Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

what is the speed The trade winds cause a water transport in the upper 200m of t

ID: 613 • Letter: W

Question

what is the speed

The trade winds cause a water transport in the upper 200m of the water column away from the equator in exactly NW and SW direction at 0.5 m/s (assume a globe that is uniformly covered with water). The water is replaced by upwelligs in an area extending 50km to the North and South of the equator. What is the average upwelling speed? (2P) If the photic zone is in the upper 200m of the water column and nutrients are typically used up by phytoplankton within 3 days, would you expect phytoplankton growth in the entire photic zone? Why? (2P)

Explanation / Answer

a.) since the volume displaced is being filled up by upwelling,

we can assume :

V up * 50,000 = 0.5 *200

=> V up = 0.002 m/s


b.) No we cannot expect nutrient growth

since it takes 3 days for them to nourish while the water is being displaced at very high speed : 0.5 m/s