Satellite observations of upwelling on the continental shelf south of Madagascar

We report on upwelling seen in satellite AVHRR sea surface temperature imag ery over the continental slope and shelf of southern Madagascar during Febr uary and March 2000. The upwelling is concurrent with anomalously high pseu do wind-stress over the region during this period. However, the western bou ndary East Madagascar Current, which is seen over the continental slope reg ion, may contribute to the upwelling effect. The upwelling covers an area o f 2 degrees longitude by 1 degrees latitude and at its peak is about 3-5 de greesC cooler than the local ambient sea surface temperature. The paucity o f in situ wind and current data in the region, however, prohibit a quantita tive assessment of the relative forcing.