The usefulness of nimbus CZCS imagery in the South-Western Indian Ocean

Aspects of the South-West Indian Ocean circulation, such as currents and their meanders and eddies, are chromatographically identified in the area 20–40°S, 30–40°E from the level-2 images of the Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Colour Scanner (CZCS). Notwithstanding the inescapable obstruction presented by the extensive cloud-cover over this subtropical region, CZCS imagery is especially useful in areas of weak thermal gradients. Other regions where colour imagery is fruitful are those where oceanographic features originate from deep-sea water masses with large phytoplanicton concentrations or where coastal waters with distinct colour signals are entrained.