North Sea
Location	Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	56°N 3°E / 56, 3
Primary sources	Forth, Ythan, Elbe, Weser, Ems, Rhine/Waal, Meuse, Scheldt, Spey, Tay, Thames, Humber, Tees, Wear, Tyne
Basin countries	Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and the U.K. (England, Scotland)
Max length	600 mi (970 km)[1]
Max width	350 mi (560 km)
Surface area	222,000 mi² (575,000 km²)[2]
Average depth	308 ft (94 m)[3]
Max depth	c. The Ythan Estuary is the Tidal component of the Ythan River, emptying into the North Sea approximately 19 Kilometres north of Aberdeen The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. The Weser (ˈveːzɐ is a River in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann The Ems (Ems Eems is a River in northwestern Germany and northeastern Netherlands. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge River Waal is the main Distributary branch of River Rhine flowing to the central Netherlands for about 80 km (50 miles before joining the The Meuse (in Dutch and in German: "Maas" in Latin: "Mosa" in Celtic:"Mus" (the rootword presumingly The Scheldt (Dutch Schelde, French Escaut, Latin Scaldis) is a 350 km[http //www The River Spey ( Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a River in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest flowing river in The Tay ( Gaelic: Tatha) is a river starting in the Highlands and flowing down into the centre of Scotland through Perth and The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. The Humber is a large tidal Estuary on the east coast of northern England The Tees is a river in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the Pennines, and flows eastwards for about 85 miles The River Wear (wɪə("wee-er" is a river in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards mostly through County Durham, The River Tyne is a River in England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers the North Tyne and the South Tyne. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. 2,165 ft/660 m[2]
Water volume	94 000 km

The North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European continental shelf. A marginal sea is a part of an ocean partially enclosed by land such as Islands Archipelagos or Peninsulas Unlike mediterranean An epeiric sea (also known as an epicontinental sea) is a large but shallow body of salt water that lies over a part of a Continent. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each Continent and associated Coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such It is more than 600 miles (970 km) long and 350 miles (560 km) wide, with an area of around 222,000 square miles (570,000 km²). A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. The North Sea connects with the rest of the Atlantic through the Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and through the Norwegian Sea in the north. The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait ( French: Pas de Calais, pɑdə kalɛ "Strait of Calais " Dutch: Nauw van Currents In the Norwegian Sea and Greenland Sea surface water descends two to three kilometres down to the bottom of the ocean forming cold oxygen-rich groundwater

The North Sea averages about 100 m (325 ft) deep, with a maximum depth of 700 m (2300 ft) and in some areas shallows can be a mere 15 m deep. The North Sea lies above what used to be the triple junction between three continental tectonic plates in the early Paleozoic Era. The Paleozoic or Palaeozoic Era (from the Greek palaio (παλαιο "old" and zoe (ζωη "life" meaning "ancient life" Movement on the faults associated with these tectonic phenomena can still cause earthquakes and small tsunamis. An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when The sea's coastal features are the result of glacial movements rather than tectonics. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. This article discusses the geologic usage for the philosophical or architectural usage see Architectonics ' Or see Plate tectonics. Deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the coastline of the northern part of the North Sea, whereas the southern coasts consist of sandy beaches and mudflats. A fjord or fiord (fjɔːd|fiːɔːd or fiːɔːd is a long narrow Inlet with steep sides created in a valley carved by glacial activity. Mudflats (also tidal flats, tide flats, etc are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers These flatter areas are particularly susceptible to flooding, especially as a result of storm tides. Storm surge or tidal surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system typically a Tropical cyclone. Elaborate systems of dikes have been constructed to protect coastal areas. LeveeEmbankmentDitch A dike (or dyke) levee, levée, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial

The development of European civilization has been heavily affected by the maritime traffic on the North Sea. The Romans and the Vikings sought to extend their territory across the sea. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Both the Hanseatic League and the Netherlands sought to dominate commerce on the North Sea and through it to access the markets of the world. The Hanseatic League (also known as the Hansa) was an alliance of trading cities and their Guilds that established and maintained trade The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Britain's development as a sea power depended heavily upon its dominance in the North Sea, where some of its rivals sought power, first the Netherlands and finally Germany and to a lesser extent Russia and the Scandinavian nations. Commercial enterprises, growing populations, and limited resources gave the nations on the North Sea the desire to control or access the North Sea for their own commercial, military, and colonial ends.

Its importance has turned from the military to the economic. Traditional economic activities, such as fishing and shipping, have continued to grow and other resources, such as fossil fuels and wind energy, have been discovered and developed.

Contents 1 Naming 2 History 2.1 Early history 2.2 Early modern history 2.3 20th Century 2.4 Political status 3 Geography 4 Geology 4.1 Geological history 4.2 Plate tectonics 4.3 Geological features 5 Biology and the environment 5.1 Fish 5.2 Birds 5.3 Marine mammals 5.4 Environmental health 6 Hydrology 6.1 Basic data 6.2 Water circulation 6.3 Tides 7 Coasts 7.1 Northern fjords, skerries, and cliffs 7.2 Southern shoals and mudflats 7.3 Storm tides 7.4 Coastal preservation 8 Economy 8.1 Oil and gas 8.2 Fishing 8.3 Mineral resources 8.4 Renewable energy 8.5 Tourism 8.6 Marine traffic 9 See also 10 Further reading 11 References 12 External links

Naming

The name of the North Sea originates from its relationship to the land of the Frisians. Frisia ( West Frisian: Fryslân; North Frisian: Fraschlönj, Freesklöön, Freeskluin, Fresklun, and Frisia lies directly to the south of the North Sea, to the west of the East Sea (Oostzee, the Baltic Sea), to the north of the former South Sea (Zuiderzee, today's IJsselmeer) and the today-reclaimed Middle Sea (Middelzee). The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. The Zuiderzee (ˌzaɪdɚ ˈzeɪ] Dutch: Zuiderzee, ˈzœydərzeː was a shallow Inlet of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands IJsselmeer (sometimes translated as Lake IJssel, alternative international spelling Lake Yssel) is a shallow lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices One involves creating new land from sea- or riverbeds the other refers to restoring an area to a more natural state (such as after The Middelzee ( Dutch for "middle sea" Middelsee also called Bordine, was the Estuary mouth of the River Boorn (West Frisian The name “North Sea” is attested in Middle High German and probably harks back to the name given by the Frisians, who settled on its south coast. Even the early Spanish name was Mar del Norte. ^[4]

From the point of view of the German Hanseatic towns of the Middle Ages, the sea to the east was the “East Sea” (Baltic Sea in German is literally the Ostsee), and the sea to the north, the North Sea. The Hanseatic League (also known as the Hansa) was an alliance of trading cities and their Guilds that established and maintained trade The spread of maps used by Hanseatic merchants popularized this name throughout Europe. Other common names in use for long periods were Mare Frisia, and Mare Frisicum, Oceanum- or Mare Germanicum as well as their English equivalents, Frisian Sea and German Ocean or Sea.

"German Sea" or "Germanic Sea"^[5] (from the Latin Mare Germanicum) was commonly used in English and other languages along with "North Sea", until the early eighteenth century. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States By the late nineteenth century, both "German-" and "Germanic Sea" were rare, scholarly usages.

History

Main article: History of the North Sea

Early history

The first records of marine traffic on the North Sea come from the Roman Empire, which began exploring the sea in 12 BC. The history of the North Sea reveals it to be the major route for conquests between the adjoining countries The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Great Britain was formally invaded in 43 AD and its southern areas incorporated into the Empire, beginning sustained trade across the North Sea and the English Channel. The Romans abandoned Britain in 410 and in the power vacuum they left, the Germanic Angles, Saxons, and Jutes began the next great migration across the North Sea during the Migration Period, conquering and displacing the native Celtic populations. The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestral region of Angeln, a modern district located in The Saxons or Saxon people were a Confederation of Old Germanic tribes. The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutae were a Germanic people who according to Bede were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of the time The Migration Period, also called Barbarian Invasions, or sometimes Völkerwanderung ( German for "wandering of peoples" is the English name Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts ^[6]

The Viking Age began in 793 with the attack on Lindisfarne and for the next quarter-millennium the Vikings ruled the North Sea. Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 700 to 1066 in European history. Lindisfarne () (variant spelling Lindesfarne is a Tidal island off the north-east coast of England. In their superior longships, they raided, traded, and established colonies and outposts on the Sea's coasts. Longships is the name given to a group of rocks situated 125 Miles to the west of Land's End, in Penwith, Cornwall, United Kingdom

As Viking dominance waned, trade on the North Sea came to be controlled by the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic League (also known as the Hansa) was an alliance of trading cities and their Guilds that established and maintained trade The League, though centred on the Baltic Sea, had important outposts on the North Sea. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. Goods from all over the world flowed through the North Sea on their way to and from the Hanseatic cities.

