General biological features of the South Atlantic
Cape Lopez thermohaline front

At the beginning of the cold season, a very strong latitudinal front develops in the region of Cape Lopez (1°S) which separates the warm, less saline Guinean waters from colder, high salinity waters to the south. This front joins the northern boundary of the equatorial divergence (Wauthy, 1977) and during the cold season confines thermophilic species, such as the copepod Undinula vulgaris, to the Guinean waters north of Cape Lopez. This front (around 24°C at the surface) undulates and moves a little northwards or southwards in June and July, before vanishing and letting Guinean waters spread southwards during the warm seasons. When strong, this front is associated with a convergence, and chlorophyll and zooplankton biomass enhancements on its southern, cold side ( Gb24) (Dufour and Stretta, 1973b).