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North Sea

January 13, 2023

For other uses, see North Sea (disambiguation).

The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, covering 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi).

North Sea
LocationWestern Europe and Northern Europe
Coordinates56°N 3°E / 56°N 3°E / 56; 3 (North Sea)Coordinates: 56°N 3°E / 56°N 3°E / 56; 3 (North Sea)
TypeSea
Primary inflowsBaltic Sea, Elbe, Weser, Ems, Rhine/Waal, Meuse, Scheldt, Spey, Don, Dee, Tay, Forth, Tyne, Wear, Tees, Humber, Thames
Basin countriesUnited Kingdom (specifically England and Scotland), Norway, Denmark, Germany (specifically Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein), the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Czech Republic
Max. length960 km (600 mi)
Max. width580 km (360 mi)
Surface area570,000 km2 (220,000 sq mi)
Average depth95 m (312 ft)
Max. depth700 m (2,300 ft)
Water volume54,000 km3 (4.4×1010 acre⋅ft)
Salinity3.4 to 3.5%
Max. temperature18 °C (64 °F)
Min. temperature6 °C (43 °F)
ReferencesSeatemperature.org and Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Map all coordinates in "Geography of the North Sea" using: OpenStreetMap 
Download coordinates as: KML

It hosts key north European shipping lanes and is a major fishery. The coast is a popular destination for recreation and tourism in bordering countries, and a rich source of energy resources, including wind and wave power.

The North Sea has featured prominently in geopolitical and military affairs, particularly in Northern Europe, from the Middle Ages to the modern era. It was also important globally through the power northern Europeans projected worldwide during much of the Middle Ages and into the modern era. The North Sea was the centre of the Vikings' rise. The Hanseatic League, the Dutch Republic, and the British each sought to gain command of the North Sea and access to the world's markets and resources. As Germany's only outlet to the ocean, the North Sea was strategically important through both World Wars.

The coast has diverse geology and geography. In the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark much of its Norwegian and Scottish coastlines respectively, whereas in the south, the coast consists mainly of sandy beaches, estuaries of long rivers and wide mudflats. Due to the dense population, heavy industrialisation, and intense use of the sea and the area surrounding it, there have been various environmental issues affecting the sea's ecosystems. Adverse environmental issues – commonly including overfishing, industrial and agricultural runoff, dredging, and dumping, among others – have led to several efforts to prevent degradation and to safeguard the long-term economic benefits.

Geography

Main article: Geography of the North Sea
See also: List of rivers discharging into the North Sea
 
 
Sk=Skagerrak   Ka=Kattegat
Eng Ch=English Channel

The North Sea is bounded by the Orkney Islands and east coast of Great Britain to the west[1] and the northern and central European mainland to the east and south, including Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.[2] In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean.[1][2] In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat,[2] narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively.[1] In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands, and connects with the Norwegian Sea, which is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean.[1][3]

The North Sea is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of 750,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi) and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres (13,000 cu mi).[4] Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos, including Shetland, Orkney, and the Frisian Islands.[2] The North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles. A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea, including water from the Baltic Sea. The largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse.[5] Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas.[6]

Major features

For the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres (300 ft).[1][7] The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to an area north of Bergen.[1] It is between 20 and 30 kilometres (12 and 19 mi) wide and has a maximum depth of 725 metres (2,379 ft).[8]

The Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris, rises to a mere 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) below the surface.[9][10] This feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea.[1] The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with roughly uniform depth in fathoms (forty fathoms and fourteen fathoms or 73 and 26 m or 240 and 85 ft deep, respectively). These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate,[11] which has been alleviated by the implementation of satellite navigation systems.[12] The Devil's Hole lies 320 kilometres (200 mi) east of Dundee, Scotland. The feature is a series of asymmetrical trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres (12 and 19 mi) long, one and two kilometres (0.6 and 1.2 mi) wide and up to 230 metres (750 ft) deep.[13]

Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank, Fisher Bank and Noordhinder Bank.

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows:[14]

On the Southwest. A line joining the Walde Lighthouse (France, 1°55'E) and Leathercoat Point (England, 51°10'N).[15]

On the Northwest. From Dunnet Head (3°22'W) in Scotland to Tor Ness (58°47'N) in the Island of Hoy, thence through this island to the Kame of Hoy (58°55'N) on to Breck Ness on Mainland (58°58'N) through this island to Costa Head (3°14'W) and Inga Ness (59'17'N) in Westray through Westray, to Bow Head, across to Mull Head (North point of Papa Westray) and on to Seal Skerry (North point of North Ronaldsay) and thence to Horse Island (South point of the Shetland Islands).

On the North. From the North point (Fethaland Point) of the Mainland of the Shetland Islands, across to Graveland Ness (60°39'N) in the Island of Yell, through Yell to Gloup Ness (1°04'W) and across to Spoo Ness (60°45'N) in Unst island, through Unst to Herma Ness (60°51'N), on to the SW point of the Rumblings and to Muckle Flugga (60°51′N 0°53′W / 60.850°N 0.883°W / 60.850; -0.883) all these being included in the North Sea area; thence up the meridian of 0°53' West to the parallel of 61°00' North and eastward along this parallel to the coast of Norway, the whole of Viking Bank is thus included in the North Sea.

On the East. The Western limit of the Skagerrak [A line joining Hanstholm (57°07′N 8°36′E / 57.117°N 8.600°E / 57.117; 8.600) and the Naze (Lindesnes, 58°N 7°E / 58°N 7°E / 58; 7)].

Hydrology

Temperature and salinity

 
Ocean currents mainly entering via the north entrance exiting along the Norwegian coast
 
• Localization of the tide-gauges listed
• Tide times after Bergen (negative = before)
• The three amphidromic centers
• Coasts:
  marshes = green
  mudflats = greenish blue
  lagoons = bright blue
  dunes = yellow
  sea dikes= purple
  moraines near the coast= light brown
  rock-based coasts = greyish brown

The average temperature is 17 °C (63 °F) in the summer and 6 °C (43 °F) in the winter.[4] The average temperatures have been trending higher since 1988, which has been attributed to climate change.[16][17] Air temperatures in January range on average between 0 to 4 °C (32 to 39 °F) and in July between 13 to 18 °C (55 to 64 °F). The winter months see frequent gales and storms.[1]

The salinity averages between 34 and 35 grams per litre (129 and 132 g/US gal) of water.[4] The salinity has the highest variability where there is fresh water inflow, such as at the Rhine and Elbe estuaries, the Baltic Sea exit and along the coast of Norway.[18]

Water circulation and tides

The main pattern to the flow of water in the North Sea is an anti-clockwise rotation along the edges.[19]

The North Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean receiving the majority of ocean current from the northwest opening, and a lesser portion of warm current from the smaller opening at the English Channel. These tidal currents leave along the Norwegian coast.[20] Surface and deep water currents may move in different directions. Low salinity surface coastal waters move offshore, and deeper, denser high salinity waters move inshore.[21]

The North Sea located on the continental shelf has different waves from those in deep ocean water. The wave speeds are diminished and the wave amplitudes are increased. In the North Sea there are two amphidromic systems and a third incomplete amphidromic system.[22][23] In the North Sea the average tide difference in wave amplitude is between zero and eight metres (26 ft).[An average is a single figure, not a range.][4]

The Kelvin tide of the Atlantic Ocean is a semidiurnal wave that travels northward. Some of the energy from this wave travels through the English Channel into the North Sea. The wave continues to travel northward in the Atlantic Ocean, and once past the northern tip of Great Britain, the Kelvin wave turns east and south and once again enters the North Sea.[24]

Selected tidal ranges
Tidal range (m)
(from calendars)		 Maximum tidal range (m) Tide-gauge Geographical and historical features
0.79–1.82 2.39 Lerwick[25] Shetland Islands
2.01–3.76 4.69 Aberdeen[26] Mouth of River Dee in Scotland
2.38–4.61 5.65 North Shields[27] Mouth of Tyne estuary
2.31–6.04 8.20 Kingston upon Hull[28] Northern side of Humber estuary
1.75–4.33 7.14 Grimsby[29] Southern side of Humber estuary farther seaward
1.98–6.84 6.90 Skegness[30] Lincolnshire coast north of the Wash
1.92–6.47 7.26 King's Lynn[31] Mouth of Great Ouse into the Wash
2.54–7.23 Hunstanton[32] Eastern edge of the Wash
2.34–3.70 4.47 Harwich[33] East Anglian coast north of Thames Estuary
4.05–6.62 7.99 London Bridge[34] Inner end of Thames Estuary
2.38–6.85 6.92 Dunkerque[35] Dune coast east of the Strait of Dover
2.02–5.53 5.59 Zeebrugge[36] Dune coast west of Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta
3.24–4.96 6.09 Antwerp[37] Inner end of the southernmost estuary of Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta
1.48–1.90 2.35 Rotterdam[38] Borderline of estuary delta[39] and sedimentation delta of the Rhine
1.10–2.03 2.52 Katwijk[40] Mouth of the Uitwateringskanaal of the Oude Rijn into the sea
1.15–1.72 2.15 Den Helder[41] Northeastern end of Holland dune coast west of IJsselmeer
1.67–2.20 2.65 Harlingen[42] East of IJsselmeer, outlet of IJssel river, the eastern branch of the Rhine
1.80–2.69 3.54 Borkum[43] Island in front of Ems river estuary
2.96–3.71 Emden[44] East side of Ems river estuary
2.60–3.76 4.90 Wilhelmshaven[45] Jade Bight
2.66–4.01 4.74 Bremerhaven[46] Seaward end of Weser estuary
3.59–4.62 Bremen-Oslebshausen[47] Bremer Industriehäfen, inner Weser estuary
3.3–4.0 Bremen Weser barrage[48] Artificial tide limit of river Weser, 4 km upstream of the city centre
2.6–4.0 Bremerhaven 1879[49] Before start of Weser Correction (Weser straightening works)
0–0.3 Bremen city centre 1879[49] Before start of Weser Correction (Weser straightening works)
1.45 Bremen city centre 1900[50] Große Weserbrücke, 5 years after completion of Weser Correction works
2.54–3.48 4.63 Cuxhaven[51] Seaward end of Elbe estuary
3.4–3.9 4.63 Hamburg St. Pauli[52][53] St. Pauli Piers, inner part of Elbe estuary
1.39–2.03 2.74 Westerland[54] Sylt island, off the Nordfriesland coast
2.8–3.4 Dagebüll[55] Coast of Wadden Sea in Nordfriesland
1.1–2.1 2.17 Esbjerg[56][57] Northern end of Wadden Sea in Denmark
0.5–1.1 Hvide Sande[56] Danish dune coast, entrance of Ringkøbing Fjord lagoon
0.3–0.5 Thyborøn[56] Danish dune coast, entrance of Nissum Bredning lagoon, part of Limfjord
0.2–04 Hirtshals[56] Skagerrak. Hanstholm and Skagen have the same values.
0.14–0.30 0.26 Tregde[58] Skagerrak, southern end of Norway, east of an amphidromic point
0.25–0.60 0.65 Stavanger[58] North of that amphidromic point, tidal rhythm irregular
0.64–1.20 1.61 Bergen[58] Tidal rhythm regular

