Which term describes upwelling that occurs adjacent to a coast, usually induced by wind?

Which term describes upwelling that occurs adjacent to a coast, usually induced by wind?

• A. Coastal Upwelling
• B. Eastern Boundary Current
• C. Eddy
• D. Current

Answer: (A)

Coastal upwelling describes the rise of deep, nutrient-rich water to the surface right next to the coast, driven by wind. When winds blow parallel to the shore, surface waters are moved away from the coast by Ekman transport, and water from below moves in to replace it. This wind-driven process occurs along many western continental margins and supports high productivity in those waters. The other options don’t fit as well: an eastern boundary current is a broad current system, not the specific near-shore upwelling process; an eddy is a rotating patch of water that can cause local mixing but isn’t the standard wind-induced coastal upwelling; a current is too general to capture the specific coastal, wind-driven vertical movement. So the best term is coastal upwelling.

Coastal upwelling describes the rise of deep, nutrient-rich water to the surface right next to the coast, driven by wind. When winds blow parallel to the shore, surface waters are moved away from the coast by Ekman transport, and water from below moves in to replace it. This wind-driven process occurs along many western continental margins and supports high productivity in those waters. The other options don’t fit as well: an eastern boundary current is a broad current system, not the specific near-shore upwelling process; an eddy is a rotating patch of water that can cause local mixing but isn’t the standard wind-induced coastal upwelling; a current is too general to capture the specific coastal, wind-driven vertical movement. So the best term is coastal upwelling.