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<title>MER_Blog Feed</title><link>http://www.mer.co.za/index.html</link><description>Hot Blogs and News at the coast &#x21;</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><language>en</language><dc:creator>coast@mer.co.za</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2015 MER</dc:rights><dc:date>2017-02-13T17:13:30+02:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Dec 2020 12:03:12 +0200</lastBuildDate><item><title>South Africa: Our Coast&#x2c; our Climate and our Currents</title><dc:creator>coast@mer.co.za</dc:creator><category>LAND &#x26; SEA</category><dc:date>2020-12-01T08:00:00+02:00</dc:date><link>http://www.mer.co.za/blog/files/The%20SA%20Coast.php#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.mer.co.za/blog/files/The%20SA%20Coast.php#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[No matter what we might think about how hot or how cold we might get, we have a relatively mild climate with few extremes in comparison with many other parts of the world, even those at similar latitudes.  ...  Our present conditions can be attributed to the fact that most places are not that far from the sea &ndash; again in comparison with many other parts of the world.  


...The different conditions in the marine environments on the east and west coasts are determined by oceanic processes, specifically the Agulhas Current on the east and the combination of the Benguela Current and upwelling of deep, cold water on the west.    The Agulhas is a western boundary current, referred to as such because, while it flows from north to south down the east coast of Africa towards Cape Agulhas, from which it gets its name, its influence is in the western Indian Ocean.  


...The following statistics give some idea of the amount of water involved:  It is the world&rsquo;s second fastest ocean current moving at a maximum speed of 150km/day; it is up to 60 km wide and 2 000 m deep with temperatures between 22 and 27 degrees Celsius.  ...  The narrow continental shelf off our east coast allows this mass of warm water to closely approach the shore line and has a significant warming effect on the coastal climate &ndash; Durban never stays cold for long!   This southward extension of a warm water environment allows many tropical marine fish and invertebrates, including the coral reefs in the Sodwana Bay area, to occur at relatively high latitudes.    A comparison of air and sea temperatures at similar latitudes on our east and west coasts will clearly demonstrate the effect of the Agulhas current. 


...While the overall moderating influence of the sea on the land is there, the marine environments on the east and west coasts are nevertheless very different, although strong wave action is a feature of our entire coast.  ...  See Part 2 of this blog for more on this interesting difference between South Africa&rsquo;s east and west coasts.
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