a.) The diagram below illustrates coastal upwelling along the
west coast of South America (South Hemisphere ). Strong southeasterly
winds (red arrows) prevail along the coast of southern Ecuador and Peru.
These winds drag the surface water northwestward (left of the wind's motion)
and cold, nutrient-rich water (dark blue) wells up along the shore of the
eastern Pacific.
Make a simple sketch of the California coastline (Northern Hemisphere ). Draw arrows (and label them) to illustrate (1) the direction of the wind and (2) the direction of the surface water that would create upwelling currents off the coast of California.
Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that are the base of the food chain
in most of the ocean. Pigments (primarily chlorophyll) are used by plants
to do photosynthesis. Pigment concentrations reflect the amount of plants
in the water and are therefore a measure of biological productivity throughout
the food chain. Primary productivity is the growth of plants and secondary
productivity is the growth of animals, which make up the higher levels of
the food chain.
Chlorophyll pigment can be sensed by satellites orbiting over the oceans.
False color is added to highlight different concentration values and to
highlight different ocean temperatures. Chlorophyll pigment image on left:
red indicates high values; blue-magenta indicates low values (see color
bar). Temperature diagram on right: red indicates warm temperatures, blue-magenta
indicates cool temperatures.
Explain the distribution of pigment concentrations and temperatures along
the California coast.
Chlorophyll pigment Temperature
