Satellite Evidence of Enhanced Upwelling Along the European Continental Slope

Abstract

TIROS-N AVHRR imagery is used to describe a persistent but localized band of upwelling which follows the contours of the European continental slope from the Porcupine Seabight (southwest of Ireland) to the Bay of Biscay. Its persistent occurrence, its close association with the upper part of the slope, and the northward broadening of the upwelling region are shown to be consistent with recently published theory (Killworth, 1978) concerning the enhancement of upwelling by interaction between slope topography and Kelvin (or other) waves propagating along the slope. Some limited evidence of enhanced biological productivity is also described.