upwelling

noun

up·​well·​ing ˌəp-ˈwe-liŋ 

: the process or an instance of rising or appearing to rise to the surface and flowing outward

especially : the process of upward movement to the ocean surface of deeper cold usually nutrient-rich waters especially along some shores due to the offshore movement of surface waters (as from the action of winds and the Coriolis force)

Examples of upwelling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But upwelling of seawater seems to be a common factor — and strong upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water is currently hugging the Central California coastline. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2024

Another formation mechanism could be a superstorm, an upwelling of warmer material from Jupiter’s depths that punches out to the cloud tops. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 12 July 2024

Simulating such an event on Jupiter, the scientists found that this could form a single anticyclonic system, but, like the merging vortices, a singular upwelling of material couldn’t scale up to reach the GRS’s observed size and shape. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 12 July 2024

The good news is that powerful hurricanes such as Beryl often consume heat energy, and can create upwellings of cool water. —Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 5 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

upwelling

noun

up·​well·​ing ˌəp-ˈwel-iŋ 

: the process or an example of rising or appearing to rise to the surface and flowing outward

especially : the process of movement of deeper cooler layers of ocean water that are often rich in nourishing substances to the surface