By 1441, the Netherlands had risen as an economic and shipping power to rival the League. By the 16th Century, the Netherlands were the leading economic power. The North Sea was a hotbed of commerce and shipping connecting far-flung colonies with markets all over Europe.

Early modern history

Dutch power during her Golden Age was a concern for growing England, which saw its future in the merchant marine and overseas colonies. The Four Days Battle was a Naval battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. This article focuses on social and cultural history For political events see History of the Netherlands and Dutch Revolt (1568–1648 This conflict was at the root of the first three Anglo-Dutch Wars between 1652 and 1673. The Anglo-Dutch Wars ( Dutch: Engels-Nederlandse Oorlogen or Engelse Zeeoorlogen) were fought in the 17th and 18th centuries between England By the end of the War of Spanish Succession in 1714, the Dutch were no longer a major player in European politics. In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714 several European powers combined to stop French succession to the Spanish throne and what would likely have been a resulting

Britain's naval supremacy faced its only real challenge before the 20th Century from Napoleonic France and her continental allies. The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or In 1800, a union of lesser naval powers, called the League of Armed Neutrality, formed to protect neutral trade during Britain's conflict with France. League of Armed Neutrality refers to one of two alliances of minor European Naval powers ( 1780 - 1783 and 1800 - 1801 The British Navy defeated the combined forces of the League of Armed Neutrality in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 in the Kattegat. League of Armed Neutrality refers to one of two alliances of minor European Naval powers ( 1780 - 1783 and 1800 - 1801 Britain later defeated the French Navy in the Battle of Trafalgar off the coast of Spain. The Battle of Trafalgar ( 21 October 1805) was a historic sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

20th Century

Tensions in the North Sea were again heightened in 1904 by the Dogger Bank incident, in which Russian naval vessels mistook British fishing boats for Japanese ships and fired on them, and then upon each other. The Dogger Bank incident (also known as Incident of Hull or The Russian Outrage) occurred when the Russian Baltic Fleet mistook some British trawlers The incident, combined with Britain's alliance with Japan and the Russo-Japanese War led to an intense diplomatic crisis. The first was signed in London at what is now the Lansdowne Club on January 30 1902, by Lord Lansdowne (British foreign secretary) and The Russo-Japanese War (日露戦争 Romaji: Nichi-Ro Sensō Русско-японская война Russko-Yaponskaya Voyna;, 10 February 1904 – 5 September The crisis was defused when Russia was defeated by the Japanese and agreed to pay compensation to the fishermen.

During the First World War, Great Britain's Grand Fleet and Germany's Kaiserliche Marine faced each other on the North Sea, which became the main theatre of the war for surface action. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Grand Fleet was a Fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War. The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. Naval warfare in World War I was mainly characterized by the efforts of the Allied Powers, with their larger fleets and surrounding position to blockade the Britain's larger fleet was able to establish an effective blockade for most of the war that restricted the Central Powers' access to many crucial resources. The Central Powers ( German: "Mittelmächte" Hungarian: "Központi hatalmak" Turkish: "İttifak Major battles included the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the Battle of the Dogger Bank, the Battle of Jutland, and the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. The First Battle of Heligoland Bight was the first Naval battle of the First World War, fought on 28 August 1914 after the British planned to attack The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War fix various bugs per WikipediaHow to fix bunched-up edit links --> The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight was a naval engagement in World War I. Britain, though not always tactically successful, maintained the blockade and thus kept the High Seas Fleet in port. The High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte was the main battle fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy during World War I. Conversely, the German navy remained a threat that kept the vast majority of Britain's capital ships in the North Sea. The capital ships of a Navy are its "important" warships the ones with the heaviest Firepower and Armor.

The Second World War also saw action in the North Sea, though it was restricted more to submarines and smaller vessels such as minesweepers, and Fast Attack Craft. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A minesweeper is a Naval Warship designed to counter the threat posed by Naval mines The dedicated purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during A Fast Attack Craft (FAC (Schnellboot is a small (100 to 400 Tonnes, fast (up to ca ^[7] On April 9, 1940, the Germans initiated Operation Weserübung in which almost the entire German fleet was focused north toward Scandinavia in the North Sea as well as in the Skagerrak and Kattegat. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Operation Weserübung was the codename for Nazi Germany 's assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation ^[8] Throughout the German occupation of Norway, the Shetland Bus operation ran secretly across the North Sea from Great Britain to Norway. The Shetland Bus was the popular name for the clandestine naval operation in World War II between the Shetland Islands ( Scotland) and Nazi -occupied First, Norwegian fishing boats were used, and then three 100 foot (30 m) submarine chasers. A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for Anti-submarine warfare. (see also: HNoMS Hitra). History The Hitra was originally built as SC-718 for the United States Navy, but was transferred to the Shetland Bus organisation ^[9]

In the last years of the war and the first years thereafter, huge volumes of weapons were disposed-of by being sunk in the North Sea. These comprised mainly grenades, land mines, naval mines, bazookas, cartridges, and some chemical weapons. A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person A naval mine is a self-contained Explosive device placed in water to destroy Ships or Submarines Unlike Depth charges mines are deposited The bazooka is a man-portable Anti-armor rocket launcher made famous during World War II. A cartridge (also known as a "round" packages the Bullet, Gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of Chemical substances to kill injure or incapacitate an enemy. Though estimates vary widely, hundreds of thousand tons of munitions were sunk. ^[10]

After the war, the North Sea lost much of its military significance because it is bordered only by NATO member-states. The North Atlantic Treaty The North Sea gained significant economic meaning in the 1960s as the states on the North Sea began to exploit its oil and gas resources.

Political status

The countries bordering the North Sea all claim the twelve nautical miles of territorial waters within which they have exclusive fishing rights. Under the law of the sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone ( EEZ) is a seazone over which a State has special rights over the exploration and use of marine A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of Length. It corresponds approximately to one minute of Latitude along any meridian. Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most Iceland, however, as a result of the Cod Wars has exclusive fishing rights for 200 mi (320 km) from its coast, into parts of the North Sea. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( The Cod Wars, also called the Iceland Cod Wars ( Icelandic: Þorskastríðin, "the cod wars" or Landhelgisstríðin, "the The Common Fisheries Policy of the EU exists to coordinate fishing rights and assist with disputes between EU states and the EU border state of Norway. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP is the fisheries policy of the European Union. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in

After the discovery of mineral resources in the North Sea, Norway claimed its rights under the Continental Shelf Convention. The other countries on the sea followed suit. These rights are largely divided along the median line. The median line is defined as the line "every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of each State is measured. "^[11] The ocean floor border between Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark was only reapportioned after protracted negotiations and a judgment of the International Court of Justice. See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour ^[12]

Environmental concerns led to the MARPOL 73/78 Accords, which created 25 mi (40 km) and 50 mi (40 and 80 km) zones of protection. Marpol 73/78 is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978. The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic is established for the preservation of the ocean in the region. Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic or OSPAR Convention is the current legislative instrument regulating international Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands have a trilateral agreement for the protection of the Wadden Sea, or mudflats, which run along the coasts of the three countries on the southern edge of the North Sea. The Wadden Sea ( Vadehavet, Waddenzee, Wattenmeer, Low German: Wattensee, West Frisian: Waadsee Mudflats (also tidal flats, tide flats, etc are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers

Geography

For the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each Continent and associated Coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such The only exception is a narrow area of the northern North Sea off Norway. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The North Sea is bounded by Great Britain to the west and the northern and central European mainland to the east and south, including Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

In the south-west, the North Sea becomes the English Channel beyond the Straits of Dover. The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait ( French: Pas de Calais, pɑdə kalɛ "Strait of Calais " Dutch: Nauw van In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. The Skagerrak Strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the The Kattegat ( Danish) or Kattegatt ( Swedish) is a sea area bounded by Jutland ( Denmark and extreme north Germany) In the north, it opens in a widening funnel shape to the Norwegian Sea, which lies in the very north-eastern part of the Atlantic. Currents In the Norwegian Sea and Greenland Sea surface water descends two to three kilometres down to the bottom of the ocean forming cold oxygen-rich groundwater

Apart from the obvious boundaries formed by the coasts of the countries which border it, the North Sea is generally considered to be bounded by an imaginary line from Lindesnes, Norway to Hanstholm, Denmark running towards the Skagerrak. Lindesnes is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway. Hanstholm is a small town and a former island now elevated area in Thisted municipality of Region Nordjylland, located in the northern part of Denmark. However, for statistical purposes, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat are sometimes included as part of the North Sea. ^[13] The northern limit is less well-defined. Traditionally, an imaginary line is taken to run from northern Scotland, by way of Shetland, to Ålesund in Norway. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of is a city and municipality in the county of Møre og Romsdal, Norway. According to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic^[14]of 1962 it runs further to the west and north from longitude 5° West and latitude 62° North, at the latitude of Geirangerfjord in Norway. Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic or OSPAR Convention is the current legislative instrument regulating international The Geirangerfjord ( Geirangerfjorden) is a Fjord in the Sunnmøre region located in the southernmost part of the county Møre og Romsdal

The surface area of the North Sea is approx. 575,000 square kilometres (222,000 sq mi)^[3] with a volume of around 54,000 cubic kilometres (13,000 cu mi). Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. ^[2] This places the North Sea at the 13th largest sea on the planet. ^[15]

Geology

Geological history

The bed of the North Sea forms two basins. "Ocean Floor" redirects here For the 2001 song by Audio Adrenaline, see Lift (Audio Adrenaline album. The term sedimentary basin is used to refer to any geographical feature exhibiting Subsidence and consequent infilling by sedimentation The main northern one lies to the north of a ridge between Norfolk and Frisia, and had its origin in the Devonian. A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Frisia ( West Frisian: Fryslân; North Frisian: Fraschlönj, Freesklöön, Freeskluin, Fresklun, and The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to  million years ago. The southern basin, if not flooded, would drain towards the Strait of Dover and thence to the English Channel. The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait ( French: Pas de Calais, pɑdə kalɛ "Strait of Calais " Dutch: Nauw van This basin dates from the Carboniferous. The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian period about 359 ^[16]

During the most recent glaciation, the Devensian much of the northern basin was covered by the ice sheet, and the remainder, including the southern basin, was tundra. "Last glacial" redirects here For the period of maximum glacier extent during this time see Last Glacial Maximum The last glacial period An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²) In physical Geography, tundra is an area where the Tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons However, during the Cromerian interglacial, there was a natural dam of chalk, the Weald-Artois Anticline. Chalk (ʧɔːk is a soft white porous Sedimentary rock, a form of Limestone composed of the Mineral Calcite. The Weald-Artois Anticline is a geological structure running between the regions of the Weald in southern England and Artois in north eastern France "^[17] Although the ridge probably collapsed during the Kansan glaciation it still formed the highest part of the land bridge between continental Europe and Great Britain. The Kansan Glaciation (known in the UK as the Anglian glaciation, Elster glaciation in northern Europe and the Mindel glaciation in the ^[18]

The Storegga Slides were a series of underwater landslides, in which a piece of the Norwegian continental shelf slid into the Norwegian Sea. The three Storegga Slides are considered to be amongst the largest known Landslides They occurred under water at the edge of Norway's continental shelf (Storegga is Old The immense landslips occurred between 8150 BC and 6000 BC, and caused a tsunami up to 20 m (65 ft) high that swept through the North Sea, having the greatest effect on Scotland and the Faeroe Islands. ^[19][20]

Plate tectonics

The North Sea lies above what used to be the triple junction between three continental tectonic plates in the early Paleozoic Era. A triple junction is the point where the boundaries of three Tectonic plates meet The Paleozoic or Palaeozoic Era (from the Greek palaio (παλαιο "old" and zoe (ζωη "life" meaning "ancient life" Later, in the Mesozoic Era, a North-South trending rift valley or graben formed down the middle of the North Sea. The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic Rift or fault. A graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults Graben is German for ditch. Fault lines along the English Channel cause occasional earthquakes, which can result in damage to structures on land. The axial grabens of the North Sea also form a tectonically active area. Northwestern Europe's continental slope is subject to landslides from earthquakes. A landslide is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement such as rock falls deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows which can occur An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer ^[21] Although not a site of major earthquakes or tsunamis, there are intraplate earthquakes which result in the uplifting of the continental crust^[22] causing landslides. ^[19] The Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 is among the first recorded in the North Sea and caused extensive damage in both France and England both through its tremors and a tsunami. Though severe Earthquakes in the north of France and southern England are rare the Dover Straits earthquake of 6 April 1580 appears to have been the largest This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when The largest earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom was the 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake, which measured 6. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931 was the strongest Earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom since measurements began 1 on the Richter Scale and caused a tsunami that flooded parts of the British coast. The Richter magnitude scale, or more correctly local magnitude M L scale assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released

The North Sea is located at a triple junction of three continental plates formed during the Palaeozoic: Avalonia, Laurentia and Baltica. The Paleozoic or Palaeozoic Era (from the Greek palaio (παλαιο "old" and zoe (ζωη "life" meaning "ancient life" Avalonia was an ancient Microcontinent or Terrane whose history formed much of the older rocks of Western Europe, Atlantic Canada and parts of the Laurentia (also known as the North American craton) like all Craton land was created as continents moved about the surface of the Earth Baltica redirects here For the Russian beer, see Baltika Breweries Baltica is a name applied by geologists to a late- Proterozoic, ^[23] Baltica is now the eastern coastline and the Scandinavian countries; Avalonia consists of the southern and western North Sea coast along England, northern Germany and France; and Laurentia marks the northern perimeter of the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

Geological features

The Norwegian trench reaches from the Stad peninsula in Sogn og Fjordane to the Oslofjord. The Norwegian trench or Norwegian channel ( Norwegian: Norskerenna Danish: Norskerenden) is an elongated depression in the sea floor Stad ( Stadt, Statt or Stadlandet, not to be confused with the similar Deutsch Stadt, and Deitsch Stad; the is a county (fylke in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The Oslofjord (Oslofjorden is a Bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses The trench is between 50 and 95 km (30-60 mi) wide and hundreds of meters deep. Off the Rogaland coast, it is 250 - 300 m (820-980 ft) deep, and at its deepest point, off Arendal, it reaches 700 m (2300 ft) deep as compared to the average depth of the North Sea, about 100 m (325 ft). is a county in Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. is a town and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. The trench is not a subduction-related oceanic trench. In Geology, a subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates meet and move towards one another with one sliding underneath the other The oceanic trenches are hemispheric-scale long but narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor It is mainly a deep erosional scour, while the Western part follows the North-South line of an old Rift Valley formed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, also known as the Viking Graben. Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic Rift or fault. The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to  Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of

To the East of Great Britain, the vast morainic plate of the Dogger Bank rises up to 15 to 30 m deep. Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions such as those Dogger Bank (from dogge, an old Dutch word for fishing boat is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about 100 km off the coast ^[24]

The Silver Pit is a valley-like depression 45 km (27 mi) east of Spurn Head in England that has been recognized for hundreds of years by fishermen. The Silver Pit is a long valley in the bed of the North Sea, 45 km (27 miles east of Spurn Head in England. "Spurn" can have other meanings see the Wiktionary entry. Nearby is the Silverpit crater, a controversial structure, which may be a geological structure or may be an impact crater. Silverpit crater is a buried sub-sea structure under the North Sea off the coast of the United Kingdom In the broadest sense the term impact crater can be applied to any depression natural or manmade resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with larger body

"The Long Forties" denotes an area of the northern North Sea that is fairly consistently forty fathoms (73 m) deep (thus, on a nautical chart with depth shown in fathoms, a long area with many "40" notations). The Long Forties is an area of the northern North Sea that is fairly consistently forty Fathoms (73 metres deep (thus on a nautical chart with depth shown A fathom is a unit of Length in the Imperial system (and the derived U A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent Coastal regions It is located between the northeast coast of Scotland and the southwest coast of Norway, centred about 57°N 0°30′E.

The Broad Fourteens are an area of the southern North Sea that is fairly consistently fourteen fathoms (26 m) deep (thus a broad area with many "14" notations). The Broad Fourteens is an area of the southern North Sea that is fairly consistently fourteen Fathoms (26 m deep (thus on a nautical chart with depths It is located off the coast of the Netherlands and south of the Dogger Bank, roughly between longitude 3°E and 4°30′E and latitude 52°30′N and 53°30′N.

