The Agulhas eddies are formed by retroflection of the Agulhas current, current, which runs along the southeastern coast of the African continent.

The Agulhas system is an intense mesoscale activity. It is a key region for understanding how the ocean affects global climate on two counts: first, because it transports warm waters from the Indian Ocean towards the Atlantic, thus maintaining the global thermohaline circulation; and second, because it plays an active role in the carbon cycle by absorbing carbon dioxide.