Coasts

Main article: Coastline of the North Sea
 
The German North Sea coast

The eastern and western coasts of the North Sea are jagged, formed by glaciers during the ice ages. The coastlines along the southernmost part are covered with the remains of deposited glacial sediment.[1] The Norwegian mountains plunge into the sea creating deep fjords and archipelagos. South of Stavanger, the coast softens, the islands become fewer.[1] The eastern Scottish coast is similar, though less severe than Norway. From north east 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.[59][60] In the Netherlands, Belgium and in East Anglia the littoral is low and marshy.[1] The east coast and south-east of the North Sea (Wadden Sea) have coastlines that are mainly sandy and straight owing to longshore drift, particularly along Belgium and Denmark.[61]

Coastal management

Further information: Afsluitdijk, Delta Works, Flood control in the Netherlands, Thames Barrier, and Zuiderzee Works
 
The Afsluitdijk (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands

The southern coastal areas were originally flood plains and swampy land. In areas especially vulnerable to storm surges, people settled behind elevated levees and on natural areas of high ground such as spits and geestland.[62]: [302, 303]  As early as 500 BC, people were constructing artificial dwelling hills higher than the prevailing flood levels.[62]: [306, 308]  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.[62]

The modern form of the dikes supplemented by overflow and lateral diversion channels, began to appear in the 17th and 18th centuries, built in the Netherlands.[63] The North Sea Floods of 1953 and 1962 were the impetus for further raising of the dikes as well as the shortening of the coast line so as to present as little surface area as possible to the punishment of the sea and the storms.[64] Currently, 27% of the Netherlands is below sea level protected by dikes, dunes, and beach flats.[65]

Coastal management today consists of several levels.[66] The dike slope reduces the energy of the incoming sea, so that the dike itself does not receive the full impact.[66] Dikes that lie directly on the sea are especially reinforced.[66] The dikes have, over the years, been repeatedly raised, sometimes up to 9 metres (30 ft) and have been made flatter to better reduce wave erosion.[67] Where the dunes are sufficient to protect the land behind them from the sea, these dunes are planted with beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) to protect them from erosion by wind, water, and foot traffic.[68]

Storm tides

Main article: Storm tides of the North Sea

Storm surges threaten, in particular, the coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark and low-lying areas of eastern England particularly around The Wash and Fens.[61] Storm surges are caused by changes in barometric pressure combined with strong wind created wave action.[69]

The first recorded storm tide flood was the Julianenflut, on 17 February 1164. In its wake, the Jadebusen, (a bay on the coast of Germany), began to form. A storm tide in 1228 is recorded to have killed more than 100,000 people.[70] In 1362, the Second Marcellus Flood, also known as the Grote Manndrenke, hit the entire southern coast of the North Sea. Chronicles of the time again record more than 100,000 deaths, large parts of the coast were lost permanently to the sea, including the now legendary lost city of Rungholt.[71] In the 20th century, the North Sea flood of 1953 flooded several nations' coasts and cost more than 2,000 lives.[72] 315 citizens of Hamburg died in the North Sea flood of 1962.[73]: [79, 86] 

Tsunamis

Though rare, the North Sea has been the site of a number of historically documented tsunamis. The Storegga Slides were a series of underwater landslides, in which a piece of the Norwegian continental shelf slid into the Norwegian Sea. The immense landslips occurred between 8150 BCE and 6000 BCE, and caused a tsunami up to 20 metres (66 ft) high that swept through the North Sea, having the greatest effect on Scotland and the Faeroe Islands.[74][75] The Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 is among the first recorded earthquakes in the North Sea measuring between 5.6 and 5.9 on the Richter scale. This event caused extensive damage in Calais both through its tremors and possibly triggered a tsunami, though this has never been confirmed. The theory is a vast underwater landslide in the English Channel was triggered by the earthquake, which in turn caused a tsunami.[76] The tsunami triggered by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake reached Holland, although the waves had lost their destructive power. The largest earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom was the 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake, which measured 6.1 on the Richter magnitude scale and caused a small tsunami that flooded parts of the British coast.[76]

Geology

Main articles: Geology of the North Sea and Geology of southern North Sea

Shallow epicontinental seas like the current North Sea have since long existed on the European continental shelf. The rifting that formed the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, from about 150 million years ago, caused tectonic uplift in the British Isles.[77] Since then, a shallow sea has almost continuously existed between the uplands of the Fennoscandian Shield and the British Isles.[78] This precursor of the current North Sea has grown and shrunk with the rise and fall of the eustatic sea level during geologic time. Sometimes it was connected with other shallow seas, such as the sea above the Paris Basin to the south-west, the Paratethys Sea to the south-east, or the Tethys Ocean to the south.[79]

During the Late Cretaceous, about 85 million years ago, all of modern mainland Europe except for Scandinavia was a scattering of islands.[80] By the Early Oligocene, 34 to 28 million years ago, the emergence of Western and Central Europe had almost completely separated the North Sea from the Tethys Ocean, which gradually shrank to become the Mediterranean as Southern Europe and South West Asia became dry land.[81] The North Sea was cut off from the English Channel by a narrow land bridge until that was breached by at least two catastrophic floods between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago.[82][83] Since the start of the Quaternary period about 2.6 million years ago, the eustatic sea level has fallen during each glacial period and then risen again. Every time the ice sheet reached its greatest extent, the North Sea became almost completely dry, the dry landmass being known as Doggerland, whose northern regions were themselves known to have been glaciated.[84] The present-day coastline formed after the Last Glacial Maximum when the sea began to flood the European continental shelf.[85]

In 2006 a bone fragment was found while drilling for oil in the North Sea. Analysis indicated that it was a Plateosaurus from 199 to 216 million years ago. This was the deepest dinosaur fossil ever found and the first find for Norway.[86]

  •  

    Map showing hypothetical extent of Doggerland (c. 8,000 BC), which provided a land bridge between Great Britain and continental Europe

  •  

    North Sea from De Koog, Texel island

  •  

    The North Sea between 34 million years ago and 28 million years ago, as Central Europe became dry land

Nature

Fish and shellfish

See also: List of fish of the North Sea
 
Pacific oysters, blue mussels and cockles in the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands

Copepods and other zooplankton are plentiful in the North Sea. These tiny organisms are crucial elements of the food chain supporting many species of fish.[87] Over 230 species of fish live in the North Sea. Cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, plaice, sole, mackerel, herring, pouting, sprat, and sandeel are all very common and are fished commercially.[87][88] Due to the various depths of the North Sea trenches and differences in salinity, temperature, and water movement, some fish such as blue-mouth redfish and rabbitfish reside only in small areas of the North Sea.[89]

Crustaceans are also commonly found throughout the sea. Norway lobster, deep-water prawns, and brown shrimp are all commercially fished, but other species of lobster, shrimp, oyster, mussels and clams all live in the North Sea.[87] Recently non-indigenous species have become established including the Pacific oyster and Atlantic jackknife clam.[88]

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 Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.[87] These locations provide breeding habitat for dozens of bird species. Tens of millions of birds make use of the North Sea for breeding, feeding, or migratory stopovers every year. Populations of black-legged kittiwakes, Atlantic puffins, northern gannets, northern fulmars, and species of petrels, seaducks, loons (divers), cormorants, gulls, auks, and terns, and many other seabirds make these coasts popular for birdwatching.[87][88]

 
European seagull on the coast of North Sea

Marine mammals

 
A female bottlenose dolphin with her young in Moray Firth, Scotland

The North Sea is also home to marine mammals. Common seals, grey seals, and harbour porpoises can be found along the coasts, at marine installations, and on islands. The very northern North Sea islands such as the Shetland Islands are occasionally home to a larger variety of pinnipeds including bearded, harp, hooded and ringed seals, and even walrus.[90] North Sea cetaceans include various porpoise, dolphin and whale species.[88][91]

