Home > Environmental Science > Natural Biogeochemical Cycles

What causes upwelling in oceans?

Answer 1

Wind.

The ocean is like a big bathtub: if you fill it up and place a powerful fan on one side, the water on top will flow to the other side, meaning that the bottom layer will continuously flow upward to replace the water that is being blown away from the top layer.

The ocean's bottom layer floats upwards because wind lifts the uppermost layer away.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Emilia Aguirre

Upwelling in oceans is primarily caused by wind patterns along coastlines, which push surface waters away from the shore. This displacement allows deeper, nutrient-rich waters to rise and replace the surface waters, resulting in a process known as upwelling.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.