The influence of ocean ridges on the circulation to the south of the Mozambique channel and Madagascar
The Mozambique Channel and the region south of Madagascar are dominated by high variability of the oceanic flow due to the ubiquitous presence of mesoscale eddies. The bottom topography of this region has several shallow ridges. The water flowing through the Mozambique Channel propagates southwards predominantly as a train of anti-cyclonic eddies, moving towards the Agulhas Current. South of Madagascar, dipolar vortices regularly propagate in a south-westward direction. Their deep extent favours interaction with the shallow bathymetry of the Davie, Mozambique and Madagascar Ridges. The role of the Madagascar Ridge on the mesoscale circulation is investigated using altimetric observations and model simulations.
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