Flora

 
Phytoplankton bloom in the North Sea

Plant species in the North Sea include species of wrack, among them bladder wrack, knotted wrack, and serrated wrack. Algae, macroalgal, and kelp, such as oarweed and laminaria hyperboria, and species of maerl are found as well.[88] Eelgrass, formerly common in the entirety of the Wadden Sea, was nearly wiped out in the 20th century by a disease.[92] Similarly, sea grass used to coat huge tracts of ocean floor, but have been damaged by trawling and dredging have diminished its habitat and prevented its return.[93] Invasive Japanese seaweed has spread along the shores of the sea clogging harbours and inlets and has become a nuisance.[94]

Biodiversity and conservation

Due to the heavy human populations and high level of industrialization along its shores, the wildlife of the North Sea has suffered from pollution, overhunting, and overfishing. Flamingos and pelicans were once found along the southern shores of the North Sea, but became extinct over the second millennium.[95] Walruses frequented the Orkney Islands through the mid-16th century, as both Sable Island and Orkney Islands lay within their normal range.[96] Grey whales also resided in the North Sea but were driven to extinction in the Atlantic in the 17th century[97] Other species have dramatically declined in population, though they are still found. North Atlantic right whales, sturgeon, shad, rays, skates, salmon, and other species were common in the North Sea until the 20th century, when numbers declined due to overfishing.[98][99]

Other factors like the introduction of non-indigenous species, industrial and agricultural pollution, trawling and dredging, human-induced eutrophication, construction on coastal breeding and feeding grounds, sand and gravel extraction, offshore construction, and heavy shipping traffic have also contributed to the decline.[88] For example, a resident orca pod was lost in the 1960s, presumably due to the peak in PCB pollution in this time period.[100]

The OSPAR commission manages the OSPAR convention to counteract the harmful effects of human activity on wildlife in the North Sea, preserve endangered species, and provide environmental protection.[101] All North Sea border states are signatories of the MARPOL 73/78 Accords, which preserve the marine environment by preventing pollution from ships.[102] Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands also 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.[103]

Names

The North Sea has had various names throughout history. One of the earliest recorded names was Septentrionalis Oceanus, or "Northern Ocean", which was cited by Pliny.[104] The name "North Sea" probably came into English, however, via the Dutch "Noordzee", who named it thus either in contrast with the Zuiderzee ("South Sea"), located south of Frisia, or because the sea is generally to the north of the Netherlands. Before the adoption of "North Sea", the names used in English were "German Sea" or "German Ocean", referred to as the Latin names "Mare Germanicum" and "Oceanus Germanicus",[105] and these persisted in use until the First World War.[106] Other common names in use for long periods were the Latin terms "Mare Frisicum", as well as the English equivalent, "Frisian Sea".[107][108] The modern names of the sea in the other local languages are: Danish: Vesterhavet [ˈvestɐˌhɛˀvð̩] ("West Sea") or Nordsøen [ˈnoɐ̯ˌsøˀn̩], Dutch: Noordzee, Dutch Low Saxon: Noordzee, French: Mer du Nord, West Frisian: Noardsee, German: Nordsee, Low German: Noordsee, Northern Frisian: Weestsiie ("West Sea"), Swedish: Nordsjön, Norwegian: Nordsjøen [ˈnûːrˌʂøːn], Nynorsk: Nordsjøen, Scots: North Sea and Scottish Gaelic: An Cuan a Tuath.

History

Main article: History of the North Sea

Early history

The North Sea has provided waterway access for commerce and conquest. Many areas have access to the North Sea because of its long coastline and the European rivers that empty it.[1] There is little documentary evidence concerning the North Sea before the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 CE, however, archaeological evidence reveals the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along the North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing, whaling, and seaborne trade on the North Sea. The Romans established organised ports in Britain, which increased shipping and began sustained trade[109] the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along the North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing, whaling, and seaborne trade on the North Sea. The Romans established organised ports in Britain, which increased shipping and began sustained trade[109] and many Scandinavian tribes participated in raids and wars against the Romans and Roman coinage and manufacturing were important trade goods. When the Romans abandoned Britain in 410, the Germanic Angles, Frisians, Saxons, and Jutes began the next great migration across the North Sea during the Migration Period. They made successive invasions of the island from what is now the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany.[110]

The Viking Age began in 793 with the attack on Lindisfarne; for the next quarter-millennium, the Vikings ruled the North Sea. In their superior longships, they raided, traded, and established colonies and outposts along the coasts of the sea. From the Middle Ages through the 15th century, the northern European coastal ports exported domestic goods, dyes, linen, salt, metal goods and wine. The Scandinavian and Baltic areas shipped grain, fish, naval necessities, and timber. In turn, the North Sea countries imported high-grade cloths, spices, and fruits from the Mediterranean region.[111] Commerce during this era was mainly conducted by maritime trade due to underdeveloped roadways.[111]

In the 13th century the Hanseatic League, though centred on the Baltic Sea, started to control most of the trade through important members and outposts on the North Sea.[112] The League lost its dominance in the 16th century, as neighbouring states took control of former Hanseatic cities and outposts. Their internal conflict prevented effective cooperation and defence.[113] As the League lost control of its maritime cities, new trade routes emerged that provided Europe with Asian, American, and African goods.[114][115]

Age of sail

The 17th century Dutch Golden Age saw Dutch maritime power at its zenith.[116][117] Important overseas colonies, a vast merchant marine, a large fishing fleet,[111] powerful navy, and sophisticated financial markets made the Dutch the ascendant power in the North Sea, to be challenged by an ambitious England. This rivalry led to the first three Anglo-Dutch Wars between 1652 and 1673, which ended with Dutch victories.[117] After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the Dutch prince William ascended to the English throne. With unified leadership, commercial, military, and political power began to shift from Amsterdam to London.[118] The British did not face a challenge to their dominance of the North Sea until the 20th century.[119]

Modern era

 
German cruiser SMS Blücher sinks in the Battle of Dogger Bank on 25 January 1915.

Tensions in the North Sea were again heightened in 1904 by the Dogger Bank incident. During the Russo-Japanese War, several ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet, which was on its way to the Far East, mistook British fishing boats for Japanese ships and fired on them, and then upon each other, near the Dogger Bank, nearly causing Britain to enter the war on the side of Japan.

During the First World War, Great Britain's Grand Fleet and Germany's Kaiserliche Marine faced each other in the North Sea,[120] which became the main theatre of the war for surface action.[120] Britain's larger fleet and North Sea Mine Barrage were able to establish an effective blockade for most of the war, which restricted the Central Powers' access to many crucial resources.[121] Major battles included the Battle of Heligoland Bight,[122] the Battle of the Dogger Bank,[123] and the Battle of Jutland.[123] World War I also brought the first extensive use of submarine warfare, and a number of submarine actions occurred in the North Sea.[124]

The Second World War also saw action in the North Sea,[125] though it was restricted more to aircraft reconnaissance, and action by fighter/bomber aircraft, submarines, and smaller vessels such as minesweepers and torpedo boats.[126]

In the aftermath of the war, hundreds of thousands of tons of chemical weapons were disposed of by being dumped in the North Sea.[127]

After the war, the North Sea lost much of its military significance because it is bordered only by NATO member-states. However, it gained significant economic importance in the 1960s as the states around the North Sea began full-scale exploitation of its oil and gas resources.[128] The North Sea continues to be an active trade route.[129]

Economy

 
The exclusive economic zones in the North Sea

Political status

Countries that border the North Sea all claim the 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) of territorial waters, within which they have exclusive fishing rights.[130] The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union (EU) exists to coordinate fishing rights and assist with disputes between EU states and the EU border state of Norway.[131]

After the discovery of mineral resources in the North Sea during the early 1960s, the Convention on the Continental Shelf established country rights 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".[132] The ocean floor border between Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark was only reapportioned in 1969 after protracted negotiations and a judgment of the International Court of Justice.[130][133]

Oil and gas

Further information: North Sea oil and List of oil and gas fields of the North Sea

As early as 1859, oil was discovered in onshore areas around the North Sea and natural gas as early as 1910.[80] Onshore resources, for example the K12-B field in the Netherlands continue to be exploited today.

 
Oil platform Statfjord A with the flotel Polymarine

Offshore test drilling began in 1966 and then, in 1969, Phillips Petroleum Company discovered the Ekofisk oil field[134] distinguished by valuable, low-sulphur oil.[135] Commercial exploitation began in 1971 with tankers and, after 1975, by a pipeline, first to Teesside, England and then, after 1977, also to Emden, Germany.[136]

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.[137] The start in 1973 of the oil reserves by the UK allowed them to stop the declining position in international trade in 1974, and a huge increase after the discovery and exploitation of the huge oil field by Phillips group in 1977 as the Brae field.

Although the production costs are relatively high, the quality of the oil, the political stability of the region, and the proximity of important markets in western Europe have made the North Sea an important oil-producing region.[135] The largest single humanitarian catastrophe in the North Sea oil industry was the destruction of the offshore oil platform Piper Alpha in 1988 in which 167 people lost their lives.[138]

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.[139] The largest natural gas field in the North Sea, Troll gas field, lies in the Norwegian trench, dropping over 300 metres (980 ft), requiring the construction of the enormous Troll A platform to access it.

