Coastal upwelling and downwelling events in the Seto Inland Sea

Prominent coastal upwelling and downwelling events due to Ekman transport were observed during the period from 14 to 18 August 1983 along the Misaki Peninsula in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The coastline of the Misaki Peninsula is aligned approximately in an ENE-WSW direction. When an ENE wind continued blowing for about two days, the warm water in the upper layer was pushed offshore and cold water in the lower layer upwelled along the peninsula. The estimated upwelling speed 3 m below the sea surface was 0.032 cm sec^–1. On the other hand, when a WSW wind continued blowing for about two days the warm water in the upper layer sank into the lower layer along the peninsula. The estimated downwelling speed 3 m below the sea surface was 0.080 cm sec^–1. The time lag between the variations of the alongshore wind and offshore current was about 0.5 days.