Site 1080 in the Southern Angola Basin was selected to sample the northern end of the Angola-Namibia upwelling region (Fig. 1). The site complements the Walvis Ridge Site 1081. Site 1080 should help reconstruct the history of the Benguela Current and coastal upwelling migration and also provide evidence of the climatic history of southern Africa. The Kunene River, which reaches the coast at ~17°S, is at the climatological barrier between the illite-rich zone in arid areas to the south and the kaolinite-rich zone characterized by tropical weathering areas to the north (Bornhold, 1973). Site 1080 is situated on a climatic boundary and should sensitively reflect changes in the position of continental climatic zones.
Of the various upwelling cells along the southwest African coast, the Kunene cell is the northernmost (Duncombe Rae et al., 1992; Fig. 1). It is of great interest to explore the relationship of this cell to those farther to the south, which (presumably) are, on average, more active. If, during cold pulses, the Benguela Current pushes north along the coast, the Kunene upwelling cell should be greatly stimulated and lead to increased supply of organic matter at Site 1080. If the Benguela Current turns westward during periods of intensification as proposed, the Kunene cell should remain subdued relative to the southern cells.
In addition to frequencies and phase of productivity variations, we expect to obtain information on dry–wet cycles in the drainage basin of the Kunene River. Of special interest in this context is the relationship of such cycles to the northern monsoon; that is, to what extent its influence dominates even this far south.
Stratigraphic data from two gravity cores (Geosciences Bremen [GeoB] 1023, water depth 1918 m; GeoB 1024-2, water depth 2799) show high Pleistocene sedimentation rates (10–50 cm/k.y.; Wefer et al., 1988; Schneider et al., 1992).