Satellite observations of upwelling on the continental shelf south of Madagascar

We report on upwelling seen in satellite AVHRR sea surface temperature imagery over the continental slope and shelf of southern Madagascar during February and March 2000. The upwelling is concurrent with anomalously high pseudo wind-stress over the region during this period. However, the western boundary East Madagascar Current, which is seen over the continental slope region, may contribute to the upwelling effect. The upwelling covers an area of 2 degrees longitude by 1 degrees latitude and at its peak is about 3-5 degreesC cooler than the local ambient sea surface temperature. The paucity of in situ wind and current data in the region, however, prohibit a quantitative assessment of the relative forcing.