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.[140] The North Sea contains western Europe's largest oil and natural gas reserves and is one of the world's key non-OPEC producing regions.[141]

In the UK sector of the North Sea, the oil industry invested £14.4 billion in 2013 and was on track to spend £13 billion in 2014. Industry body Oil & Gas UK put the decline down to rising costs, lower production, high tax rates, and less exploration.[142]

In January 2018, The North Sea region contained 184 offshore rigs, which made it the region with the highest number of offshore rigs in the world at the time.[143]

Fishing

Main article: Fishing in the North Sea
 
A trawler in Nordstrand, Germany

The North Sea is Europe's main fishery accounting for over 5% of international commercial fish caught.[1] Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters. The main method of fishing is trawling.[144] In 1995, the total volume of fish and shellfish caught in the North Sea was approximately 3.5 million tonnes.[145] Besides saleable fish, it is estimated that one million tonnes of unmarketable by-catch is caught and discarded to die each year.[146]

In recent decades, overfishing has left many fisheries unproductive, disturbing marine food chain dynamics and costing jobs in the fishing industry.[147] Herring, cod and plaice fisheries may soon face the same plight as mackerel fishing, which ceased in the 1970s due to overfishing.[148] The objective of the European Union Common Fisheries Policy is to minimize the environmental impact associated with resource use by reducing fish discards, increasing the productivity of fisheries, stabilising markets of fisheries and fish processing, and supplying fish at reasonable prices for the consumer.[149]

Whaling

Whaling was an important economic activity from the 9th until the 13th century for Flemish whalers.[150] The medieval Flemish, Basque and Norwegian whalers who were replaced in the 16th century by Dutch, English, Danes, and Germans, took massive numbers of whales and dolphins and nearly depleted the right whales. This activity likely led to the extinction of the Atlantic population of the once common grey whale.[151] By 1902 the whaling had ended.[150] After being absent for 300 years a single grey whale returned,[152] it probably was the first of many more to find its way through the now ice-free Northwest Passage.

Mineral resources

 
Unpolished amber stones, in varying hues

In addition to oil, gas, and fish, the states along the North Sea also take millions of cubic metres per year of sand and gravel from the ocean floor. These are used for beach nourishment, land reclamation and construction.[153] Rolled pieces of amber may be picked up on the east coast of England.[154]

Renewable energy

Further information: Renewable energy in the European Union and List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea

Due to the strong prevailing winds, and shallow water, countries on the North Sea, particularly Germany and Denmark, have used the shore for wind power since the 1990s.[155] The North Sea is the home of one of the first large-scale offshore wind farms in the world, Horns Rev 1, completed in 2002. Since then many other wind farms have been commissioned in the North Sea (and elsewhere). As of 2013, the 630 megawatt (MW) London Array is the largest offshore wind farm in the world, with the 504 (MW) Greater Gabbard wind farm the second largest, followed by the 367 MW Walney Wind Farm. All are off the coast of the UK. These projects will be dwarfed by subsequent wind farms that are in the pipeline, including Dogger Bank at 4,800 MW, Norfolk Bank (7,200 MW), and Irish Sea (4,200 MW). At the end of June 2013 total European combined offshore wind energy capacity was 6,040 MW. The UK installed 513.5 MW of offshore wind power in the first half-year of 2013.[156]

The expansion of offshore wind farms has met with some resistance. Concerns have included shipping collisions[157] and environmental effects on ocean ecology and wildlife such as fish and migratory birds,[158] however, these concerns were found to be negligible in a long-term study in Denmark released in 2006 and again in a UK government study in 2009.[159][160] There are also concerns about reliability,[161] and the rising costs of constructing and maintaining offshore wind farms.[162] Despite these, development of North Sea wind power is continuing, with plans for additional wind farms off the coasts of Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.[163] There have also been proposals for a transnational power grid in the North Sea[164][165] to connect new offshore wind farms.[166]

Energy production from tidal power is still in a pre-commercial stage. The European Marine Energy Centre has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney mainland[167] and a tidal power testing station on the nearby island of Eday.[168] Since 2003, a prototype Wave Dragon energy converter has been in operation at Nissum Bredning fjord of northern Denmark.[169]

Tourism

 
The beach in Scheveningen, Netherlands in c. 1900

The beaches and coastal waters of the North Sea are destinations for tourists. The English, Belgian, Dutch, German and Danish coasts[170][171] are developed for tourism. The North Sea coast of the United Kingdom has tourist destinations with beach resorts and links golf courses; the coastal town of St. Andrews in Scotland is renowned as the "Home of Golf".

The North Sea Trail is a long-distance trail linking seven countries around the North Sea.[172] Windsurfing and sailing[173] are popular sports because of the strong winds. Mudflat hiking,[174] recreational fishing and birdwatching[171] are among other activities.

The climatic conditions on the North Sea coast have been claimed to be healthy. As early as the 19th century, travellers visited the North Sea coast for curative and restorative vacations. 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.[175]

The Wadden Sea in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Marine traffic

See also: List of North Sea ports

The North Sea is important for marine transport and its shipping lanes are among the busiest in the world.[130] Major ports are located along its coasts: Rotterdam, the busiest port in Europe and the fourth busiest port in the world by tonnage as of 2013, Antwerp (was 16th) and Hamburg (was 27th), Bremen/Bremerhaven and Felixstowe, both in the top 30 busiest container seaports,[176] as well as the Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge, Europe's leading ro-ro port.[177]

 
Rotterdam, Netherlands

Fishing boats, service boats for offshore industries, sport and pleasure craft, and merchant ships to and from North Sea ports and Baltic ports must share routes on the North Sea. The Dover Strait alone sees more than 400 commercial vessels a day.[178] Because of this volume, navigation in the North Sea can be difficult in high traffic zones, so ports have established elaborate vessel traffic services to monitor and direct ships into and out of port.[179]

The North Sea coasts are home to numerous canals and canal systems to facilitate traffic between and among rivers, artificial harbours, and the sea. The Kiel Canal, connecting the North Sea with the Baltic Sea, is the most heavily used artificial seaway in the world reporting an average of 89 ships per day not including sporting boats and other small watercraft in 2009.[180] It saves an average of 250 nautical miles (460 km; 290 mi), instead of the voyage around the Jutland peninsula.[181] The North Sea Canal connects Amsterdam with the North Sea.

See also

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General references

  • . Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. Management Unit of North Sea Mathematical Models. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2009.

Further reading

  • Ilyina, Tatjana P. (2007). The fate of persistent organic pollutants in the North Sea multiple year model simulations of [gamma]-HCH, [alpha]-HCH and PCB 153Tatjana P Ilyina;. Berlin; New York: Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-68163-2.
  • Karlsdóttir, Hrefna M. (2005). Fishing on common grounds: the consequences of unregulated fisheries of North Sea Herring in the postwar period. Göteborg: Ekonomisk-Historiska Inst., Göteborg Univ. ISBN 978-91-85196-62-3.
  • Quante, Markus; Franciscus Colijn (2016). North Sea Region Climate Change Assessment. Regional Climate Studies. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-39745-0. ISBN 978-3-319-39745-0. S2CID 132967560. Open Access.
  • Starkey, David J.; Morten Hahn-Pedersen (2005). Bridging troubled waters: Conflict and co-operation in the North Sea Region since 1550. Esbjerg [Denmark]: Fiskeri-og Søfartsmuseets. ISBN 978-87-90982-30-0.
  • Thoen, Erik, ed. (2007). Rural history in the North Sea area: a state of the art (Middle Ages – beginning 20th century). Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-51005-7.
  • Tiedeke, Thorsten; Werner Weiler (2007). North Sea coast: landscape panoramas. Nelson: NZ Visitor; Lancaster: Gazelle Drake Academic. ISBN 978-1-877339-65-3.
  • Waddington, Clive; Pedersen, Kristian (2007). Mesolithic studies in the North Sea Basin and beyond: proceedings of a conference held at Newcastle in 2003. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-84217-224-7.
  • Zeelenberg, Sjoerd (2005). 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. Groningen: University of Groningen. OCLC 71640714.

External links

 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for North Sea.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Sea.
 
Look up North Sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • (PDF). Archived from the original on 10 August 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) (910 KB)
  • Old map: Manuscript chart of the North Sea, VOC, ca.1690 6 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine (high resolution zoomable scan)
  • "The Jurassic-Cretaceous North Sea Rift Dome and associated Basin Evolution" (PDF). (2.5 MB)
  • OSPAR Commission Homepage an international commission designed to protect and conserve the North-East Atlantic and its resources
  • North Sea Region Programme 2007–2013 transnational cooperation programme under the European Regional Development Fund

