text: The solution for the flow forming the bottom Ekman spiral was a result of the shear stress exerted on the flow by the bottom. Logically, wherever shear stress can be exerted on a flow, Ekman spirals will form. This is the case at the air–water interface, because of wind. A situation is considered where a wind stress  is exerted along a water-surface with an interior flow  beneath. Again, the flow is uniform, has a geostrophic interior and is homogeneous fluid. The equations of motion for a geostrophic flow, which are the same as stated in the bottom spiral section, can be reduced to:
  The boundary conditions for this case are as follows:
  * Surface :    and 
  * Towards interior :  and  
  With these conditions, the solution can be determined:
  Some differences with respect to the bottom Ekman spiral emerge. The deviation from the interior flow is exclusively dependent on the wind stress and not on the interior flow. Whereas in the case of the bottom Ekman spiral, the deviation is determined by the interior flow. The wind-driven component of the flow is inversely proportional with respect to the Ekman-layer thickness . So if the layer thickness is small, because of a small viscosity of the fluid for example, this component could be very large. At last, the flow at the surface is 45 degrees to the right on the northern hemisphere and 45 degrees to the left on the southern hemisphere with respect to the wind-direction. In case of the bottom Ekman spiral, this is the other way around.