Around the edges of the North Sea are a number of sizable islands and archipelagos, including the Shetland, Orkney, and Frisian islands. This is a list of the 50 largest Islands in the North Sea. See also List of islands of Denmark List of islands An archipelago (ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ is a chain or cluster of Islands The word archipelago literally means "chief Sea " from Italian Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or Wadden Sea Islands, form an Archipelago at the eastern edge of

Biology and the environment

Fish

Copepods and other zooplankton are plentiful in the North Sea. Copepods are a group of small Crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat and they constitute the biggest source of protein in the oceans Zooplankton are the Heterotrophic (sometimes detritivorous) type of Plankton. These tiny organisms are crucial elements of the food chain supporting many species of fish. Food chains, also called food networks and/or trophic networks, describe the feeding relationships between species within an Ecosystem. The North Sea is home to about 230 species of fish. Cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, plaice, sole, mackerel, herring, pouting, sprat, and sandeel are all very common and the target of commercial fishing. Cod is the common name for the Genus Gadus of Fish, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety The haddock or offshore hake is a marine Fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Pollock (or pollack, pronounced the same and listed first in most UK and US dictionaries is the common name used for either of the two Species of marine The PLAICE, or FLASH-PLAICE, is a powerful Open source hardware device combining a Flash memory programmer, In-circuit emulation, Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of Fish, mostly but not exclusively from the family Scombridae. Herring are small Oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow temperate waters of the North Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, the North See also Sprat (surname, Sprotte Sprattus is a Genus of small Oily fish of the Family Clupeidae Sand eel or sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of Fish. ^[25] Due to the various depths of the North Sea trenches and differences in salinity, temperature, and water movement some fish reside only in small areas of the North Sea. The blue-mouth redfish and rabbitfish are a few examples of these. The Chimaeras Cartilaginous fishes of the order Chimaeriformes are also sometimes called "rabbitfishes" ^[26]

Crustaceans are also commonly found throughout the sea. Structure of crustaceans As Arthropods crustaceans have a stiff Exoskeleton, which must be shed to allow the animal to grow ( Ecdysis or molting Norway lobster, deep-water prawns, and brown shrimp are all commercially fished, but other species of lobster, shrimp, oyster, mussels and clams are all found. The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, (also called Dublin Bay prawn, langoustine or scampo) is a slim orange-pink Lobster Prawns are Crustaceans belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata   Crangon crangon ( Common names include brown shrimp, common shrimp and sand shrimp) is a commercially important species of Clawed lobsters compose a family ( Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine Crustaceans Lobsters are economically important as True shrimp are swimming decapod Crustaceans classified in the Infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh The common name oyster is used for a number of different groups of Bivalve Mollusks most of which live in marine habitats or Brackish water. The common name mussel is used for members of several different families of Clams or Bivalve Molluscs, from both saltwater and freshwater habitats Clam is a word which can be used for all some or only a few Species of Bivalve Mollusks the word is a Common name which has

Birds

The coasts of the North Sea are home to nature reserves including the Ythan Estuary, Fowlsheugh Nature Preserve, and Farne Islands in the UK and The Wadden Sea National Parks in Germany. nature reserve ( natural reserve, nature preserve, natural preserve) is a Protected area of importance for Wildlife, flora The Ythan Estuary is the Tidal component of the Ythan River, emptying into the North Sea approximately 19 Kilometres north of Aberdeen Fowlsheugh is a Coastal Nature reserve in Kincardineshire, northeast Scotland, known for its seventy metre high cliff formations and habitat supporting The Farne Islands (also referred to less formally as the Farnes) are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. The Wadden Sea National Parks are located along the German coast of the North Sea. These locations provide breeding habitat for dozens of bird species. A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits" is an Ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular Species. Tens of millions of birds make use of the North Sea for breeding, feeding, or migratory stopovers every year. Populations of Northern fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Atlantic puffins, razorbills, and a variety of species of petrels, gannets, seaducks, loons (divers), cormorants, gulls, auks, and terns, and many other seabirds make these coasts popular for birdwatching. The Northern Fulmar ( Fulmarus glacialis) or Arctic Fulmar lives in the north Atlantic and north Pacific. The Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla is a Seabird species in the Gull family Laridae The Atlantic Puffin ( la Fratercula arctica) is a Seabird Species in the Auk family. The Razorbill, Alca torda, is a large Auk, 38-43 cm in length with a 60-69 cm wingspan This article is about the petrel seabirds For other uses see Petrel (disambiguation. Gannets are Seabirds in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies. The loons (eg North America or divers (eg UK/Ireland are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia The Bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 Species of cormorants and shags. Gulls (often informally Seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae This article is about a family of birds For the American ornithological journal see The Auk. Terns are Seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily (Sterninae of the gull family Laridae (van Tuinen et al Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of Birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like Binoculars. ^[27]

Marine mammals

The North Sea is also home to a variety of marine mammals. Common seals, grey seals can be found along the coasts and at marine installations and islands. The very northern North Sea islands like the Shetlands are occasionally home to a larger variety of pinnipeds including bearded, harp, hooded and ringed seals, and even walrus. Pinnipeds ("fin-feet" lit "winged feet" or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine Mammals comprising The Bearded Seal ( Erignathus barbatus) also called the Square Flipper Seal, is a medium-sized Pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic The Harp Seal ( Phoca groenlandica; syn Pagophilus groenlandicus) is a species of earless seal native to the northernmost Atlantic The Hooded Seal ( Cystophora cristata) is an Arctic Pinniped found only in the central and western North Atlantic ranging from Svalbard The Ringed Seal ( Pusa hispida) also known as the Jar Seal and as Netsik or Nattiq by the Inuit, is an Earless seal inhabiting The walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus) is a large flippered Marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and ^[28] North Sea cetaceans include Harbour porpoises, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Risso's dolphins, long-finned pilot whales and white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, killer whales, and sperm whales ^[29]

Environmental health

Historically, flamingos, pelicans, and Great Auk could be found along the southern shores of the North Sea^[30]. The Order Cetacea (sɪˈteɪʃiə L cetus, whale includes Whales Dolphins and Porpoises Cetus is The Harbor Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena) is one of six Species of Porpoise. The Common Dolphin is the name given to up to three species of Dolphin making up the Genus Delphinus. The Bottlenose Dolphin is one of the most common and well-known Dolphins. The Risso's Dolphin ( Grampus griseus) is the only Species of Dolphin in the Genus Grampus. The Long-finned pilot whale ( Globicephala melas) is one of the two Species of Cetacean in the Genus Globicephala. The White-beaked Dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus albirostris) is a Marine mammal belonging to the family Delphinidae (dolphins in the suborder of the Odontoceti Minke Whale ( or Lesser Rorqual is a name given to two species of Marine mammal belonging to a Clade within the suborder of Baleen whales The The Orca or Killer Whale ( Orcinus orca) less commonly Blackfish or Seawolf, is the largest species of the Oceanic dolphin family The sperm whale family or simply the sperm whales is the collective name given to three species of Whale found worldwide the Sperm Whale, in the genus Flamingos or flamingoes ( are gregarious Wading birds in the Genus Phoenicopterus and family A pelican is a large water Bird with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the Bird family Pelecanidae. The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the Genus Alca, is a Bird that became extinct in the mid-19th century Gray whale also resided in the North Sea but were driven to extinction in the Atlantic in the 1600s. Other species have seen dramatic declines in population, though they are still to be found; right whales, sturgeon, shad, rays, skates and salmon among other species were common in the North Sea into the 20th Century, when numbers declined. Right whales are the species of large Baleen whales belonging to the Genus Eubalaena. Sturgeon is the Common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, The shads or river herrings comprise the Genus Alosa, Fishes related to Herring in the family Clupeidae Batoidea is a Superorder of cartilaginous fish containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays Salmon is the common name for several species of Fish of the family Salmonidae.

A variety of factors have contributed to decreasing populations of North Sea fauna. The introduction of non-indigenous species, industrial and agricultural pollution, overfishing and trawling, dredging, human-induced eutrophication, construction on coastal breeding and feeding grounds, sand and gravel extraction, offshore construction, and heavy shipping traffic all threaten marine life in the North Sea. An introduced species (also known as naturalized species or exotic species) is an Organism that is not indigenous to a given location but Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in Overfishing occurs when Fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level Trawling is a method of Fishing that involves pulling a large Fishing net through the water behind one or more boats Dredging is an Excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater in shallow seas or Fresh water areas with the purpose of Eutrophication is an increase in chemical Nutrients -- typically compounds containing Nitrogen or Phosphorus -- in an Ecosystem, and may occur ^[31]

In recent decades action has been taken by the border countries to address many of these threats. The OSPAR convention was created in 1992 as and expansion of the 1972 Oslo Convention. Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic or OSPAR Convention is the current legislative instrument regulating international It is managed by the OSPAR commission and has taken action to counteract the harmful effects of human activity on wildlife in the North Sea and preserve many endangered species.

