What is the importance of an upwelling?

Because the deep water brought to the surface is often rich in nutrients, coastal upwelling supports the growth of seaweed and plankton. These, in turn, provide food for fish, marine mammals, and birds. Upwelling generates some of the world's most fertile ecosystems.

1. What is the importance of upwelling and downwelling?
2. Why are Downwellings important for marine environments?
3. What is an important effect of coastal upwelling quizlet?
4. What is downwelling and why is it important?
5. Where are Downwellings commonly found?
6. What are the reasons for upwelling and sinking along the Indian Ocean coasts?
7. How are upwelling seamounts important to marine life?
8. How does upwelling occur in the ocean?
9. Where does upwelling occur in the ocean?
10. What is the importance of upwelling quizlet?
11. What kind of flow is important in driving the ocean surface currents quizlet?
12. Which of the following is a benefit of the process of upwelling?
13. Why is thermohaline circulation important?
14. What is the meaning of downwelling?
15. Does divergence create upwelling or downwelling?

What is the importance of upwelling and downwelling?

Upwelling and downwelling describe mass movements of the ocean, which affect both surface and deep currents. These movements are essential in stirring the ocean, delivering oxygen to depth, distributing heat, and bringing nutrients to the surface.

Why are Downwellings important for marine environments?

Currents also are a major factor in ocean ecosystems. Two types of current motion, upwelling and downwelling, strongly influence the distribution and abundance of marine life. ... When currents upwell, or flow up to the surface from beneath, they sweep vital nutrients back to where they're needed most.

What is an important effect of coastal upwelling quizlet?

Coastal upwelling occurs in areas where winds blow towards to equator and parallel to the coast. Upwelling brings greater concentrations of dissolved nutrients to the ocean surface, thus promoting the growth of plankton, which in turn support extensive populations of fish and other marine organisms.

What is downwelling and why is it important?

Downwelling is where surface water is forced downwards, where it may deliver oxygen to deeper water. Downwelling leads to reduced productivity, as it extends the depth of the nutrient-limited layer. Upwelling occurs where surface currents are diverging, or moving away from each other.

Where are Downwellings commonly found?

Locations. Downwelling occurs in areas such as in the subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic where several surface currents meet, where cold waters meet warmer waters, such as along the outermost boundary of the Southern Ocean where cold Antarctic water sinks below warmer South Pacific and South Atlantic waters.

What are the reasons for upwelling and sinking along the Indian Ocean coasts?

Upwelling is a seasonal phenomenon in the Indian Ocean because of the monsoon regime. During the southwest monsoon, upwelling occurs off the Somali and Arabian coasts and south of Java. It is most intense between 5° and 11° N, with replacement of warmer surface water by water of about 57 °F (14 °C).

How are upwelling seamounts important to marine life?

Seamounts teem with marine life

Seamounts have steep flanks that steer ocean currents in complex patterns. This results in an upwelling of nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, that help stimulate phytoplankton growth and provide food for myriad species.

How does upwelling occur in the ocean?

Winds blowing across the ocean surface often push water away from an area. When this occurs, water rises up from beneath the surface to replace the diverging surface water. This process is known as upwelling. ... Conditions are optimal for upwelling along the coast when winds blow along the shore.

Where does upwelling occur in the ocean?

Upwelling is most common along the west coast of continents (eastern sides of ocean basins). In the Northern Hemisphere, upwelling occurs along west coasts (e.g., coasts of California, Northwest Africa) when winds blow from the north (causing Ekman transport of surface water away from the shore).

What is the importance of upwelling quizlet?

TestNew stuff! based on wind and currents, surface waters are pushed offshore, water is drawn from the deep ocean and replaces the surface water. This brings nutrients from the deeper part of the ocean to the surface to grow seaweed and support blooms of phytoplankton.

What kind of flow is important in driving the ocean surface currents quizlet?

Wind is the primary driving force of surface currents. The Coriolis effect deflects the currents to the right (Northern Hemisphere) or left (Southern Hemisphere) of their path of motion (the prevailing wind direction).

Which of the following is a benefit of the process of upwelling?

Water that rises to the surface as a result of upwelling is typically colder and is rich in nutrients. These nutrients “fertilize” surface waters, meaning that these surface waters often have high biological productivity. Therefore, good fishing grounds typically are found where upwelling is common.

Why is thermohaline circulation important?

Thermohaline circulation plays an important role in supplying heat to the polar regions. Therefore, it influences the rate of sea ice formation near the poles, which in turn affects other aspects of the climate system (such as the albedo, and thus solar heating, at high latitudes).

What is the meaning of downwelling?

a downward current of surface water in the ocean, usually caused by differences in the density of seawater.

Does divergence create upwelling or downwelling?

movement of ocean currents

…downward in a process called downwelling, while a region of divergence draws water from below into the surface Ekman layer in a process known as upwelling. Upwelling and downwelling also occur where the wind blows parallel to a coastline.