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Upwelling intensity depends on wind strength and seasonal variability, as well as the vertical structure of the water, variations in the bottom bathymetry, and instabilities in the currents. In some areas, upwelling is a seasonal event leading to periodic bursts of productivity similar to spring blooms in coastal waters. Wind-induced upwelling ...
[18] [3] The downwelling that forms the NADW is balanced by an equal amount of upwelling. In the western Atlantic, Ekman transport , the increase in ocean-layer mixing caused by wind activity, results in strong upwelling in the Canary Current and the Benguela Current , which are located on the northwest and southwest coasts of Africa.
Southern Ocean overturning circulation consists of two cells in the Southern Ocean, which are driven by upwelling and downwelling. The upwelling in the upper cell is associated with mid-deep water that is brought to the surface, whereas the upwelling in the lower cell is linked to the fresh and abyssal waters around Antarctica.
Ocean currents move both horizontally, on scales that can span entire oceans, as well as vertically, with vertical currents (upwelling and downwelling) playing an important role in the movement of nutrients and gases, such as carbon dioxide, between the surface and the deep ocean.
Evidence has shown that eddy pumping-induced upwelling and downwelling may play a significant role in shaping the way that carbon is stored in the ocean. Despite the fact that research in this field is only developing recently, first results show that eddies contribute less than 5% of the total annual export of phytoplankton to the ocean interior.
Downwelling is the downward movement of a fluid parcel and its properties (e.g., salinity, temperature, pH) within a larger fluid. It is closely related to upwelling, the upward movement of fluid. While downwelling is most commonly used to describe an oceanic process, it's also used to describe a variety of Earth phenomena.
This pile up of warm, nutrient-poor surface water gets pumped vertically down the water column, resulting in areas of downwelling. [1] Ekman pumping has dramatic impacts on the surrounding environments. Downwelling, due to Ekman pumping, leads to nutrient poor waters, therefore reducing the biological productivity of the area. [11]
Additionally, extensive upwelling of colder sub-surface waters occurs, caused by the prevailing northwesterly winds acting through the Ekman Effect. The winds drive surface water to the right of the wind flow, that is offshore, which draws water up from below to replace it. The upwelling further cools the already cool California Current.