Ekman pumping

Ekman pumping is like when you blow really hard on the surface of a cup of water and you see the water in the cup start to move around. But instead of a cup, imagine it's the ocean and instead of blowing on it, it's the wind that's making the water move. The wind at the surface of the ocean makes the water move in a circular motion called the Ekman spiral. As the water moves around in this spiral, it also moves up and down. When the water moves up, it creates a space for more water to come in and fill it up. This is called Ekman pumping. It's important because it helps move nutrients and other important things from deep in the ocean up to the surface where they can be used by plants and animals.