 Solution

Southern Ocean westerly wind stress drives northward surface Ekman transport in the Southern Hemisphere. Its divergence and the circumpolar geometry allow deep water to rise towards the surface along tilted isopycnals, providing an important return route for the deep branch of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Surface heat fluxes and freshwater fluxes then transform the upwelled water before it enters shallower return pathways. The winds supply mechanical energy; the overturning cannot be represented entirely by a local northern density difference. Eddy-induced overturning opposes part of the wind-driven contribution, so the net water-mass transformation and transport need not increase in direct proportion to the wind stress.^[ref]