January 13, 2023
north, other, uses, disambiguation, lies, between, great, britain, norway, denmark, germany, netherlands, belgium, epeiric, european, continental, shelf, connects, atlantic, ocean, through, english, channel, south, norwegian, north, more, than, kilometres, lon. For other uses see North Sea disambiguation The North Sea lies between Great Britain Norway Denmark Germany the Netherlands and Belgium An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north It is more than 970 kilometres 600 mi long and 580 kilometres 360 mi wide covering 570 000 square kilometres 220 000 sq mi North SeaLocationWestern Europe and Northern EuropeCoordinates56 N 3 E 56 N 3 E 56 3 North Sea Coordinates 56 N 3 E 56 N 3 E 56 3 North Sea TypeSeaPrimary inflowsBaltic Sea Elbe Weser Ems Rhine Waal Meuse Scheldt Spey Don Dee Tay Forth Tyne Wear Tees Humber ThamesBasin countriesUnited Kingdom specifically England and Scotland Norway Denmark Germany specifically Lower Saxony and Schleswig Holstein the Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg France Switzerland Italy Liechtenstein Austria Czech RepublicMax length960 km 600 mi Max width580 km 360 mi Surface area570 000 km2 220 000 sq mi Average depth95 m 312 ft Max depth700 m 2 300 ft Water volume54 000 km3 4 4 1010 acre ft Salinity3 4 to 3 5 Max temperature18 C 64 F Min temperature6 C 43 F ReferencesSeatemperature org and Royal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesMap all coordinates in Geography of the North Sea using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as KMLIt hosts key north European shipping lanes and is a major fishery The coast is a popular destination for recreation and tourism in bordering countries and a rich source of energy resources including wind and wave power The North Sea has featured prominently in geopolitical and military affairs particularly in Northern Europe from the Middle Ages to the modern era It was also important globally through the power northern Europeans projected worldwide during much of the Middle Ages and into the modern era The North Sea was the centre of the Vikings rise The Hanseatic League the Dutch Republic and the British each sought to gain command of the North Sea and access to the world s markets and resources As Germany s only outlet to the ocean the North Sea was strategically important through both World Wars The coast has diverse geology and geography In the north deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark much of its Norwegian and Scottish coastlines respectively whereas in the south the coast consists mainly of sandy beaches estuaries of long rivers and wide mudflats Due to the dense population heavy industrialisation and intense use of the sea and the area surrounding it there have been various environmental issues affecting the sea s ecosystems Adverse environmental issues commonly including overfishing industrial and agricultural runoff dredging and dumping among others have led to several efforts to prevent degradation and to safeguard the long term economic benefits Contents 1 Geography 1 1 Major features 1 2 Extent 1 3 Hydrology 1 3 1 Temperature and salinity 1 3 2 Water circulation and tides 1 4 Coasts 1 5 Coastal management 1 6 Storm tides 1 7 Tsunamis 2 Geology 3 Nature 3 1 Fish and shellfish 3 2 Birds 3 3 Marine mammals 3 4 Flora 3 5 Biodiversity and conservation 4 Names 5 History 5 1 Early history 5 2 Age of sail 5 3 Modern era 6 Economy 6 1 Political status 6 2 Oil and gas 6 3 Fishing 6 4 Whaling 6 5 Mineral resources 6 6 Renewable energy 6 7 Tourism 6 8 Marine traffic 7 See also 8 Citations 9 General references 10 Further reading 11 External linksGeography EditMain article Geography of the North Sea See also List of rivers discharging into the North Sea NorwegianSea Sk Ka Eng Ch Sk Skagerrak Ka KattegatEng Ch English Channel The North Sea is bounded by the Orkney Islands and east coast of Great Britain to the west 1 and the northern and central European mainland to the east and south including Norway Denmark Germany the Netherlands Belgium and France 2 In the southwest beyond the Straits of Dover the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean 1 2 In the east it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat 2 narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively 1 In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands and connects with the Norwegian Sea which is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean 1 3 The North Sea is more than 970 kilometres 600 mi long and 580 kilometres 360 mi wide with an area of 750 000 square kilometres 290 000 sq mi and a volume of 54 000 cubic kilometres 13 000 cu mi 4 Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos including Shetland Orkney and the Frisian Islands 2 The North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds as well as the British Isles A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea The largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine Meuse 5 Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas 6 Major features Edit For the most part the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres 300 ft 1 7 The only exception is the Norwegian trench which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to an area north of Bergen 1 It is between 20 and 30 kilometres 12 and 19 mi wide and has a maximum depth of 725 metres 2 379 ft 8 The Dogger Bank a vast moraine or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris rises to a mere 15 to 30 m 50 to 100 ft below the surface 9 10 This feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea 1 The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with roughly uniform depth in fathoms forty fathoms and fourteen fathoms or 73 and 26 m or 240 and 85 ft deep respectively These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate 11 which has been alleviated by the implementation of satellite navigation systems 12 The Devil s Hole lies 320 kilometres 200 mi east of Dundee Scotland The feature is a series of asymmetrical trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres 12 and 19 mi long one and two kilometres 0 6 and 1 2 mi wide and up to 230 metres 750 ft deep 13 Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank Fisher Bank and Noordhinder Bank Extent Edit The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows 14 On the Southwest A line joining the Walde Lighthouse France 1 55 E and Leathercoat Point England 51 10 N 15 On the Northwest From Dunnet Head 3 22 W in Scotland to Tor Ness 58 47 N in the Island of Hoy thence through this island to the Kame of Hoy 58 55 N on to Breck Ness on Mainland 58 58 N through this island to Costa Head 3 14 W and Inga Ness 59 17 N in Westray through Westray to Bow Head across to Mull Head North point of Papa Westray and on to Seal Skerry North point of North Ronaldsay and thence to Horse Island South point of the Shetland Islands On the North From the North point Fethaland Point of the Mainland of the Shetland Islands across to Graveland Ness 60 39 N in the Island of Yell through Yell to Gloup Ness 1 04 W and across to Spoo Ness 60 45 N in Unst island through Unst to Herma Ness 60 51 N on to the SW point of the Rumblings and to Muckle Flugga 60 51 N 0 53 W 60 850 N 0 883 W 60 850 0 883 all these being included in the North Sea area thence up the meridian of 0 53 West to the parallel of 61 00 North and eastward along this parallel to the coast of Norway the whole of Viking Bank is thus included in the North Sea On the East The Western limit of the Skagerrak A line joining Hanstholm 57 07 N 8 36 E 57 117 N 8 600 E 57 117 8 600 and the Naze Lindesnes 58 N 7 E 58 N 7 E 58 7 Hydrology Edit Temperature and salinity Edit Ocean currents mainly entering via the north entrance exiting along the Norwegian coast Localization of the tide gauges listed Tide times after Bergen negative before The three amphidromic centers Coasts marshes green mudflats greenish blue lagoons bright blue dunes yellow sea dikes purple moraines near the coast light brown rock based coasts greyish brown The average temperature is 17 C 63 F in the summer and 6 C 43 F in the winter 4 The average temperatures have been trending higher since 1988 which has been attributed to climate change 16 17 Air temperatures in January range on average between 0 to 4 C 32 to 39 F and in July between 13 to 18 C 55 to 64 F The winter months see frequent gales and storms 1 The salinity averages between 34 and 35 grams per litre 129 and 132 g US gal of water 4 The salinity has the highest variability where there is fresh water inflow such as at the Rhine and Elbe estuaries the Baltic Sea exit and along the coast of Norway 18 Water circulation and tides Edit The main pattern to the flow of water in the North Sea is an anti clockwise rotation along the edges 19 The North Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean receiving the majority of ocean current from the northwest opening and a lesser portion of warm current from the smaller opening at the English Channel These tidal currents leave along the Norwegian coast 20 Surface and deep water currents may move in different directions Low salinity surface coastal waters move offshore and deeper denser high salinity waters move inshore 21 The North Sea located on the continental shelf has different waves from those in deep ocean water The wave speeds are diminished and the wave amplitudes are increased In the North Sea there are two amphidromic systems and a third incomplete amphidromic system 22 23 In the North Sea the average tide difference in wave amplitude is between zero and eight metres 26 ft An average is a single figure not a range 4 The Kelvin tide of the Atlantic Ocean is a semidiurnal wave that travels northward Some of the energy from this wave travels through the English Channel into the North Sea The wave continues to travel northward in the Atlantic Ocean and once past the northern tip of Great Britain the Kelvin wave turns east and south and once again enters the North Sea 24 Selected tidal ranges Tidal range m from calendars Maximum tidal range m Tide gauge Geographical and historical features0 79 1 82 2 39 Lerwick 25 Shetland Islands2 01 3 76 4 69 Aberdeen 26 Mouth of River Dee in Scotland2 38 4 61 5 65 North Shields 27 Mouth of Tyne estuary2 31 6 04 8 20 Kingston upon Hull 28 Northern side of Humber estuary1 75 4 33 7 14 Grimsby 29 Southern side of Humber estuary farther seaward1 98 6 84 6 90 Skegness 30 Lincolnshire coast north of the Wash1 92 6 47 7 26 King s Lynn 31 Mouth of Great Ouse into the Wash2 54 7 23 Hunstanton 32 Eastern edge of the Wash2 34 3 70 4 47 Harwich 33 East Anglian coast north of Thames Estuary4 05 6 62 7 99 London Bridge 34 Inner end of Thames Estuary2 38 6 85 6 92 Dunkerque 35 Dune coast east of the Strait of Dover2 02 5 53 5 59 Zeebrugge 36 Dune coast west of Rhine Meuse Scheldt delta3 24 4 96 6 09 Antwerp 37 Inner end of the southernmost estuary of Rhine Meuse Scheldt delta1 48 1 90 2 35 Rotterdam 38 Borderline of estuary delta 39 and sedimentation delta of the Rhine1 10 2 03 2 52 Katwijk 40 Mouth of the Uitwateringskanaal of the Oude Rijn into the sea1 15 1 72 2 15 Den Helder 41 Northeastern end of Holland dune coast west of IJsselmeer1 