Upwelling Layers in a Steady, Wind-Driven Stratified Ocean

Abstract

A theoretical study is made of a region of steady upwelling adjacent to the eastern boundary of a stratified ocean. A multi-layered structure is required to satisfy all the boundary conditions. The velocity and temperature fields are found by matching to Ekman and thermal layers of the interior region. In the principal upwelling layer, vertical advection of heat is balanced by horizontal diffusion of heat. Very close to the coast a narrow mixing region is required to complete the solution. It is shown that the onshore flow and the vertical velocity change sign with depth.