Nils Bang

Nils Daniel Bang (13 September 1941 – 2 December 1977) was a South African oceanographic scientist who was a pioneer[1] in the study of the fine structure of coastal upwelling systems.

Although the research was conducted on a limited budget and with rudimentary equipment,[4] Bang's studies using thousands of closely spaced bathythermograph readings were later corroborated by satellite imagery[5][6] and airborne radiation thermometry.

Bang's work shed light on the dynamics of the interleaving water masses of the frontal zone in coastal upwelling systems and the meandering of the front.

Conducted along the length of the current, south of latitude 27°S, this 18-day project, from 6 to 24 March 1969, included three ships: the University of Cape Town's research vessel Thomas B. Davie, the CSIR's Meiring Naude, and the Department of Sea Fisheries' Africana II.

[19][20] The jet plays a vital role in carrying the eggs and larvae of a range fish from their food-poor[21] Agulhas Bank spawning grounds to more conducive inshore nursery areas.

[23] At dawn on 27 January 1978, members of the CSIR staff along with his friend, retired Port Captain Jimmy Deacon, aboard the research ship Meiring Naude, committed his ashes to the sea between Umkomaas and Scottburgh on the Natal south coast.