Nature Geoscience, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02111-0

The Agulhas Leakage is a set of currents that carry salty water from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean around the southern tip of Africa. It helps drive modern Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, but evidence suggests this link wasn’t present in the Pliocene.