Hydrology

Basic data

The salinity of the water is dependent on place and time of year but is generally in the range of 15 to 25 parts per thousand (ppt) around river mouths and up to 32 to 35 ppt in the northern North Sea,^[15] still generally lower than North Atlantic salinity, which averages around 35 ppt. Salinity is the Saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of Water. "Parts-per" notation is used especially in Science and Engineering, to denote Ratios (relative proportions in measured quantities particularly

The water temperature varies depending on the influence of the Atlantic currents, water depth, and time of year, reaching 21 °C (77 °F) in summer and 6 °C (50 °F) in winter, though Arctic currents can be colder. The eastern side is both the warmest in summer and the coldest in winter. In the deeper northern North Sea, the water remains a nearly constant 10 °C (50 °F) year round because of water exchange with the Atlantic. The greatest temperature variations are found on the very shallow Wadden Sea coast, where ice can form in very cold winters. ^[15]

The exchange of salt water between the North Sea and Atlantic occurs through the English Channel, as well as in the northern North Sea along the Scottish coast and through the Norwegian Sea. The North Sea receives fresh water not only from inflow of rivers but also from the low salinity Baltic Sea which drains into the North Sea via the Skagerrak. Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as Ponds lakes rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved Salts and other Total dissolved The North Sea rivers drain a land area of 841,500 km² (324,905 sq mi) and supply 296-354 km³ (71-85 cu mi) of fresh water annually. The Baltic rivers drain almost twice as large an area (1,650,000 km², 637,068 sq mi) and contribute 470 km³ (113 cu mi) of fresh water annually. ^[15]

Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers that flow into the North Sea. ^[32] These rivers drain a large part of Western Europe: a quarter of France, three quarters of Germany, nearly all of Switzerland, half of Jutland, the whole of the Netherlands and Belgium, the southern part of Norway, the Rhine basin of western Austria and the eastern side of Great Britain. This article is about the region of Denmark. For the World War I naval battle see Battle of Jutland. ^[33] This area contains one of the world's greatest concentrations of industry.

Water circulation

The main pattern to the flow of water in the North Sea is a counter-clockwise rotation along the edges. A clockwise motion is one that proceeds 'like the Clock 's hands' from the top to the right then down and then to the left and back to the top ^[34] Water from the Gulf Stream flows in both through the English Channel towards Norway, and around the north of Britain, moving south along the British coast. The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that From the south-moving current smaller currents are pulled off eastwards into the central North Sea. Another significant current sweeps south in the eastern part of the Sea. This is cold North Atlantic water and is strongest in late spring and early summer when the British offshore waters remain cool while the sea off the Netherlands and Germany starts warming up. Water from the Channel, and water flowing out of the Baltic Sea eventually move north along the Norwegian coast back into the Atlantic in what is called the Norwegian Current. The Norwegian Current (also known as the Norwegian Coastal Current) is a water current that flows north-easterly along the Atlantic coast of Norway at depths of between ^[35] The current moves at a depth of some 50 to 100 m (165-330 ft). It has a relatively low salinity due to the brackish water of the Baltic and the fresh water contributed by the rivers and the fjords. A fjord or fiord (fjɔːd|fiːɔːd or fiːɔːd is a long narrow Inlet with steep sides created in a valley carved by glacial activity. Though the current is, on average, cooler than the North Sea water as a whole, warmer water flowing in from the Channel mixed with the cooler waters of the Baltic and North Atlantic result in streams of widely varying temperatures within the current.

The mean residence time of water in the North sea is between 1 and two years. ^[35] Water in the north is exchanged most quickly while water in the German Bight can flow in circles for years before being pulled northwards.

Fronts based on temperature, salinity, nutrients, and pollution can be clearly identified; they are more clearly defined in summer than in winter. Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in Large fronts are the Frisian Front, which divides water coming from the North Atlantic from water originating in the English Channel, and the Danish Front, which divides southern coastal waters from water in the central North Sea. The inflow of water from large rivers mixes very slowly with North Sea water. Water from the Rhine and Elbe, for example, can still be clearly differentiated from sea water off the northwest coast of Denmark.

Influent Rivers of the North Sea

River	Country	Discharge in m³/s	in cu ft/s
Rhine / Meuse	Netherlands	2,524	89,134
Elbe	Germany	856	30,229
Glomma	Norway	603	21,295
IJsselmeer	Netherlands	555	19600
Weser	Germany	358	12,643
Skjern Å	Denmark	206	7275
Firth of Tay (includes River Tay and River Earn)	Scotland	203	7169
Moray Firth (includes River Spey and River Ness)	Scotland	168	5933
Scheldt	Belgium/Netherlands	126	4450
Humber	England	125	4415
Forth	Scotland	112	3955
Ems	Germany	88	3108
Tweed	England	85	3002
Thames	England	76	2684

Tides

The tides are caused by the tide wave from the North Atlantic, as the North Sea itself is too small and too flat to have its own tides. A cubic metre per second ( m3·s&minus1, m3/s, cumecs or cubic meter per second in American English A cubic foot per second (also cfs, cu ft/s, cusec and ft³/s) is an Imperial unit / U The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge The Meuse (in Dutch and in German: "Maas" in Latin: "Mosa" in Celtic:"Mus" (the rootword presumingly The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. Glomma, also known as Glåma is the longest and largest river in Norway, 598 kilometers long IJsselmeer (sometimes translated as Lake IJssel, alternative international spelling Lake Yssel) is a shallow lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands The Weser (ˈveːzɐ is a River in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann The River Skjern ( Danish: Skjern Å is the largest river in Denmark in terms of volume The Firth of Tay ( Scottish Gaelic: Linne Tatha) is a Firth in Scotland between the Council areas of Fife, Perth and The Tay ( Gaelic: Tatha) is a river starting in the Highlands and flowing down into the centre of Scotland through Perth and The River Earn (Uisge Eireann in Scotland leaves Loch Earn at St Fillans and runs east through Strathearn, then east and south joining the The Moray Firth ( Scottish Gaelic: An Cuan Moireach or Linne Mhoireibh) is a roughly triangular Inlet (or Firth) of the North The River Spey ( Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a River in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest flowing river in The River Ness ( Scottish Gaelic: "Abhainn Nis" is a River flowing from Loch Ness in Scotland, north to Inverness and the The Scheldt (Dutch Schelde, French Escaut, Latin Scaldis) is a 350 km[http //www The Humber is a large tidal Estuary on the east coast of northern England The Ems (Ems Eems is a River in northwestern Germany and northeastern Netherlands. There are other rivers with this name see Tweed River The River Tweed ( Uisge Thuaidh in Gaelic (156 kilometres or long flows primarily through the The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. Characteristics A tide is a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood Ebb and flow alternate in a cycle of 12. 5 hours. The tide wave, owing to the Coriolis effect, flows around Scotland and then counter-clockwise along the English coast, reaching the German Bight some 12 hours after arriving in Scotland. In physics the Coriolis effect is an apparent deflection of moving objects when they are viewed from a Rotating frame of reference. In so doing, it runs around three amphidromic points: a central point lies shortly before the Straits of Dover. An amphidromic point is a point within a tidal system where the Tidal range is almost zero It is formed by the tide wave which is transported through the English Channel. It influences the tides in the narrow area in the Southern Bight between southern England and the Netherlands. The other amphidromic system consists of two points close to each other, which form a tide wave. The two other points just off the coast of southern Norway and lying on a line between southern Denmark and the West Frisian Islands form one single area around which the tides flow. The West Frisian Islands ( Waddeneilanden) are a chain of Islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast Its central point lies off the coast of Denmark at 55° 25' N, 5° 15' E. ^[15]

As a result, the tidal range in southern Norway is less than half a metre (1. 5 ft), but increases the further any given coast lies from the amphidromic point. Shallow coasts and the funnel effect of narrow straits increase the tidal range. The tidal range is at its greatest at The Wash on the English coast, where it reaches 6. The Wash is the square-mouthed Estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire 80 m (22 ft). In shallow water areas, the real tidal range is strongly influenced by other factors, such as the position of the coast and the wind at any given moment or the action of storms. In river estuaries, high water levels can considerably amplify the effect of high tide. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open

Coasts

The western coasts of the North Sea are jagged, as they were stripped by glaciers during the ice ages. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. The coastlines along the southernmost part are soft, covered with the remains of deposited glacials which were left directly by the ice or have been redeposited by the sea. The Norwegian mountains plunge into the sea, giving birth, north of Stavanger, to deep fjords and archipelagos. is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. A fjord or fiord (fjɔːd|fiːɔːd or fiːɔːd is a long narrow Inlet with steep sides created in a valley carved by glacial activity. An archipelago (ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ is a chain or cluster of Islands The word archipelago literally means "chief Sea " from Italian South of Stavanger, the coast softens, the islands become fewer. The Eastern Scottish coast is similar, though less marked than Norway. Starting from Flamborough Head in the northeast of England, the cliffs become lower and are composed of less resistant moraine, which erodes more easily, so that the coasts have more rounded contours. Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions such as those In Holland, Belgium and in the East of England (East Anglia) the littoral is low and marshy. Littoral refers to the coast of an ocean or sea or to the banks of a river lake or estuary The East coast and south-east of the North Sea (Wadden Sea) have coastlines that are mainly sandy and straight owing to longshore currents, particularly along Belgium and Denmark. The Wadden Sea ( Vadehavet, Waddenzee, Wattenmeer, Low German: Wattensee, West Frisian: Waadsee Longshore drift (sometimes known as shore drift, LSD or littoral drift) is a geological process by which Sediments such as sand ^[36]

