Atlantic South Current

The South Atlantic separates South America from Africa across a broad ocean basin. Near the Equator surface waters are warm; farther south, conditions increasingly reflect temperate and polar influences. Its circulation turns counter-clockwise, and winds and currents shaped long-distance sailing routes. The Atlantic as a whole is the saltiest major ocean on average, with high surface salinity in subtropical regions where evaporation is strong and rainfall low. Salty Indian Ocean water also enters the South Atlantic through Agulhas leakage around southern Africa, contributing to the wider Atlantic circulation.