67 2 20 2 65 Harlingen 42 East of IJsselmeer outlet of IJssel river the eastern branch of the Rhine1 80 2 69 3 54 Borkum 43 Island in front of Ems river estuary2 96 3 71 Emden 44 East side of Ems river estuary2 60 3 76 4 90 Wilhelmshaven 45 Jade Bight2 66 4 01 4 74 Bremerhaven 46 Seaward end of Weser estuary3 59 4 62 Bremen Oslebshausen 47 Bremer Industriehafen inner Weser estuary3 3 4 0 Bremen Weser barrage 48 Artificial tide limit of river Weser 4 km upstream of the city centre2 6 4 0 Bremerhaven 1879 49 Before start of Weser Correction Weser straightening works 0 0 3 Bremen city centre 1879 49 Before start of Weser Correction Weser straightening works 1 45 Bremen city centre 1900 50 Grosse Weserbrucke 5 years after completion of Weser Correction works2 54 3 48 4 63 Cuxhaven 51 Seaward end of Elbe estuary3 4 3 9 4 63 Hamburg St Pauli 52 53 St Pauli Piers inner part of Elbe estuary1 39 2 03 2 74 Westerland 54 Sylt island off the Nordfriesland coast2 8 3 4 Dagebull 55 Coast of Wadden Sea in Nordfriesland1 1 2 1 2 17 Esbjerg 56 57 Northern end of Wadden Sea in Denmark0 5 1 1 Hvide Sande 56 Danish dune coast entrance of Ringkobing Fjord lagoon0 3 0 5 Thyboron 56 Danish dune coast entrance of Nissum Bredning lagoon part of Limfjord0 2 04 Hirtshals 56 Skagerrak Hanstholm and Skagen have the same values 0 14 0 30 0 26 Tregde 58 Skagerrak southern end of Norway east of an amphidromic point0 25 0 60 0 65 Stavanger 58 North of that amphidromic point tidal rhythm irregular0 64 1 20 1 61 Bergen 58 Tidal rhythm regularCoasts Edit Main article Coastline of the North Sea The German North Sea coast The eastern and western coasts of the North Sea are jagged formed by glaciers during the ice ages The coastlines along the southernmost part are covered with the remains of deposited glacial sediment 1 The Norwegian mountains plunge into the sea creating deep fjords and archipelagos South of Stavanger the coast softens the islands become fewer 1 The eastern Scottish coast is similar though less severe than Norway From north east 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 59 60 In the Netherlands Belgium and in East Anglia the littoral is low and marshy 1 The east coast and south east of the North Sea Wadden Sea have coastlines that are mainly sandy and straight owing to longshore drift particularly along Belgium and Denmark 61 Coastal management Edit Further information Afsluitdijk Delta Works Flood control in the Netherlands Thames Barrier and Zuiderzee Works The Afsluitdijk Closure dike is a major dam in the Netherlands The southern coastal areas were originally flood plains and swampy land In areas especially vulnerable to storm surges people settled behind elevated levees and on natural areas of high ground such as spits and geestland 62 302 303 As early as 500 BC people were constructing artificial dwelling hills higher than the prevailing flood levels 62 306 308 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 62 The modern form of the dikes supplemented by overflow and lateral diversion channels began to appear in the 17th and 18th centuries built in the Netherlands 63 The North Sea Floods of 1953 and 1962 were the impetus for further raising of the dikes as well as the shortening of the coast line so as to present as little surface area as possible to the punishment of the sea and the storms 64 Currently 27 of the Netherlands is below sea level protected by dikes dunes and beach flats 65 Coastal management today consists of several levels 66 The dike slope reduces the energy of the incoming sea so that the dike itself does not receive the full impact 66 Dikes that lie directly on the sea are especially reinforced 66 The dikes have over the years been repeatedly raised sometimes up to 9 metres 30 ft and have been made flatter to better reduce wave erosion 67 Where the dunes are sufficient to protect the land behind them from the sea these dunes are planted with beach grass Ammophila arenaria to protect them from erosion by wind water and foot traffic 68 Storm tides Edit Main article Storm tides of the North Sea Zuid Beveland North Sea flood of 1953 Storm surges threaten in particular the coasts of the Netherlands Belgium Germany and Denmark and low lying areas of eastern England particularly around The Wash and Fens 61 Storm surges are caused by changes in barometric pressure combined with strong wind created wave action 69 The first recorded storm tide flood was the Julianenflut on 17 February 1164 In its wake the Jadebusen a bay on the coast of Germany began to form A storm tide in 1228 is recorded to have killed more than 100 000 people 70 In 1362 the Second Marcellus Flood also known as the Grote Manndrenke hit the entire southern coast of the North Sea Chronicles of the time again record more than 100 000 deaths large parts of the coast were lost permanently to the sea including the now legendary lost city of Rungholt 71 In the 20th century the North Sea flood of 1953 flooded several nations coasts and cost more than 2 000 lives 72 315 citizens of Hamburg died in the North Sea flood of 1962 73 79 86 Tsunamis Edit Though rare the North Sea has been the site of a number of historically documented tsunamis The Storegga Slides were a series of underwater landslides in which a piece of the Norwegian continental shelf slid into the Norwegian Sea The immense landslips occurred between 8150 BCE and 6000 BCE and caused a tsunami up to 20 metres 66 ft high that swept through the North Sea having the greatest effect on Scotland and the Faeroe Islands 74 75 The Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 is among the first recorded earthquakes in the North Sea measuring between 5 6 and 5 9 on the Richter scale This event caused extensive damage in Calais both through its tremors and possibly triggered a tsunami though this has never been confirmed The theory is a vast underwater landslide in the English Channel was triggered by the earthquake which in turn caused a tsunami 76 The tsunami triggered by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake reached Holland although the waves had lost their destructive power The largest earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom was the 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake which measured 6 1 on the Richter magnitude scale and caused a small tsunami that flooded parts of the British coast 76 Geology EditMain articles Geology of the North Sea and Geology of southern North Sea Shallow epicontinental seas like the current North Sea have since long existed on the European continental shelf The rifting that formed the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods from about 150 million years ago caused tectonic uplift in the British Isles 77 Since then a shallow sea has almost continuously existed between the uplands of the Fennoscandian Shield and the British Isles 78 This precursor of the current North Sea has grown and shrunk with the rise and fall of the eustatic sea level during geologic time Sometimes it was connected with other shallow seas such as the sea above the Paris Basin to the south west the Paratethys Sea to the south east or the Tethys Ocean to the south 79 During the Late Cretaceous about 85 million years ago all of modern mainland Europe except for Scandinavia was a scattering of islands 80 By the Early Oligocene 34 to 28 million years ago the emergence of Western and Central Europe had almost completely separated the North Sea from the Tethys Ocean which gradually shrank to become the Mediterranean as Southern Europe and South West Asia became dry land 81 The North Sea was cut off from the English Channel by a narrow land bridge until that was breached by at least two catastrophic floods between 450 000 and 180 000 years ago 82 83 Since the start of the Quaternary period about 2 6 million years ago the eustatic sea level has fallen during each glacial period and then risen again Every time the ice sheet reached its greatest extent the North Sea became almost completely dry the dry landmass being known as Doggerland whose northern regions were themselves known to have been glaciated 84 The present day coastline formed after the Last Glacial Maximum when the sea began to flood the European continental shelf 85 In 2006 a bone fragment was found while drilling for oil in the North Sea Analysis indicated that it was a Plateosaurus from 199 to 216 million years ago This was the deepest dinosaur fossil ever found and the first find for Norway 86 Map showing hypothetical extent of Doggerland c 8 000 BC which provided a land bridge between Great Britain and continental Europe North Sea from De Koog Texel island The North Sea between 34 million years ago and 28 million years ago as Central Europe became dry landNature EditFish and shellfish Edit See also List of fish of the North Sea Pacific oysters blue mussels and cockles in the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands Copepods and other zooplankton are plentiful in the North Sea These tiny organisms are crucial elements of the food chain supporting many species of fish 87 Over 230 species of fish live in the North Sea Cod haddock whiting saithe plaice sole mackerel herring pouting sprat and sandeel are all very common and are fished commercially 87 88 Due to the various depths of the North Sea trenches and differences in salinity temperature and water movement some fish such as blue mouth redfish and rabbitfish reside only in small areas of the North Sea 89 Crustaceans are also commonly found throughout the sea Norway lobster deep water prawns and brown shrimp are all commercially fished but other species of lobster shrimp oyster mussels and clams all live in the North Sea 87 Recently non indigenous species have become established including the Pacific oyster and Atlantic jackknife clam 88 Birds Edit 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 Denmark Germany and the Netherlands 87 These locations provide breeding habitat for dozens of bird species Tens of millions of birds make use of the North Sea for breeding feeding or migratory stopovers every year Populations of black legged kittiwakes Atlantic puffins northern gannets northern fulmars and species of petrels seaducks loons divers cormorants gulls auks and terns and many other seabirds make these coasts popular for birdwatching 87 88 European seagull on the coast of North Sea Marine mammals Edit A female bottlenose dolphin with her young in Moray Firth Scotland The North Sea is also home to marine mammals Common seals grey seals and harbour porpoises can be found along the coasts at marine installations and on islands The very northern North Sea islands such as the Shetland Islands are occasionally home to a larger variety of pinnipeds including bearded harp hooded and ringed seals and even walrus 90 North Sea cetaceans include various porpoise dolphin and whale species 88 91 Flora Edit Phytoplankton bloom in the North Sea Plant species in the North Sea include species of wrack among them bladder wrack knotted wrack and serrated wrack Algae macroalgal and kelp such as oarweed and laminaria hyperboria and species of maerl are found as well 88 Eelgrass formerly common in the entirety of the Wadden Sea was nearly wiped out in the 20th century