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Coastal Upwelling and Downwelling

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Encyclopedia of Coastal Science

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

Definition

Coastal upwelling and downwelling refer to the upward and downward transports of water mass, respectively. These vertical fluxes are the results of mass balance and are caused by the horizontal water motions of divergence and convergence. They occur in various scales of sizes and durations. 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 with 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 under the umbrella of Coastal Upwelling Ecosystems Analysis (CUEA), were compiled through an International Symposium on Coastal Upwelling (Richards 1981). The upwelled water often forms a plume...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal, Port and Marine Engineering, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Dilip K. Barua

Authors
  1. Dilip K. Barua
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Correspondence to Dilip K. Barua .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Asheville, NC, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

  2. Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Coconut Creek, FL, USA

    Christopher Makowski

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Barua, D.K. (2019). Coastal Upwelling and Downwelling. In: Finkl, C.W., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93806-6_88

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