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Ekman suction occurs both along coastlines and in the open ocean, but also occurs along the equator. Along the Pacific coastline of California, Central America, and Peru, as well as along the Atlantic coastline of Africa there are areas of upwelling due to Ekman suction, as the currents move equatorwards. [ 1 ]
Coastal upwelling is the best known type of upwelling, and the most closely related to human activities as it supports some of the most productive fisheries in the world. Coastal upwelling will occur if the wind direction is parallel to the coastline and generates wind-driven currents.
As a result, to the North of the equator water is transported away from the equator and to the South of the equator water is transported away from the equator. This horizontal divergence of mass has to be compensated and hence upwelling occurs. [4] [1]
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.
The Ekman layer is the layer in a fluid where the flow is the result of a balance between pressure gradient, Coriolis and turbulent drag forces. In the picture above, the wind blowing North creates a surface stress and a resulting Ekman spiral is found below it in the column of water.
The researchers analyzed killer upwelling events in the Indian Ocean’s Agulhas Current and the East Australian Current, using 41 years of sea surface temperature data and 33 years of wind ...
The North Equatorial Current ... Another subsequent result of the Ekman transport is the upwelling, which occurs in between the NEC and the SEC, ... As a result, this ...
El Niño occurs when westerly trade winds along the equator, which push warm Pacific Ocean water toward Asia and Australia, weaken and warm water is pushed back toward equatorial South America.