BIOL361 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Ekman Transport, Anchovy, Trade Winds
4 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Where wind interacts with land masses it can also generate (cid:494)upwelling(cid:495) The upward movement of deeper waters near the coast. A wind from the north generates ekman transport vector offshore (via corriolis effect) Nutrient-rich water moves from deeper waters to the surface. Combination of sunlight and nutrients fuels phytoplankton blooms which can support huge fish abundances and fisheries. Southern hem: water moves to the left of the wind, counter clockwise, wind is moving south to north. Nutrient rich waters in peru anchovy fishery. Warm water moves eastward across pacific ocean. Eastern tropical and subtropical pacific becomes warm. Causes mortality of clams, fishes, from heat shock. Strongly affects weather in eastern pacific, storms increase, droughts in western pacific. Major negative effects on economy, lots of natural disasters destroying infrastructure. Trade winds blow across the pacific (east to west) Generating steep thermocline and strong upwelling off peru. Reversal, with warm winds blowing down along south america coast.
