upwelling

American  

[uhp-wel-ing] / ʌpˈwɛl ɪŋ /

noun

1. an act or instance of welling up.

   an upwelling of public support; an upwelling of emotion in his voice.

2. Oceanography. the process by which warm, less-dense surface water is drawn away from along a shore by offshore currents and replaced by cold, denser water brought up from the subsurface.

---

upwelling Scientific  

/ ŭp-wĕl′ĭng /

1. The rising of cold, usually nutrient-rich waters from the ocean depths to the warmer, sunlit zone at the surface. Upwelling usually occurs in the subtropics along the western continental coasts, where prevailing trade winds drive the surface water away from shore, drawing deeper water upward to take its place. Because of the abundance of krill and other nutrients in the colder waters, these regions are rich feeding grounds for a variety of marine and avian species. Upwelling can also occur in the middle of oceans where cyclonic circulation is relatively permanent or where southern trade winds cross the Equator.

---

Etymology

Origin of upwelling

First recorded in 1850–55; upwell + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Other major upwelling systems include the Humboldt Current off Peru and the Benguela and Canary Currents along the west coast of Africa.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

According to the researchers in Mainz, monitoring wind conditions, sea surface temperatures, and associated upwelling patterns in the equatorial Atlantic can help refine predictions of future Sargassum growth.

From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2025

“The coastal upwelling has been really notable right outside the San Francisco Bay and west of Point Reyes,” Mehle said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2025

“We know that upwelling season in California has always been a great time to expect a Pseudo-nitzschia bloom and potentially a domoic acid event, and that can start as early as March,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2024

That upwelling magma is responsible for the breathtaking mountainous landscape of Japan, and those subducting plates cause most of the earthquakes that shake the country.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland