Decadal change of the south Atlantic ocean Angola–Benguela frontal zone since 1980

High-resolution simulations with a regional atmospheric model coupled to an intermediate-level mixed layer ocean model along with multiple atmospheric and oceanic reanalyses are analyzed to understand how and why the Angola–Benguela frontal Zone (ABFZ) has changed since 1980. A southward shift of 0.05°–0.55° latitude decade −1 in the annual mean ABFZ position accompanied by an intensification of + 0.05 to + 0.13 K/100-km decade −1 has occurred as ocean mixed layer temperatures have warmed (cooled) equatorward (poleward) of the front over the 1980–2014 period. These changes are captured in a 35-year model integration. The oceanic warming north of the ABFZ is associated with a weakening of vertical entrainment, reduced cooling associated with vertical diffusion, and a deepening of the mixed layer along the Angola coast. These changes coincide with a steady weakening of the onshore atmospheric flow as the zonal pressure gradient between the eastern equatorial Atlantic and the Congo Basin weakens. Oceanic cooling poleward of the ABFZ is primarily due to enhanced advection of cooler water from the south and east, increased cooling by vertical diffusion, and shoaling of the mixed layer depth. In the atmosphere, these changes are related to an intensification and poleward shift of the South Atlantic sub-tropical anticyclone as surface winds, hence the westward mixed layer ocean currents, intensify in the Benguela upwelling region along the Namibian coast. With a few caveats, these findings demonstrate that air/sea interactions play a prominent role in influencing the observed decadal variability of the ABFZ over the southeastern Atlantic since 1980.