How does Ekman spiral work?

Like the surface water, however, the deeper water is deflected by the Coriolis effect—to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. As a result, each successively deeper layer of water moves more slowly to the right or left, creating a spiral effect.

What does the Ekman spiral predict?

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Ekman spiral predicts net water movement through a depth of about 100 to 150 m (330 to 500 ft) at 90 degrees to the wind direction (Figure B). That is, if one adds up all the vectors in (Figure A), the resulting flow is at 90 degrees to the right of the wind direction.

What is the Ekman transport in simple terms?

Ekman transport is the net motion of fluid as the result of a balance between Coriolis and turbulent drag forces. In the picture above, the wind blowing North in the northern hemisphere creates a surface stress and a resulting Ekman spiral is found below it in the water column.

What is the Ekman spiral quizlet?

Ekman spiral. A thoretical model of the effect on water of wind blowing over the ocean. Due to the Coriolis effect, the surface layer is expected to drift 45 degrees to the right or left of the wind. Water at lower layers drifts to the right or left, though not as fast as the layers above it due to friction.

What causes Ekman current?

Ekman current is the surface current caused by steady wind at the surface (wind-driven, surface-current). As wind blows over the ocean surface, an Ekman current develops due to the drag at the wind-water interface and it deflected to the right due to the Coriolis effect as shown below.

How does Ekman transport cause upwelling?

Winds along the Peruvian coast blow towards the north, and since Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere, the Ekman transport is 90o to the left of the wind, which causes the surface water to move offshore and leads to upwelling and productivity.

What is the difference between the Ekman spiral and Ekman transport?

The impact of the Ekman Spiral is enhanced where geographic features create barriers to the movement of water. Ekman transport is the net motion of a fluid (seawater) as the result of a balance between the Coriolis effect and turbulent drag forces (within surface waters and geographic features (shoreline and seabed).

What is gyre in science definition?

A gyre is a large system of rotating ocean currents. There are five major gyres, which are large systems of rotating ocean currents. The ocean churns up various types of currents. Together, these larger and more permanent currents make up the systems of currents known as gyres.

How does upwelling occur?

Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away. Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away. This process is known as “upwelling.” Upwelling occurs in the open ocean and along coastlines.

What are Ekman currents?

What is Ekman flow?

1 The Ekman spiral, shown for the Northern Hemisphere. Wind blowing over the water (blue arrow) creates a surface current 45o offset from the wind. Each successive layer of water is moved and deflected by the layer above, creating a spiraling pattern of water movement that diminishes with depth.

What is ocean conveyor belt?

The global ocean conveyor belt is a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity. The great ocean conveyor moves water around the globe. The ocean is not a still body of water. There is constant motion in the ocean in the form of a global ocean conveyor belt.