The following may be wilder than anything Mudcat Joe has ever come up with, but I hope someone who knows will comment on it.
I came across an article today which explained the �Ekman effect,� where a strong wind across water produces a current at a right angle to the wind. Because of the Coriolis effect, according to the article, the water begins to flow cyclonically, spiraling clockwise and down in the Northern hemisphere. Outside the spiral, deep water flows upward.
The Ekman effect of prevailing westerlies (plus the California current) explains the rich fishery off the California coast, and some other coasts as well. However, I wonder if this effect explains an opposite result--the turnovers which occur when highly stratified water in the summertime is hit with a strong constant wind of several hours duration which does not change direction. Is it the Ekman effect which causes cold anaerobic water from deep to both mix and change places with warmer surface water which is rich in oxygen and phytoplankton? If so, I wonder if the sideways aeration that has been demonstrated here in previous posts could not only directly add oxygen but also disrupt nascent Ekman spirals and prevent turnovers, similar to the effect of �wind shear� when an upper level wind disrupts tropical cyclonic storms to weaken them?
Sorry for any headaches the above might have caused, but I got one, and I like to share.
:p
Lou