Northern fjords, skerries, and cliffs

The northern North Sea coasts bear the impression of the enormous glaciers which covered them during the Ice Ages and created a split, craggy coastal landscape. The Geirangerfjord ( Geirangerfjorden) is a Fjord in the Sunnmøre region located in the southernmost part of the county Møre og Romsdal An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Fjords arose by the action of glaciers, which dragged their way through them from the highlands, cutting and scraping deep trenches in the land. A fjord or fiord (fjɔːd|fiːɔːd or fiːɔːd is a long narrow Inlet with steep sides created in a valley carved by glacial activity. During the subsequent rise in sea level, they filled with water. They very often display steep coastlines and are extremely deep for the North Sea. Fjords are particularly common on the coast of Norway. ^[37]

Firths are similar to fjords, but are generally shallower with broader bays in which small islands may be found. Firth is the Lowland Scots word used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland. The glaciers that formed them influenced the land over a wider area and scraped away larger areas. Firths are to be found mostly on the Scottish and northern English coasts. Individual islands in the firths, or islands and the coast, are often joined up by sandbars or spits made up of sand deposits known as “tombolos”. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, A tombolo is a deposition Landform such as a spit or bar which is attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land ^[38]

Towards the south the firths give way to a cliff coast, which was formed by the moraines of Ice Age glaciers. Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions such as those ^[39] The horizontal impact of waves on the North Sea coast gives rise to eroded coasts. The eroded material is an important source of sediment for the mudflats on the other side of the North Sea. ^[40] The cliff landscape is interrupted by large estuaries with their corresponding mud and marshy flats disrupt, notably the Humber and the Thames, in southern England. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open

In southern Norway, as well as on the Swedish Skagerrak coast, skerries are to be found. Skerry (disambiguation A skerry is a small rocky island usually defined to be too small for habitation ^[41] Formed by similar action to that which created the fjords and firths, the glaciers in these places affected the land to an even greater extent, so that large areas were carried away. The coastal brim (Strandflaten), which is found especially in southern Norway, is a gently sloping lowland area between the sea and the mountains. It consists of plates of bedrock, and often extends for kilometres, reaching under the sea, at a depth of only a few meters. Bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet usually the Earth.

Southern shoals and mudflats

The shallow-water coasts of the southern and eastern coast up to Denmark were formed by Ice Age activity, but their particular shape is determined for the most part by the sea and sediment deposits. ^[42] The Wadden Sea stretches between Esbjerg, Denmark in the north and Den Helder, Netherlands in the west. The Wadden Sea ( Vadehavet, Waddenzee, Wattenmeer, Low German: Wattensee, West Frisian: Waadsee This landscape is heavily influenced by the tides and important sections of it have been declared a National Park. The whole of the coastal zone is shallow; the tides flood large areas and uncover them again, constantly depositing sediments. The Southern Bight has been especially changed by land reclamation, as the Dutch have been especially active. The largest project of this type was the diking and reclamation of the IJsselmeer. IJsselmeer (sometimes translated as Lake IJssel, alternative international spelling Lake Yssel) is a shallow lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands In the micro tidal area, (a tidal range of up to 1. The tidal range is the vertical difference between the highest High tide and the lowest Low tide. 35 m (4. 43 ft)), such as on the Dutch or Danish coasts,^[43] barrier beaches with dunes are formed. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. In the mesotidal area (a tidal range of between 1. 35 and 2. 90 m (4. 43-9. 5 ft)), barrier islands are formed; in the macrotidal area (above 2. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, 90 m (9. 5 ft) tidal range), such as at the mouth of the Elbe, underwater sandbanks form.

The Dutch West Frisian and the German East Frisian Islands are barrier islands. The West Frisian Islands ( Waddeneilanden) are a chain of Islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast The East Frisian Islands (German Ostfriesische Inseln) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of Lower Saxony, Germany. They arose along the breakers’ edge where the water surge piled up sediment, and behind which sediment was carried away by the breaking waves. Over time, sandplates arose, which finally were only covered by infrequent storm floods. Once plants began to colonize the sandbanks the land began to stabilise. ^[44]

The North Frisian Islands, on the other hand, arose from the remains of old Geestland islands, where the land was partially removed by storm floods and water action and then separated from the mainland. The North Frisian Islands are a group of islands in the Wadden Sea, a part of the North Sea, off the western coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Geestland or Geest is a type of landscape in Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. They are, therefore, often higher and their cores are less exposed to changes than the islands to the south. Beyond the core, however, the same processes are at work, particularly evident on Sylt, where in the south of the island, a break threatens, whilst the harbour at List silts up. Sylt (Sild Söl'ring North Frisian: Söl') is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district Schleswig-Holstein A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences) or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the Weather or are stored List is the northernmost municipality in Germany, located on the North Sea island of Sylt close to Denmark in the district of Nordfriesland ^[45] The Danish Islands, the next in the chain to the north, arose from sandbanks. Right up into the twentieth century, the silting up of the islands was a serious problem. To protect the islands, small woods were planted.

The island of Helgoland was not formed by sediment deposition; in fact, it is considerably older and is composed of Early Triassic sandstone. Heligoland (Helgoland Heligolandic: deät Lun) is a small German Archipelago in the North Sea. The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 251 to 199 Ma (million years ago Sandstone is a Sedimentary rock composed mainly of Sand -size Mineral or rock grains.

Storm tides

Storm tides threaten, in particular, the coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark. The Thames Barrier is a flood control structure on the River Thames, constructed between 1974 and 1984 at Woolwich Reach and first used defensively in 1983 Storm surge or tidal surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system typically a Tropical cyclone. These coasts are quite flat, so even a relatively small increase in the water levels is sufficient to put large stretches of land under water. Storms from the west are especially strong, so the most dangerous places are on the south-east coast. Over the years, floods caused by storm tides have cost hundreds of thousands of lives and have significantly helped to shape the coast. Until early modern times, the number of victims from a single storm tide could be in the tens of thousands, even exceeding a hundred thousand, though to what extent these historically-reported casualties are accurate can only be estimated with difficulty.

The first recorded storm tide flood was the Julianenflut, on February 17, 1164. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori In its wake the Jadebusen began to form. Jadebusen, formerly Jade or Jahde, is a bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. Ancient records tell also of the First Marcellus Flood, which struck West Frieslandin 1219. For the history of West Friesland see West Friesland (historical region[[Image West-Friesland A storm tide in 1228 is recorded to have killed more than 100,000 people. The Second Marcellus Flood also known as the Grote Mandrenke in 1362 hit the entire southern coast of the North Sea. The (1st Grote Mandrenke Chronicles of the time again record more than 100,000 deaths as large parts of the coast were lost permanently to the sea, including the now legendary town of Rungholt (see Lost city). Rungholt was a wealthy city in Nordfriesland, northern Germany. In the popular imagination lost cities were real prosperous well-populated areas of human habitation that fell into terminal decline and whose location was later lost

In the twentieth century the North Sea flood of 1953 flooded several nations' coasts and cost more than 2000 lives. The North Sea flood of 1953 and the associated storm combined to create a major Natural disaster which affected the coastlines of the Netherlands and England ^[46] 315 citizens of Hamburg died in the North Sea flood of 1962. The North Sea flood of 1962 was a Natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of Germany and in particular the city of Hamburg in the night from The "Century Flood" of 1976 and the "North Frisian Flood" of 1981 brought the highest water levels measured to date on the North Sea coast, but because of the dikes built and improved after the flood of 1962, these led only to property damage. LeveeEmbankmentDitch A dike (or dyke) levee, levée, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial ^[47] A storm surge occurred on November 9, 2007, causing some flooding. The conditions were likened to those that had caused the damage and large loss of life in 1953. Fortunately, in 2007, nowhere near as much damage was caused although the Thames Barrier was closed twice to protect London. The Thames Barrier is a flood control structure on the River Thames, constructed between 1974 and 1984 at Woolwich Reach and first used defensively in 1983 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

