
marginal basins of two major oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian, a miniature ocean,
the Mediterranean Sea, and an infant ocean, the Red Sea (Fig. 1.1). To the west,
the Guinea Basin, bounded around the equator by the coast of the Gulf of Guinea,
separates the Canary Basin and the Sierra Leone Basin in the North Atlantic from
the Angola Basin and the Cape Basin in the South Atlantic. South of the continent,
the Agulhas Basin, borders on both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the east, the
Mozambique Channel, between the continent and Madagascar, connects the Natal
V. Barale ()
European Commision, Joint Research Centre,
Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy
e-mail: vittorio.barale@jrc.ec.europa.eu
V. Barale, M. Gade (eds.), Remote Sensing of the African Seas,
3
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8008-7_1,
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
The African Marginal and Enclosed Seas:
An Overview
Vittorio Barale
Abstract The African Seas include marginal basins of two major oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian, a miniature ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and an infant ocean,
the Red Sea. The main geographical traits of all near-coastal regions surrounding the
African continent are reviewed, focusing in particular on the surface current systems
of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which influence physical as well as ecological processes of local areas. These are the Canary, Guinea, Angola and Benguela Currents,
in the Atlantic African waters; the Monsoon Currents, the Somali, South Equatorial
and East African Currents, the Mozambique Current and/or Channel Eddies, the
East Madagascar Current and the Agulhas Current system, including the Agulhas
Return Current and the Agulhas Leakine, in the Indian Ocean African waters. Further, the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea (and the main African Great Lakes) are
also reviewed, in order to introduce their environmental peculiarities and special
challenges. While some of these basins have been sailed since ancient times, others
remain surprisingly uncharted, in particular from the scientific point of view. Systematic and synoptic application of remote sensing techniques can provide clues to
help compose the unique mosaic of dynamical and bio-geo-chemical features of the
African Seas.
1.1 Introduction
The heterogeneity of the marine regions surrounding Africa matches that of the
geographic and cultural scenes typical of this vast continent. TheAfrican Seas include
marginal basins of two major oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian, a miniature ocean,
the Mediterranean Sea, and an infant ocean, the Red Sea (Fig. 1.1). To the west,
the Guinea Basin, bounded around the equator by the coast of the Gulf of Guinea,
separates the Canary Basin and the Sierra Leone Basin in the North Atlantic from
the Angola Basin and the Cape Basin in the South Atlantic. South of the continent,
the Agulhas Basin, borders on both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the east, the
Mozambique Channel, between the continent and Madagascar, connects the Natal
V. Barale ()
European Commision, Joint Research Centre,
Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy
e-mail: vittorio.barale@jrc.ec.europa.eu
V. Barale, M. Gade (eds.), Remote Sensing of the African Seas,
3
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8008-7_1,
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014