- Thumbnail
- Resource ID
- b0753596-a904-11eb-ab34-0242c0a8100c
- Title
- 9. Abyssal plains and deep-sea ridge ecosystems of the Benguela Current from the Walvis Ridge to South Africa
- Date
- Jan. 5, 2021, midnight, Publication
- Abstract
- The Benguela Current is an important ocean current that flows northwards along the coast of South Africa, Namibia, and Angola. The current mixes water from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as they meet off the capes of South Africa, and is driven northwards by the prevailing south-easterly winds. These winds are also responsible for generating oceanic upwelling, resulting in high biological productivity that supports rich fish stocks.
Running from the African coast to the southern mid-Atlantic Ridge is a prominent chain of volcanic seamounts known as the Walvis Ridge. This ridge not only forms a significant physical barrier, creating a range of oceanographic phenomena, but also creates a variety of habitats that host a wide diversity of species and ecosystems.
- Edition
- --
- Owner
- t.morato@gmail.com
- Point of Contact
- Morato
- t.morato@gmail.com
- Purpose
- Boundary of the iAtlantic study region: 9. Abyssal plains and deep-sea ridge ecosystems of the Benguela Current from the Walvis Ridge to South Africa
- Maintenance Frequency
- None
- Type
- not filled
- Restrictions
- None
- License
- Not Specified
- Language
- por
- Temporal Extent
- Start
- --
- End
- --
- Supplemental Information
- The southern and inshore boundaries of Region #9 was adjusted to better capture the Ecoregion and bathy regions along the South African coast. The boundary was further expanded to in the north to 19S and in the south to 33.5S to better capture existing topographic features: NMU Noted the southern boundary should aligned with the Southeast Atlantic ecoregion boundary and that it might be useful to use one of the inshore boundaries (e.g., between midshelf, outer shelf, shelf edge or shelf break); UWC and the South African Environmental Observation Network proposed to extend the Region#9 southern boundary to align with the current (2018) National Biodiversity Assessment ecosystems delineation. This would mean extending Region#9 to align with the 2 Southeast Atlantic and 2 Southern Benguela Bathyregions. Extending the region to match these recently data-driven, expert informed ecosystems would have greatest meaning for uptake of the broad research to be done in this region. AU noted the updated delineation of the Region #9 well represents the model areas and includes all relevant underwater features. IEO and NOC considered that from the iMirabilis point of view the new boundary is appropriated. UEDI noted the existing boundary was clipping out some of the prominent topography towards the end of the Walvis Ridge. A small adjustment could be made to include this.
During the September 2020 SC meeting we were asked to verify what EBSAs are covered by the current version of the boundary. Benguela Upwelling System EBSA is partially included. The inshore areas as the northern tip are not inside the Region 09; Walvis Ridge EBSA is partially included but the westernmost portion of the EBSA is outside Region 09; Orange Shelf Edge (Namibia/South Africa) EBSA is fully included; Childs Bank (South Africa) EBSA is fully included.
- Data Quality
- --
- Extent
-
- x0: -0.298572748899460
- x1: 20.795339584350600
- y0: -38.071704864502000
- y1: -18.999998092651400
- Spatial Reference System Identifier
- EPSG:4326
- Keywords
- no keywords
- Category
- Boundaries
- Regions
-
Global