Coastal preservation

The southern coastal areas were originally amphibious. The land included countless islands and islets which had been divided by rivers, streams, and wetlands and areas of dry land were regularly flooded. In areas especially vulnerable to storm tides, people settled first on natural areas of high ground such as spits and Geestland. A spit is a deposition Landform found off Coasts. At one end spits connect to land while at the far end they exist in open water Geestland or Geest is a type of landscape in Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. As early as 500 BC, people were constructing artificial dwelling hills several meters high. An artificial dwelling hill (known as Terp, Wierde, Woerd, Warf, Warft, Werf, Wurt and Værft) is It was only around the beginning of the High Middle Ages in 1200 AD that inhabitants began to connect single ring dikes into a dike line along the entire coast, thereby turning amphibious regions between the land and the sea into permanent solid ground. The High Middle Ages was the period of European history in the 11th 12th and 13th centuries (AD 1000&ndash1299

The modern form of the dikes began to take form in the 17th and 18th centuries, built by private enterprises in the Netherlands. The Dutch dike builders exported their designs to other North Sea regions. The North Sea Floods of 1953 and 1962 were impetus for further raising of the dikes as well as the shortening of the dike line through land reclamation and river weirs so as to present as little surface area as possible to the punishment of the sea and the storms. WEIR (1430 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format ^[48] Currently, 27% of the Netherlands is below sea level protected by dikes, dunes, and beach flats. ^[49]

Coastal preservation today consists of several levels. The dike slope reduces the energy of the incoming sea, so that the dike itself does not receive the full impact. Dikes that lie directly on the sea are especially reinforced. The dikes have, over the years, been repeatedly raised, sometimes up to 10 m (32 ft) and have become flatter in order to better reduce the erosion of the waves. Modern dikes are up to 100 m (328 ft) across. Behind the dike, there runs an access road and generally a thinly inhabited area. In many places, another dike follows after several kilometers.

Where the dunes are sufficient to protect the land behind them from the sea, these dunes are planted with beach grass to protect them from erosion by wind, water, and foot traffic. ^[50] See also:

• Flood control in the Netherlands
• Zuiderzee Works
• Delta Works
• Thames barrier
• Afsluitdijk

Economy

Oil and gas

In 1958, geologists discovered a natural gas field in Slochteren in the Dutch province of Groningen and it was suspected that more fields lay under the North Sea. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Slochteren ( is a Municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. Groningen is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. However, at this point, the rights to natural resource exploitation on the high seas were still under dispute. ^[51]

Test drilling began in 1966 and, then in 1969, Phillips Petroleum Company discovered the Ekofisk oil field (now Norwegian), which at that point was one of the 20 largest in the world and turned out to be distinguished by valuable low-sulfur oil. Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by LE Phillips and Frank Phillips, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Ekofisk is an oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Commercial exploitation began in 1971 with tankers and after 1975 by a pipeline first to Cleveland, England and then after 1977 also to Emden, Germany. History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Cleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land" referring to its hilly southern areas which rise to nearly. Emden is a City and Seaport in the northwest of Germany, on River Ems. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, nicknames of Aberdeen have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. North Sea oil refers to oil and Natural gas ( Hydrocarbons produced from Oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea. Aberdeen ( pronounced; Aiberdeen Obar Dheathain is Scotland 's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council ^[52]

The exploitation of the North Sea oil reserves began just before the 1973 oil crisis, and the climb of international oil prices made the large investments needed for extraction much more attractive. The 1973 oil crisis began on October 17 1973 when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC consisting of the Arab members of In the 1980s and 1990s, further discoveries of large oil fields followed. Although the production costs are relatively high, the quality of the oil, the political stability of the region, and the nearness of important markets in western Europe has made the North Sea an important oil producing region. The largest single environmental catastrophe in the North Sea was the destruction of the offshore oil platform Piper Alpha in 1988 in which 167 people lost their lives. Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia Ltd.

With more than 450 oil platforms, the North Sea is the most important region in the world for offshore drilling. An oil platform or oil rig is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill and/or extract oil and Natural gas through wells The British section of North Sea has the most platforms, followed by the Norwegian, Dutch, and Danish sections. Besides the Ekofisk oil field, the Statfjord oil field is also notable as it was the cause of the first pipeline to span the Norwegian trench. Statfjord is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by StatoilHydro (and by Statoil prior to the merger The Norwegian trench or Norwegian channel ( Norwegian: Norskerenna Danish: Norskerenden) is an elongated depression in the sea floor The largest natural gas field in the North Sea, Troll Field, lies in the Norwegian trench at a depth of 345 meters (1100 ft). A giant platform was required to access it. The Troll A platform is a Condeep offshore natural gas platform in the Troll gas field. The German section has only two oil platforms, the larger of the two being the Mittelplate, and is the least developed North Sea border-country in this respect. Mittelplate is Germany ’s largest Oil field. It was first tapped from the homonymous concrete Oil platform Mittelplate-A

In 1999, extraction reached an all time high with nearly 6 million barrels (950,000 m³) of crude oil and 280,000,000 m³ (999,000,000 cu ft)of natural gas per day being taken. ^[53]Today, the North Sea is a well-developed natural resource area, in which few new large discoveries are likely to be made. All the large oil companies have been involved in the extraction. But in the last few years, large companies like Shell and BP have discontinued extraction and, since 1999, the amount extracted has continually fallen due to depleted reserves. Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known simply as Shell, is a multinational oil company of Dutch and British origins BP plc, previously known as British Petroleum, is the third largest global Energy company, a multinational oil company (" Oil major

The price of Brent Crude, one of the first types of oil extracted from the North Sea, is used today as a standard price for comparison for crude oil from the rest of the world. Brent Crude is the biggest of the many major classifications of oil consisting of Brent Crude Brent Sweet Light Crude, Oseberg and Forties

Fishing

Main article: Fishing in the North Sea

Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters. Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters This article is about the peninsula and municipality in Germany The main method of fishing is trawling. Trawling is a method of Fishing that involves pulling a large Fishing net through the water behind one or more boats

Annual catches grew each year until the 1980s, when a high point of more than 3 million metric tons (3. 3 million S/T) was reached. Since then, the numbers have fallen back to around 2. 3 million tons (2. 5 million S/T) annually with considerable differences between years. Besides the fish caught, it is estimated that 150,000 metric tons (165,000 S/T) of unmarketable by-catch are caught and around 85,000 metric tons (94,000 S/T) of dead and injured invertebrates. An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate ^[54]

In recent decades, overfishing has left many fisheries unproductive, disturbing the marine food chain dynamics and costing jobs in the fishing industry. Overfishing occurs when Fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level Food chains, also called food networks and/or trophic networks, describe the feeding relationships between species within an Ecosystem. ^[55] Herring, cod and plaice fisheries may soon face the same plight as mackerel fishing which ceased in the 1970s due to overfishing. ^[56] Since the 1960s, various regulations have attempted to protect the stocks of fish such as limited fishing times and limited numbers of fishing boats, among other regulations. However, these rules were never systematically enforced and did not bring much relief. Since then, the United Kingdom and Denmark, two important fishing nations, became members of the EU, and have attempted, with the help of the Common Fisheries Policy, to bring the problem under control. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP is the fisheries policy of the European Union. ^[57]

Mineral resources

In addition to oil, gas and fish, the states along the North Sea also take millions of cubic meters per year of sand and gravel from the ocean floor. Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Gravel is rock that is of a specific Particle size range In Geology, gravel is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters (2mm These are used for construction projects, sand for beaches, and coast protection. The largest extractors of sand and gravel in 2003 were the Netherlands (around 30 million m³ {322 million sq ft}) and Denmark (around 10 million m³ {110 million sq ft} from the North Sea). ^[58]

Rolled pieces of amber, usually small but occasionally of very large size, may be picked up on the east coast of England, having probably been washed up from deposits under the North Sea. Amber is Fossil tree Resin, which is appreciated for its color and beauty Cromer is the best-known locality, but it occurs also on other parts of the Norfolk coast, such as Great Yarmouth, as well as Southwold, Aldeburgh and Felixstowe in Suffolk, and as far south as Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, whilst northwards it is not unknown in Yorkshire. Cromer is a coastal Town and Civil parish in the north of the English county of Norfolk. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a Coastal Town in Norfolk, England. Southwold is a Seaside town in the Waveney district of Suffolk, East Anglia, England, at the mouth of the River Blyth Aldeburgh ( IPA /ˈɔlbrə/ is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England; it is located on the Alde river at 52° 9' North 1° 36' East Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. Suffolk (ˈsʌfək is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring district Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in Great Britain. On the other side of the North Sea, amber is found at various localities on the coast of the Netherlands and Denmark. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Amber was also found on the Baltic coast across northern Europe. Some of the amber districts of the Baltic and North Sea were known in prehistoric times, and led to early trade with the south of Europe through the Amber Road. The Amber Road was an ancient Trade route for the transfer of Amber.

