What are upwellings, and how do they benefit marine life?

1 Answer
Apr 16, 2017

Upwellings are when cold, dense water that is rich in nutrients is moved to the surface. These nutrients are then available for marine life.

Explanation:

Upwellings are when cold, dense water that is rich in nutrients is moved to the surface by wind combined with the Corolis effect and Ekman transport. The Corolis effect describes how objects move when considering earth's rotation and the Ekman transport is the movement of fluid by wind forcing.

Upwellings replenish nutrients to the surface and increase productivity. The nutrients then attract marine life.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/upwelling.html

You can read more about upwellings here.