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Coastal Upwelling and Downwelling

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Encyclopedia of Coastal Science

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series ((EESS))

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Definition

An interruption causes a horizontal motion of water to turn into a vertical flux to satisfy the mass balance. This vertical flux of water at the coast is known as coastal upwelling or downwelling, depending on upward or downward movement, respectively. Among others, wind-generated water surface current and its interruption by the coast is a major cause of coastal upwelling and downwelling. Therefore, most of these phenomena have seasonal timescales, while others are event-dependent. Coastal upwelling is more noticeable because it brings cooler subsurface water upward to the surface in the case of a thermally stratified water column, and is accompanied by primary productivity and abundance of fish resources. The phenomenon has considerable economic significance because it affects fisheries, weather, and oceanic currents in many parts of the world. This has prompted much interest in research on upwelling systems around the world. Some executed in the 1970s, including those...

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Cross-references

  1. Coastal Climate

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  2. Coastal Currents

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  3. Coastal Modeling and Simulation

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  4. Coastal Wind Effects

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  5. El Niñ-Southern Oscillation

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  6. Meteorologic Effects on Coasts

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  7. Numerical Modeling

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  8. Shelf Processes

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  9. Time Series Modeling

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  10. Vorticity

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Authors
  1. Dilip K. Barua
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA

    Maurice L. Schwartz

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© 2005 Springer

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Barua, D.K. (2005). Coastal Upwelling and Downwelling. In: Schwartz, M.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3880-1_88

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