The seasonal and interannual variations of the Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) are analysed in the tropical Atlantic (15S-3OoN, 80°W-15E) from observations collected by merchant ships between 1977 and 1989 and earlier by ORSTOM research vessels. The harmonic analysis of SSS shows a well defined seasonal cycle both within a 5N-I5N zonal belt and west of 50W at higher latitudes. In the eastern Atlantic between 10 and 20N (along the shipping lanes West Africa-South Africa and West Africa-Brazil), SSS increased from 1977 to 1985, particularly near 10N. SSS variability is mostly related to the river outflow (Amazon, Orinoco and Congo) west of 40W and in southern Gulf of Guinea. In the eastern Atlantic, precipitation associated with the ITCZ largely control the SSS seasonal variations.
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