by a disease 92 Similarly sea grass used to coat huge tracts of ocean floor but have been damaged by trawling and dredging have diminished its habitat and prevented its return 93 Invasive Japanese seaweed has spread along the shores of the sea clogging harbours and inlets and has become a nuisance 94 Biodiversity and conservation Edit Due to the heavy human populations and high level of industrialization along its shores the wildlife of the North Sea has suffered from pollution overhunting and overfishing Flamingos and pelicans were once found along the southern shores of the North Sea but became extinct over the second millennium 95 Walruses frequented the Orkney Islands through the mid 16th century as both Sable Island and Orkney Islands lay within their normal range 96 Grey whales also resided in the North Sea but were driven to extinction in the Atlantic in the 17th century 97 Other species have dramatically declined in population though they are still found North Atlantic right whales sturgeon shad rays skates salmon and other species were common in the North Sea until the 20th century when numbers declined due to overfishing 98 99 Other factors like the introduction of non indigenous species industrial and agricultural pollution trawling and dredging human induced eutrophication construction on coastal breeding and feeding grounds sand and gravel extraction offshore construction and heavy shipping traffic have also contributed to the decline 88 For example a resident orca pod was lost in the 1960s presumably due to the peak in PCB pollution in this time period 100 The OSPAR commission manages the OSPAR convention to counteract the harmful effects of human activity on wildlife in the North Sea preserve endangered species and provide environmental protection 101 All North Sea border states are signatories of the MARPOL 73 78 Accords which preserve the marine environment by preventing pollution from ships 102 Germany Denmark and the Netherlands also 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 103 Names EditThe North Sea has had various names throughout history One of the earliest recorded names was Septentrionalis Oceanus or Northern Ocean which was cited by Pliny 104 The name North Sea probably came into English however via the Dutch Noordzee who named it thus either in contrast with the Zuiderzee South Sea located south of Frisia or because the sea is generally to the north of the Netherlands Before the adoption of North Sea the names used in English were German Sea or German Ocean referred to as the Latin names Mare Germanicum and Oceanus Germanicus 105 and these persisted in use until the First World War 106 Other common names in use for long periods were the Latin terms Mare Frisicum as well as the English equivalent Frisian Sea 107 108 The modern names of the sea in the other local languages are Danish Vesterhavet ˈvestɐˌhɛˀvd West Sea or Nordsoen ˈnoɐ ˌsoˀn Dutch Noordzee Dutch Low Saxon Noordzee French Mer du Nord West Frisian Noardsee German Nordsee Low German Noordsee Northern Frisian Weestsiie West Sea Swedish Nordsjon Norwegian Nordsjoen ˈnuːrˌʂoːn Nynorsk Nordsjoen Scots North Sea and Scottish Gaelic An Cuan a Tuath A 1482 recreation of a map from Ptolemy s Geography showing the Oceanus Germanicus Edmond Halley s solar eclipse 1715 map showing The German SeaHistory EditMain article History of the North Sea Early history Edit The North Sea has provided waterway access for commerce and conquest Many areas have access to the North Sea because of its long coastline and the European rivers that empty it 1 There is little documentary evidence concerning the North Sea before the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 CE however archaeological evidence reveals the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along the North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing whaling and seaborne trade on the North Sea The Romans established organised ports in Britain which increased shipping and began sustained trade 109 the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along the North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing whaling and seaborne trade on the North Sea The Romans established organised ports in Britain which increased shipping and began sustained trade 109 and many Scandinavian tribes participated in raids and wars against the Romans and Roman coinage and manufacturing were important trade goods When the Romans abandoned Britain in 410 the Germanic Angles Frisians Saxons and Jutes began the next great migration across the North Sea during the Migration Period They made successive invasions of the island from what is now the Netherlands Denmark and Germany 110 The Viking Age began in 793 with the attack on Lindisfarne for the next quarter millennium the Vikings ruled the North Sea In their superior longships they raided traded and established colonies and outposts along the coasts of the sea From the Middle Ages through the 15th century the northern European coastal ports exported domestic goods dyes linen salt metal goods and wine The Scandinavian and Baltic areas shipped grain fish naval necessities and timber In turn the North Sea countries imported high grade cloths spices and fruits from the Mediterranean region 111 Commerce during this era was mainly conducted by maritime trade due to underdeveloped roadways 111 In the 13th century the Hanseatic League though centred on the Baltic Sea started to control most of the trade through important members and outposts on the North Sea 112 The League lost its dominance in the 16th century as neighbouring states took control of former Hanseatic cities and outposts Their internal conflict prevented effective cooperation and defence 113 As the League lost control of its maritime cities new trade routes emerged that provided Europe with Asian American and African goods 114 115 Age of sail Edit Painting of the Four Days Battle of 1666 by Willem van de Velde the Younger The 17th century Dutch Golden Age saw Dutch maritime power at its zenith 116 117 Important overseas colonies a vast merchant marine a large fishing fleet 111 powerful navy and sophisticated financial markets made the Dutch the ascendant power in the North Sea to be challenged by an ambitious England This rivalry led to the first three Anglo Dutch Wars between 1652 and 1673 which ended with Dutch victories 117 After the Glorious Revolution in 1688 the Dutch prince William ascended to the English throne With unified leadership commercial military and political power began to shift from Amsterdam to London 118 The British did not face a challenge to their dominance of the North Sea until the 20th century 119 Modern era Edit German cruiser SMS Blucher sinks in the Battle of Dogger Bank on 25 January 1915 Tensions in the North Sea were again heightened in 1904 by the Dogger Bank incident During the Russo Japanese War several ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet which was on its way to the Far East mistook British fishing boats for Japanese ships and fired on them and then upon each other near the Dogger Bank nearly causing Britain to enter the war on the side of Japan During the First World War Great Britain s Grand Fleet and Germany s Kaiserliche Marine faced each other in the North Sea 120 which became the main theatre of the war for surface action 120 Britain s larger fleet and North Sea Mine Barrage were able to establish an effective blockade for most of the war which restricted the Central Powers access to many crucial resources 121 Major battles included the Battle of Heligoland Bight 122 the Battle of the Dogger Bank 123 and the Battle of Jutland 123 World War I also brought the first extensive use of submarine warfare and a number of submarine actions occurred in the North Sea 124 The Second World War also saw action in the North Sea 125 though it was restricted more to aircraft reconnaissance and action by fighter bomber aircraft submarines and smaller vessels such as minesweepers and torpedo boats 126 In the aftermath of the war hundreds of thousands of tons of chemical weapons were disposed of by being dumped in the North Sea 127 After the war the North Sea lost much of its military significance because it is bordered only by NATO member states However it gained significant economic importance in the 1960s as the states around the North Sea began full scale exploitation of its oil and gas resources 128 The North Sea continues to be an active trade route 129 Economy Edit The exclusive economic zones in the North Sea Political status Edit Countries that border the North Sea all claim the 12 nautical miles 22 km 14 mi of territorial waters within which they have exclusive fishing rights 130 The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union EU exists to coordinate fishing rights and assist with disputes between EU states and the EU border state of Norway 131 After the discovery of mineral resources in the North Sea during the early 1960s the Convention on the Continental Shelf established country rights 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 132 The ocean floor border between Germany the Netherlands and Denmark was only reapportioned in 1969 after protracted negotiations and a judgment of the International Court of Justice 130 133 Oil and gas Edit Further information North Sea oil and List of oil and gas fields of the North Sea As early as 1859 oil was discovered in onshore areas around the North Sea and natural gas as early as 1910 80 Onshore resources for example the K12 B field in the Netherlands continue to be exploited today Oil platform Statfjord A with the flotel Polymarine Offshore test drilling began in 1966 and then in 1969 Phillips Petroleum Company discovered the Ekofisk oil field 134 distinguished by valuable low sulphur oil 135 Commercial exploitation began in 1971 with tankers and after 1975 by a pipeline first to Teesside England and then after 1977 also to Emden Germany 136 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 137 The start in 1973 of the oil reserves by the UK allowed them to stop the declining position in international trade in 1974 and a huge increase after the discovery and exploitation of the huge oil field by Phillips group in 1977 as the Brae field Although the production costs are relatively high the quality of the oil the political stability of the region and the proximity of important markets in western Europe have made the North Sea an important oil producing region 135 The largest single humanitarian catastrophe in the North Sea oil industry was the destruction of the offshore oil platform Piper Alpha in 1988 in which 167 people lost their lives 138 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 139 The largest natural gas field in the North Sea Troll gas field lies in the Norwegian trench dropping over 300 metres 980 ft requiring the construction of the enormous Troll A platform to access it 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 140 The North Sea contains western Europe s largest oil and natural gas reserves and is one of the world s key non OPEC producing regions 141 In the UK sector of the North Sea the oil industry invested 14 4 billion in 2013 and was on track to spend 