Renewable energy

Further information: Renewable energy in Scotland

Due to the strong prevailing winds, countries on the North Sea, specifically England and Denmark, have used the areas near the coast of the sea for wind driven electricity production since the 1990s. The production of renewable energy in Scotland is an issue that has come to the fore in technical economic and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century The first wind turbines appeared off the English coast near Blyth in the year 2000 and then off the Danish coast in 2002 near Horns Rev. A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the Kinetic energy in Wind into Mechanical energy. Blyth ( or spelling pronunciation) is a Town in southeast Northumberland, England. Horns Rev is a shallow area in the eastern North Sea, about 15 km / 10 miles off the westernmost point of Denmark, Blåvands Huk. Others have been commissioned, including OWEZ and Scroby Sands and more are in the planning phase. Windpark Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ is the first large scale offshore Wind farm built off the Dutch North Sea coast The Scroby Sands wind farm is a wind farm located in the North Sea, off the coast of Great Yarmouth in eastern England, and erected in Offshore wind farms have met some resistance, for instance in Germany. A wind farm is a group of Wind turbines in the same location used for production of electric power Concerns have arisen about shipping collisions and damage to the ocean ecology, particularly by the construction of the foundations. Furthermore, the distance from consumers leads to considerable energy losses in transmission. ^[59] Nonetheless, the first deep water turbines in Scotland are under commissioning for Talisman Energy, who are installing two large machines 25 km (15 mi) offshore adjacent to the Beatrice oilfield. Talisman Energy Inc ( is one of Canada's largest Petroleum SB companies These turbines are 88 m (290 ft) high with the blades 63 m (210 ft) long and will have a capacity of 5 MW each, making them the largest in the world. ^[60][61]

Energy production from the sea is still in its early stages. The southern parts of the North Sea, do not have tides, waves or currents strong enough to harness energy usefully. The Norwegian coast and the intersection with the Irish Sea could be found suitable for waves or ocean currents to provide power. The Irish Sea ( Irish: Muir Éireann or Muir Meann; Scottish Gaelic: Muir Eireann Welsh: Môr Iwerddon, Wave power refers to the Energy of Ocean surface waves and the capture of that energy to do useful work — including Electricity generation, First attempts for a power plant deriving electricity from the waves from 2003-2005 in Denmark were given up. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) based at Stromness in Orkney is a Scottish Government-backed research facility. Stromness /ˈstrɔmnəs/ is the second-largest town in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, and is located in the south-west of the mainland of Orkney The Scottish Government (SG ( Scottish Gaelic: Riaghaltas na h-Alba) is the executive arm of the government of Scotland. They have installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney mainland and a tidal power testing station on the nearby island of Eday. eDay is an annual New Zealand initiative started by Computer Access New Zealand aimed to raise awareness of the potential dangers associated with Electronic waste ^[62] A small pilot-facility for the production of blue energy exists in the Norwegian city of Trondheim. (Trondhjem is a city and municipality in the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. ^[63]

Tourism

The beaches and coastal waters of the North Sea are popular destinations for tourists. The Belgian, Dutch, German and Danish coasts are especially developed for tourism. While many of the busiest British beach resorts are on the South Coast, the British East Coast also has several important beach resorts.

Windsurfing and sailing are popular sports because of the winds. Because of the strong tides and areas of still water, the North Sea is more difficult to sail than the Baltic or the Mediterranean. Mudflat hiking, recreational fishing, and diving, including wreck diving, are all possible. Wadlopen is a recreation enjoyed by Frisians, Dutch, Germans, Danes, and others in the Netherlands northwest Germany and in Denmark Recreational diving or sport diving is a type of diving that uses SCUBA equipment for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment Wreck diving is a type of Recreational diving where Shipwrecks are explored

The climatic conditions on the North Sea coast are thought to be especially healthful. As early as the 19th century travellers used their stays on the North Sea coast as curative and restorative vacations (German:Kur-Urlaub). The sea air, temperature, wind, water, and sunshine are counted among the beneficial conditions that are said to activate the body's defences, improve circulation, strengthen the immune system, and have healing effects on the skin and the respiratory system. Besides the climate, thalassotherapy spas often use sea waters, mud, brine, algae, and sea salt for curative and restorative purposes. Thalassotherapy, (from the Greek word thalassa, meaning " Sea " is the Medical use of Seawater.

One peculiarity of the North Sea tourism until the 1990s was the Butterfahrten. These were trips past the German tariff barriers onto the high seas for the purpose of purchasing items much more cheaply than they could be bought in Germany itself. The name comes from the time when butter was an expensive commodity and could be purchased more cheaply from Denmark. Other important wares were the heavily taxed goods like tobacco, spirits, and perfume.

Marine traffic

See also: List of North Sea ports

The North Sea is very important for marine traffic and experiences some of the densest concentrations of ships in the world. This is a list of Ports of the North Sea and its influent Rivers Note this list does not include ports on the Skagerrak, the Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Great ports of the world are located along its coasts: Rotterdam, the third busiest port in the world by tonnage, Antwerp and Hamburg, both in the top 25, as well as Bremen/Bremerhaven and Felixstowe, both in the top 30 busiest container seaports. Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of This is a list of the world's busiest Seaports by cargo tonnage, the total mass of actual cargo transported through the port ||-||-||-||} Antwerp ( Dutch:, French: Anvers) is a City and Municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Bremen (ˈbʁeːmən is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany (official name Stadtgemeinde Bremen / City Municipality of Bremen Bremerhaven (bʁeːmɐˈhaːfən is the seaport of the free city and federal state of Bremen, Germany. The Port of Felixstowe, in Suffolk is the UK's busiest container port dealing with 35% of the country's container cargo This is a list of the world's busiest container Seaports, total mass of actual TEU (in thousands transported through the port ^[64]

All major ports have easy access to the various sea lanes of the North Sea, which are monitored, well-regulated and regularly dredged. Traffic in the North Sea is especially difficult. Fishing boats, oil and gas platforms as well as merchant traffic from Baltic ports share routes on the North Sea surface area. This table lists statistics ( 2002) ( Gdańsk, Świnoujście, Szczecin and Helsinki - 2004)( Klaipėda, Lübeck The possibility of bottlenecks at the English Channel, which sees 400 vessels a day^[65] and the Kiel Canal, which averages more than 100 per day plus sport traffic (2003 figure)^[66] can add to the difficulty. The North Sea coasts are home to numerous canals and canal systems to facilitate traffic between and among rivers, artificial harbours, and the sea. Notable canals include the North Sea Canal, which shortened the connection between the port of Amsterdam to the North Sea^[67],and the Kiel Canal, the world's busiest artificial waterway, which connects the North Sea and the Baltic. The North Sea Canal (in Dutch Noordzeekanaal) is a Dutch Ship canal from Amsterdam to the North Sea at IJmuiden Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west The Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal until 1948 known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal, is a 61 miles (98 kilometres long Canal in the German Bundesland

See also

• Doggerland
• 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake
• List of languages of the North Sea
• North Sea Commission
• Nautical Portal
• Geography Portal

Further reading

• Ilyina, P Ilyina (2007) The fate of persistent organic pollutants in the North Sea. Doggerland is the former landmass in the southern North Sea which connected the island of Great Britain to mainland Europe during the last ice Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931 was the strongest Earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom since measurements began This is a list of the languages spoken on the shores of the North Sea The North Sea Commission is an International organization founded in 1989. Springer. ISBN 9783540681625)
• Karlsdóttir, Hrefna M (2005) Fishing on common grounds : the consequences of unregulated fisheries of North Sea herring in the postwar period. ISBN 9185196622)
• North Sea coast: landscape panoramas (2007, ISBN 9781877339653)
• Rural History in the North Sea Area A State of the Art. (2007, ISBN 9782503510057)
• Mesolithic studies in the North Sea Basin and beyond : proceedings of a conference held at Newcastle in 2003 (2007, ISBN 1842172247)
• Offshore wind energy in the North Sea Region : the state of affairs of offshore wind energy projects, national policies and economic, environmental and technological conditions in Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom (2005, OCLC: 71640714)
• Bridging Troubled Waters : Conflict and Co-operation in the North Sea Region since 1550 (2005, ISBN 8790982304)

References

External links

• Etymology and History of names
• Overview of geography, hydrography and climate of the North SeaPDF (2. 94 MiB)
• Silver Pit theories
• Silver Pit chart
• The North Sea Museum in Hirtshals, Denmark
• Old map : Manuscript chart of the North Sea, VOC, ca.1690 (high resolution zoomable scan)
• University of Southampton, Reconstruction of Submerged Landscapes
• North Sea Commission Environment Group Member Profiles 2006
• The Jurassic-Cretaceous North Sea Rift Dome and associated Basin Evolution

Coordinates: 56°N 3°E / 56, 3

A mebibyte (a contraction of me ga bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, abbreviated MiB. Hirtshals is a town in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland on the north coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system.

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