The Coriolis Effect

                                                       Diagram of the Coriolis Effect 

   The Coriolis Effect is a phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to curve as they travel across or above Earth’s surface. Earth is constantly spinning on its axis from west to east. However, because its a sphere, it's wider in the middle. This means that the closer you get to the equator the faster you’re spinning around earth’s axis. The farther away you get, the slower you are spinning. So for example, if you were to start somewhere in the northern hemisphere and fly straight north, instead of just going straight north you would actually end up curving to the right and end somewhere northeast of where you started. This is because where you started is further south and therefore closer to the equator and moving around Earth's axis faster. The same goes for the southern hemisphere except that if you were to started in the north and fly straight south, you would actually end up going down and to the right because you would be starting closer to the equator moving faster and then traveling away, progressively spinning slower around the axis. This is the reason for why big storms, like hurricanes, spin clockwise or counter-clockwise (depending on the hemisphere).

 

Photo of a hurricane spinning clockwise  

                                                                                      Wind Diagram                               

In relation to the galapagos islands, currents caused by winds resulting from the Coriolis effect cause a surge of cold water from very deep waters to be brought up to the  surface. This water that is brought up  is very high in nutrients from the dead organic material that sank to the bottom of the ocean and was decomposed by bacteria and then put back out into the water. The nutrient rich water leads to a massive increase in algae growth otherwise known as phytoplankton that then creates more plant material that is eaten by fish and other organisms of the sea. The phytoplankton is the primary producer of the ocean ecosystem and proves to be very important to the production of food which then also affects the rest of the marine ecosystem. This process of bringing deep water from the bottom of the ocean to the top is known as upwelling and it is a direct result of the Coriolis effect. Upwelling in the Galapagos Islands plays a very important role in the growing and maintaining of the very delicate and unique marine ecosystem of the islands.

upwelling diagram

Knowing how the Coriolis effect works in relation to the earth's equator, how might this effect the Galapagos Islands differently considering their proximity to the equator unlike other areas like Texas?

Sources:

Oceanography and Marine Life of the Galápagos Islands by John M. Fitz

The Coriolis Effect Video

Wikipedia