What is the difference between the Ekman spiral and Ekman transport?
The net transport of water through the entire wind-driven column (Ekman transport) is 90 degrees to the right of the wind. The Ekman spiral indicates that each moving layer is deflected to the right of the overlying layer’s movement; hence, the direction of water movement changes with increasing depth.
How does Ekman cause downwelling?
As wind blows along a coastline, Ekman transport moves the surface layer in a direction 90o to the wind. In any coastal upwelling location, if the winds reverse, surface water moves towards the shore and downwelling is the result.
How deep do Ekman spirals go?
The speed and direction of the moving water changes with depth. Ocean water at the surface moves at an angle to the wind, and the water under the surface water turns a bit more, and the water below that turns even more. This makes a spiral of moving water 100 to 150 meters (330 to 500 ft) deep called an Ekman spiral.
How are the Coriolis effect and Ekman transport related?
The Ekman spiral is a consequence of the coriolis effect. When the surface water moves by the wind, they drag the deeper layers with them. The net water transport is perpendicular (90°) to the initial wind direction and this is the effective direction of the current flow.
Why is downwelling important?
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.
What is downwelling and why is it important?
Oxygenation. Downwelling also allows for deep ocean oxygenation to occur because these waters are able to bring dissolved oxygen down from the surface to help facilitate aerobic respiration in organisms throughout the water column.
What are the five factors that affect current flow?
There are four factors affecting the origin and flow of Ocean Currents i.e. Rotation and gravitational force of the Earth; Oceanic factors (temperature, salinity, density, pressure gradient and melting of ice); atmospheric factors (atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, evaporation and insolation); factors that …
Are upwellings good or bad?
Upwelling occurs in the late spring and summer when wind drives cooler, dense, and nutrient-rich water toward the ocean surface, replacing the warmer surface water. “On the other hand,” he said, “it could be really bad” if it raises turbulence, disrupts feeding, worsens ocean acidification, and lowers oxygen levels.
What delivers oxygen to deeper waters?
Thermohaline circulation
Why are upwellings important?
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.
What causes Deepsets?
In contrast to wind-driven surface currents, deep-ocean currents are caused by differences in water density. The process that creates deep currents is called thermohaline circulation—“thermo” referring to temperature and “haline” to saltiness.
What are two reasons why water moves down in the North Sea?
The ocean conveyor gets its “start” in the Norwegian Sea, where warm water from the Gulf Stream heats the atmosphere in the cold northern latitudes. This loss of heat to the atmosphere makes the water cooler and denser, causing it to sink to the bottom of the ocean.
What do you know about phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton are microscopic marine algae. Phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, are similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight in order to live and grow. Most phytoplankton are buoyant and float in the upper part of the ocean, where sunlight penetrates the water.
What are phytoplankton with examples?
Some phytoplankton are bacteria, some are protists, and most are single-celled plants. Among the common kinds are cyanobacteria, silica-encased diatoms, dinoflagellates, green algae, and chalk-coated coccolithophores. Some phytoplankton can fix nitrogen and can grow in areas where nitrate concentrations are low.
What is the importance of phytoplankton?
Phytoplankton are some of Earth’s most critical organisms and so it is vital study and understand them. They generate about half the atmosphere’s oxygen, as much per year as all land plants. Phytoplankton also form the base of virtually every ocean food web. In short, they make most other ocean life possible.
Can humans eat plankton?
Plankton has been considered as edible food for the human being in 2014 after more than 5 years of research and experiment, but actually at the moment it isn’t within everybody’s grasp. It is lyophilized, thus powdered and has to be dilute in water with 3 or 4 parts of water per part of plankton.
Do we drink plankton?
Plankton plays a vital role in our marine ecosystem. Known as microalgae, they produce 50% of our oxygen and are a valuable source of food for fish and shellfish. It is the first, and so far only, company growing and licenced to produce plankton for human consumption.
Can we farm plankton?
Once the density of phytoplankton is high enough, you can harvest. Separating the phytoplankton from your solution is done with a sieve, and may require ultra fine sieves. Depending on the planned use, the material can either be used fresh, or dried and turned into a powder.
Can we survive without plankton?
Plankton are the base of the marine food web, without them all larger organisms will probably die. No plankton=no fish= no food for millions of people.
Will phytoplankton go extinct?
As global temperatures rise, it is unlikely that marine plankton populations will make it through uncompromised. “Many living marine plankton species may be at risk of extinction due to anthropogenic climate warming, particularly those adapted to present cold conditions at the poles,” Trubovitz said.
Will we die if the ocean dies?
If the ocean dies, we all die. But food being taken from the ocean is the least of the factors that will kill us. The ocean is the life support system for the planet, providing 50% of the oxygen we breathe and regulating climate. The ocean is also the pump that allows us to have fresh water.
What happens if phytoplankton go extinct?
Plankton are also very important because they help make the air we breathe. If all the plankton disappeared it would increase the levels of carbon in our air, which would not only accelerate climate change, but also make it dificult for humans to breathe.