Negative wind stress curl is a physically defined meteorological phenomenon
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
confidence 93/100
Wind stress curl, including negative variations, is a well-established physical meteorological and oceanographic phenomenon used extensively to model ocean circulation, Ekman pumping, and upwelling.
Evidence for · 8
Structure and Mechanisms of South Indian Ocean Climate Variability*
2002 · cited by 864
Paper 0 discusses the negative wind curl between southeasterly trades and equatorial westerlies as a driver of open-ocean upwelling.
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More for · 7
A Global Climatology of Surface Wind and Wind Stress Fields from Eight Years of QuikSCAT Scatterometer Data
2008 · cited by 517
Paper 1 analyzes global wind stress derivative fields, including wind stress curl, as dynamically important features.
Satellite Observations of Mesoscale Eddy-Induced Ekman Pumping
2014 · cited by 387
Paper 2 investigates eddy-induced Ekman pumping driven by spatial variations in surface stress curl.
Evidence for a Wind-Driven Intensification of the Kuroshio Current Extension from the 1970s to the 1980s
1999 · cited by 261
Paper 5 uses wind stress curl fields to examine the Sverdrup transport and intensification of the Kuroshio extension.
Modification of surface winds near ocean fronts: Effects of Gulf Stream rings on scatterometer (QuikSCAT, NSCAT) wind observations
2006 · cited by 116
Paper 8 notes that wind stress curl modifications near ring fronts cause dipolar Ekman pumping.
Impact of nearshore wind stress curl on coastal circulation and primary productivity in the Peru upwelling system
2010 · cited by 106
Paper 9 utilizes nearshore wind stress curl patterns to model coastal upwelling dynamics and primary productivity.
Seasonal dynamics of the near‐surface alongshore flow off central Chile
2011 · cited by 89
Paper 10 evaluates the specific role of the wind stress curl on central Chile near-surface circulation using numerical simulations.
Wind Stress Curl and ENSO Discharge/Recharge in the Equatorial Pacific
2007 · cited by 78
Paper 11 derives a formula linking warm water volume anomalies to zonally integrated wind stress curl anomalies in the equatorial Pacific.