The Madagascar current is an

oceanic current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, s ...

in the west

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. The Madagascar current is split into two currents – the

North Madagascar Current The North Madagascar Current is an ocean current near Madagascar. The Madagascar current is split into two currents: the North Madagascar Current and the East Madagascar Current (EMC). The North Madagascar Current (NMC) flows into the South Equato ...

and the East Madagascar Current. The south easterly trade winds, the

South Equatorial Current The South Equatorial Current are ocean currents in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean that flow east-to-west between the equator and about 20 degrees south. In the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it extends across the equator to about 5 degr ...

and the

South Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

flow westward when it reaches Madagascar's east coast the flow splits into the North and South Madagascar Currents.Chen, Zhaohui, et al. "Seasonal Variation of the South Equatorial Current Bifurcation off Madagascar." Journal of Physical Oceanography 44.2 (2014): 618-631. Both currents redistribute mass and heat along the stream current system along Madagascar's coast. The North Madagascar Current flows into the South Equatorial Current just north of Madagascar and is directed into the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...

, this connects to the gyre's equatorial currents into the

Agulhas Current The Agulhas Current () is the western boundary current of the southwest Indian Ocean. It flows south along the east coast of Africa from 27°S to 40°S. It is narrow, swift and strong. It is suggested that it is the largest western boundary curren ...

off the coast of Southeastern Africa. The Northern Indian Ocean lies within a large anticyclonic supergyre, northern Madagascar lies between this gyre and a cyclonic gyre in the northern Indian Ocean. There are eddies that originate in the Mozambique Channel and in the southern region of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

that can affect the timing of the ring formation of the retroflection of the Agulhas Current.Ridderinkhof, W., et al. "Dipoles of the South East Madagascar Current." Geophysical Research Letters 40.3 (2013): 558-562.

References

Currents of the Indian Ocean Geography of Madagascar {{Marine-current-stub

See also

References