Question

Andrew Bakun hypothesized that increased global warming will strengthen this process as pressure gradients between land and ocean intensify. For 10 points each:
[10m] Name this process largely driven by Ekman transport of water away from coastlines, producing regions of lower surface temperature and high primary productivity along the eastern boundary currents of oceans.
ANSWER: upwelling [or coastal upwelling]
[10h] Climate models often rely on this measure of horizontal momentum flux at the ocean’s surface for predicting variations in upwelling. Meridional mass transport is proportional to the curl of this quantity in Sverdrup balance.
ANSWER: wind stress [or wind shear stress; accept wind stress vector; accept tau; prompt on wind shear; prompt on stress]
[10e] The net movement of ocean water in Ekman transport is perpendicular to the direction of the wind due to this fictitious force, which causes cyclones to rotate counter-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere.
ANSWER: Coriolis force [or Coriolis effect]
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Cornell ACornell B1001020