6 the state of science in south africa
E A R T H S C I E N C E S
clude emeritus professor Geoffrey Brundrit, vessel, MV Agulhas, in the Southern Ocean,
emeritus honorary professor Vere Shannon, and MCM’s RV Africana and Algoa for coast-
previously director of the Department of al ocean studies on the continental shelf.
Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT)’s Recently, however, as the threat of global
Sea Fisheries Research Institute (now Ma- change, and particularly climate change
rine and Coastal Management - MCM), and has come to the fore, the ocean and atmos-
emeritus professor, John Field, director of pheric science community has rallied to
the UCT Marine Research Institute (MA-RE). form the new Africa Centre for Climate and
The main fields of oceanographic research
Earth Systems Science (ACCESS) directed by
have been in the Benguela upwelling eco-
George Philander (UCT and the University
system off the west coast of southern Af-
of Princeton). This initiative is opportune
rica, the Agulhas current off the east coast
for South Africa to take the lead in setting
of Africa, and the Southern Ocean south
up the new venture of ’operational oceano-
of Africa to Antarctica. Research tools have
graphy‘, as the ocean is flooded with 3 000
included the use of research ships, tide
autonomous vertically profiling Argo ocean
gauges, satellite marine remote sensing,
floats, and oceanography is placed on a
and most recently, ocean numerical mod-
similar footing to meteorology and atmos-
eling. Phenomena investigated have been
pheric science. The time is now right for a
the discovery of coastal trapped waves
new cohort of young oceanographers and
around the southern African coast, and the
earth system scientists to rise to the chal-
impact of sea level rise (Brundrit); giant fila-
lenge of unravelling the problem of how
ments exporting pelagic eggs and larvae
the oceans will take up excess atmospheric
away from the Benguela upwelling system
carbon dioxide, and become more acidic;
(Shillington); meanders in the Agulhas cur-
how the great ocean conveyor may change
rent called Natal pulses (Lutjeharms); and
the flow of salt and heat past the southern
numerical modeling of coupled ocean and
tip of Africa, and how the upwelling system
atmosphere (Reason).
and its productive fisheries ecosystems off
the west coast will react in a warmer world.
Oceanographic research in South Africa
passed through a rather depressed phase
in the 1990s when the CSIR National Re-
6.4 Hydrology
search Institute for Oceanology (NRIO)
was systematically disbanded in favour of
commercially driven (mainly) terrestrial
and coastal environmental research; the
T
his field is a very extensive one, over-
lapping with disciplines such as the
broad biological sciences, geoscienc-
smaller oceanographic research ships such es, environmental sciences, chemical sci-
as the CSIR’s RV Meiring Naudé and UCT’s RV ences, mathematics, medical sciences and
Thomas Davie were decommissioned and also with social upliftment and educational
sold, and South Africa’s sea-going research fields. As a result, expertise and centres
capacity was severely depleted. Oceano- of training are widely scattered amongst
graphers continued to use the polar supply many universities and institutes/depart-
178
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