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Ekman transport is part of Ekman motion theory, first investigated in 1902 by Vagn Walfrid Ekman. Winds are the main source of energy for ocean circulation, and Ekman transport is a component of wind-driven ocean current. [1] Ekman transport occurs when ocean surface waters are influenced by the friction force acting on them via the wind.
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is the main current system in the Atlantic Ocean, [1]: 2238 and is also part of the global thermohaline circulation, which connects the world's oceans with a single "conveyor belt" of continuous water exchange. [29] Normally, relatively warm, less-saline water stays on the ocean's surface ...
When Ekman transport is occurring away from the coast, surface waters moving away are replaced by deeper, colder, and denser water. [5] Normally, this upwelling process occurs at a rate of about 5–10 meters per day, but the rate and proximity of upwelling to the coast can be changed due to the strength and distance of the wind. [2] [8]
These wind patterns result in a wind stress curl that drives Ekman pumping in the subtropics (resulting in downwelling) and Ekman suction in subpolar regions (resulting in upwelling). [3] Ekman pumping results in an increased sea surface height at the center of the gyre and anticyclonic geostrophic currents in subtropical gyres. [3]
Ocean current. Distinctive white lines trace the flow of surface currents around the world. An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. [1]
Upwelling behavior: One of the unique characteristics of the Somali Current is the presence of strong coastal upwelling - the only major instance of this happening at a western ocean boundary. Following Ekman transport and with the southwest monsoon blowing parallel to the Somali coastline, the upwelling direction is to the offshore during the ...
In the Northern Hemisphere, the surface Ekman current is directed 45° to the right of the wind vector. Figure 1.4 A sketch of the boundary layer of an ocean in the Northern Hemisphere where a zonal wind stress generates a surface Ekman current and other deeper positioned Ekman currents that are turned rightward.
The Ekman spiral occurs as a consequence of the Coriolis effect. The Ekman spiral is an arrangement of ocean currents: the directions of horizontal current appear to twist as the depth changes. [1] The oceanic wind driven Ekman spiral is the result of a force balance created by a shear stress force, Coriolis force and the water drag.