![](/template/termwiki/images/likesmall.jpg)
Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Upwelling
Upwelling
The vertical motion of water in the ocean by which subsurface water of lower temperature and greater density moves toward the surface of the ocean. Upwelling occurs most commonly among the western coastlines of continents, but may occur anywhere in the ocean. Upwelling results when winds blowing nearly parallel to a continental coastline transport the light surface water away from the coast. Subsurface water of greater density and lower temperature replaces the surface water, and exerts a considerable influence on the weather of coastal regions. Carbon dioxide is transferred to the atmosphere in regions of upwelling. This is especially important in the Pacific equatorial regions, where 1-2 GtC/year may be released to the atmosphere. Upwelling also results in increased ocean productivity by transporting nutrient-rich waters to the surface layer of the ocean.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Earth science
- Category: Oceanography
- Company: Marine Conservation Society
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
Shunee Yee
Shunee Yee is CEO and President of CSOFT International, Ltd., a localization and translation company based in Beijing, China. Ms. Yee has grown the ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- Home theatre system(386)
- Television(289)
- Amplifier(190)
- Digital camera(164)
- Digital photo frame(27)
- Radio(7)
Consumer electronics(1079) Terms
- Investment banking(1768)
- Personal banking(1136)
- General banking(390)
- Mergers & acquisitions(316)
- Mortgage(171)
- Initial public offering(137)
Banking(4013) Terms
- Wireless networking(199)
- Modems(93)
- Firewall & VPN(91)
- Networking storage(39)
- Routers(3)
- Network switches(2)
Network hardware(428) Terms
- Mapping science(4042)
- Soil science(1654)
- Physical oceanography(1561)
- Geology(1407)
- Seismology(488)
- Remote sensing(446)
Earth science(10026) Terms
- Osteopathy(423)
- Acupuncture(18)
- Alternative psychotherapy(17)
- Ayurveda(9)
- Homeopathy(7)
- Naturopathy(3)