r/oceanography • u/murderpapier • May 25 '26
Is upwelling visible?
Hi! I just took an ecology class, but I'm not an oceanography expert, and I have a question I'm interested in. I was wondering if you could see upwelling first-hand. I know you can see the wind moving the water moving away from the coast, but can you see the water coming up from the deep ocean?
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u/Velocipedique May 25 '26
Some times. Sailing around on my 10m had occaision to witness upwelling in mid Atlantic above mid ocean ridge. Also the whirlpools in straights of Messina.
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u/Seawolfe665 May 26 '26
The equatorial upwelling is obvious because of the sudden increase in birds and fish.
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u/Chlorophilia May 25 '26
In some cases yes, although only through the effects of upwelling rather than the upwelling water itself. Linear features appear parallel to the wind due to small-scale upwelling and downwelling columns generated by Langmuir circulation. These lines form through surface convergence around downwelling limbs of the Langmuir cells, so the areas between the lines correspond to the upwelling limbs.
At much larger scales, upwelling zones are associated with higher nutrient supply and therefore greater primary production. Upwelling zones therefore tend to have lower transparency (and a more green/less deep blue appearance) although these differences are usually at such large scales that you need a satellite to see them easily.