LAUSR

Abstract Cape Frio at the Angola-Namibia border, is the northern-most coastal upwelling cell of the Benguela Current (~17S, 11E) and is sensitive to climate variability. This study provides new insights using daily high resolution satellite and ocean-atmosphere reanalysis datasets in the period 1985–2015. The annual cycle of SST follows two months behind the net heat balance and wind stress curl, reaching a minimum in July–September. Ranking the daily SST record, two intense multi-day upwelling events stand out. The more recent case of 26–29 August 2005 is studied, given the greater density and sophistication of satellite data. A coastal wind jet >10 m s−1 develops next to Cape Frio, with sharp edges imposed by a thermal inversion and the mountainous cape. The cold plume