Which risk increases when surface winds weaken over the North Pacific subtropical gyre?

💡 Explanation

When surface winds weaken, Ekman transport diminishes because wind stress decreases, reducing downwelling's intensity in the gyre's center and subsequently leading to the thermocline deepening and nutrient stratification. Therefore, nutrient depletion increases, rather than upwelling, less plastic, or coastal erosion which require different atmospheric or oceanic forcing mechanisms.

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