Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
The wind blowing parallel to a water surface deforms that surface as a result of shear action caused by the fast wind blowing over the stagnant water. The wind blowing over the surface applies a shear force on the surface. The wind stress is the component of this force that acts parallel to the surface per unit area.
Another important factor to take into account, especially when considering ocean-wind interaction, is the role played by eddy-induced Ekman pumping. [7] Some other limitations of the explanation above are due to the idealised, quasi circular linear dynamical response to perturbations that neglects the vertical displacement that a particle can ...
Due to upwelling and downwelling, which are both wind-driven, mixing of different layers can occur through the rise of cold nutrient-rich and sinking of warm water, respectively. Generally, layers are based on water density : heavier, and hence denser, water is below the lighter water, representing a stable stratification .
The wind stress curl in this region drives the Ekman suction, which creates an upwelling of nutrient-rich water from the lower depths. [ 25 ] Subpolar circulation in the southern hemisphere is dominated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current , due to the lack of large landmasses breaking up the Southern Ocean .
The Bonney Upwelling is the largest and most predictable upwelling in the GSACUS. It stretches from Portland, Victoria to Robe, South Australia.The continental shelf is narrow offshore of the "Bonney Coast" - only about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the shore to the continental slope - and deep water is funneled to the surface through a series of submarine canyons.
Upwelling in stratified coastal estuaries warrant the formation of dynamic eddies which distribute nutrients out from beneath the boundary layer to form plumes. [15] Shallow waters, such as those along the coast, play a complex role in the transport of nutrients and pollutants due to the proximity of the upper-boundary driven by the wind and ...
There are three major wind patterns that lead to Ekman suction or pumping. The first are wind patterns that are parallel to the coastline. [1] Due to the Coriolis effect, surface water moves at a 90° angle to the wind current. If the wind moves in a direction causing the water to be pulled away from the coast then Ekman suction will occur. [1]