13 billion in 2014 Industry body Oil amp Gas UK put the decline down to rising costs lower production high tax rates and less exploration 142 In January 2018 The North Sea region contained 184 offshore rigs which made it the region with the highest number of offshore rigs in the world at the time 143 Fishing Edit Main article Fishing in the North Sea A trawler in Nordstrand Germany The North Sea is Europe s main fishery accounting for over 5 of international commercial fish caught 1 Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters The main method of fishing is trawling 144 In 1995 the total volume of fish and shellfish caught in the North Sea was approximately 3 5 million tonnes 145 Besides saleable fish it is estimated that one million tonnes of unmarketable by catch is caught and discarded to die each year 146 In recent decades overfishing has left many fisheries unproductive disturbing marine food chain dynamics and costing jobs in the fishing industry 147 Herring cod and plaice fisheries may soon face the same plight as mackerel fishing which ceased in the 1970s due to overfishing 148 The objective of the European Union Common Fisheries Policy is to minimize the environmental impact associated with resource use by reducing fish discards increasing the productivity of fisheries stabilising markets of fisheries and fish processing and supplying fish at reasonable prices for the consumer 149 Whaling Edit Whaling was an important economic activity from the 9th until the 13th century for Flemish whalers 150 The medieval Flemish Basque and Norwegian whalers who were replaced in the 16th century by Dutch English Danes and Germans took massive numbers of whales and dolphins and nearly depleted the right whales This activity likely led to the extinction of the Atlantic population of the once common grey whale 151 By 1902 the whaling had ended 150 After being absent for 300 years a single grey whale returned 152 it probably was the first of many more to find its way through the now ice free Northwest Passage Mineral resources Edit Unpolished amber stones in varying hues In addition to oil gas and fish the states along the North Sea also take millions of cubic metres per year of sand and gravel from the ocean floor These are used for beach nourishment land reclamation and construction 153 Rolled pieces of amber may be picked up on the east coast of England 154 Renewable energy Edit Further information Renewable energy in the European Union and List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea Due to the strong prevailing winds and shallow water countries on the North Sea particularly Germany and Denmark have used the shore for wind power since the 1990s 155 The North Sea is the home of one of the first large scale offshore wind farms in the world Horns Rev 1 completed in 2002 Since then many other wind farms have been commissioned in the North Sea and elsewhere As of 2013 the 630 megawatt MW London Array is the largest offshore wind farm in the world with the 504 MW Greater Gabbard wind farm the second largest followed by the 367 MW Walney Wind Farm All are off the coast of the UK These projects will be dwarfed by subsequent wind farms that are in the pipeline including Dogger Bank at 4 800 MW Norfolk Bank 7 200 MW and Irish Sea 4 200 MW At the end of June 2013 total European combined offshore wind energy capacity was 6 040 MW The UK installed 513 5 MW of offshore wind power in the first half year of 2013 156 The expansion of offshore wind farms has met with some resistance Concerns have included shipping collisions 157 and environmental effects on ocean ecology and wildlife such as fish and migratory birds 158 however these concerns were found to be negligible in a long term study in Denmark released in 2006 and again in a UK government study in 2009 159 160 There are also concerns about reliability 161 and the rising costs of constructing and maintaining offshore wind farms 162 Despite these development of North Sea wind power is continuing with plans for additional wind farms off the coasts of Germany the Netherlands and the UK 163 There have also been proposals for a transnational power grid in the North Sea 164 165 to connect new offshore wind farms 166 Energy production from tidal power is still in a pre commercial stage The European Marine Energy Centre has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney mainland 167 and a tidal power testing station on the nearby island of Eday 168 Since 2003 a prototype Wave Dragon energy converter has been in operation at Nissum Bredning fjord of northern Denmark 169 Tourism Edit The beach in Scheveningen Netherlands in c 1900 The beaches and coastal waters of the North Sea are destinations for tourists The English Belgian Dutch German and Danish coasts 170 171 are developed for tourism The North Sea coast of the United Kingdom has tourist destinations with beach resorts and links golf courses the coastal town of St Andrews in Scotland is renowned as the Home of Golf The North Sea Trail is a long distance trail linking seven countries around the North Sea 172 Windsurfing and sailing 173 are popular sports because of the strong winds Mudflat hiking 174 recreational fishing and birdwatching 171 are among other activities The climatic conditions on the North Sea coast have been claimed to be healthy As early as the 19th century travellers visited the North Sea coast for curative and restorative vacations 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 175 The Wadden Sea in Denmark Germany and the Netherlands is an UNESCO World Heritage Site Marine traffic Edit See also List of North Sea ports The North Sea is important for marine transport and its shipping lanes are among the busiest in the world 130 Major ports are located along its coasts Rotterdam the busiest port in Europe and the fourth busiest port in the world by tonnage as of 2013 update Antwerp was 16th and Hamburg was 27th Bremen Bremerhaven and Felixstowe both in the top 30 busiest container seaports 176 as well as the Port of Bruges Zeebrugge Europe s leading ro ro port 177 Rotterdam Netherlands Fishing boats service boats for offshore industries sport and pleasure craft and merchant ships to and from North Sea ports and Baltic ports must share routes on the North Sea The Dover Strait alone sees more than 400 commercial vessels a day 178 Because of this volume navigation in the North Sea can be difficult in high traffic zones so ports have established elaborate vessel traffic services to monitor and direct ships into and out of port 179 The North Sea coasts are home to numerous canals and canal systems to facilitate traffic between and among rivers artificial harbours and the sea The Kiel Canal connecting the North Sea with the Baltic Sea is the most heavily used artificial seaway in the world reporting an average of 89 ships per day not including sporting boats and other small watercraft in 2009 180 It saves an average of 250 nautical miles 460 km 290 mi instead of the voyage around the Jutland peninsula 181 The North Sea Canal connects Amsterdam with the North Sea See also Edit Geography portal Norway portalEuropean Atlas of the Seas List of languages of the North Sea North Sea CommissionCitations Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m L M A 1985 Europe In University of Chicago ed Encyclopaedia Britannica Macropaedia Vol 18 Fifteenth ed U S A Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc pp 832 835 ISBN 978 0 85229 423 9 a b c d Ripley George Charles Anderson Dana 1883 The American Cyclopaedia A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge D Appleton and company p 499 Helland Hansen Bjorn Fridtjof Nansen 1909 IV The Basin of the Norwegian Sea Report on Norwegian Fishery and Marine Investigations Vol 11 No 2 Geofysisk Institutt Archived from the original on 14 January 2009 Retrieved 9 January 2009 a b c d About the North Sea Key facts Safety at Sea project 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frame due to gas dispute Reuters Retrieved 30 March 2022 North Sea Infrastructure TenneT March 2017 Archived from the original on 8 March 2017 Retrieved 25 March 2017 Billia Croo Test Site EMEC Archived from the original on 27 December 2008 Retrieved 1 November 2008 Fall of Warness Test Site EMEC Archived from the original on 1 December 2008 Retrieved 1 November 2008 Prototype testing in Denmark Wave Dragon 2005 Retrieved 1 November 2008 Wong P P 1993 Tourism Vs Environment The Case for Coastal Areas Springer p 139 ISBN 978 0 7923 2404 1 Retrieved 27 December 2008 a b Hall C Michael Dieter K Muller Jarkko Saarinen 2008 Nordic Tourism Issues and Cases Channel View Publications p 170 ISBN 978 1 84541 093 3 Retrieved 27 December 2008 Welcome North Sea Trail European Union The North Sea Trail NAVE Nortrail project Archived from the original on 1 January 2016 Retrieved 2 January 2009 Knudsen Daniel C Charles Greet Michelle Metro Roland Anne Soper 2008 Landscape Tourism and Meaning Ashgate Publishing Ltd p 112 ISBN 978 0 7546 4943 4 Retrieved 27 December 2008 Schulte Peevers Andrea Sarah Johnstone Etain O Carroll Jeanne Oliver Tom Parkinson Nicola Williams 2004 Germany Lonely Planet p 680 ISBN 978 1 74059 471 4 Retrieved 27 December 2008 Busum The natural healing power of the sea German National Tourist Board Retrieved 2 November 2008 World Port Rankings PDF American Association of Port Authorities 2008 Retrieved 25 July 2010 Port Authority Bruges Zeebrugge MarineTalk 1998 2008 Archived from the original on 25 July 2009 Retrieved 28 December 2008 The Dover Strait Maritime and Coastguard Agency 2007 Archived from the original on 31 August 2010 Retrieved 8 October 2008 Freestone David 1990 link ed The North Sea Perspectives on Regional Environmental Co operation Martinus Nijhoff Publishers pp 186 190 ISBN 978 1 85333 413 9 Retrieved 12 January 2009 Kiel Canal Kiel Canal official website Archived from the original on 10 March 2009 Retrieved 2 November 2008 23390 Country Info Booklets Hebridean Spirit The Baltic East PDF Hebridean Island Cruises Archived from the original PDF on 14 November 2008 Retrieved 18 January 2009 General references Edit North Sea Facts Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Management Unit of North Sea Mathematical Models Archived from the original on 2 June 2008 Retrieved 15 February 2009 Further reading EditIlyina Tatjana P 2007 The fate of persistent organic pollutants in the North Sea multiple year model simulations of gamma HCH alpha HCH and PCB 153Tatjana P Ilyina Berlin New York Springer ISBN 978 3 540 68163 2 Karlsdottir Hrefna M 2005 Fishing on common grounds the consequences of unregulated fisheries of North Sea Herring in the postwar period Goteborg Ekonomisk Historiska Inst Goteborg Univ ISBN 978 91 85196 62 3 Quante Markus Franciscus Colijn 2016 North Sea Region Climate Change Assessment Regional Climate Studies Springer doi 10 1007 978 3 319 39745 0 ISBN 978 3 319 39745 0 S2CID 132967560 Open Access Starkey David J Morten Hahn Pedersen 2005 Bridging troubled waters Conflict and co operation in the North Sea Region since 1550 Esbjerg Denmark Fiskeri og Sofartsmuseets ISBN 978 87 90982 30 0 Thoen Erik ed 2007 Rural history in the North Sea area a state of the art Middle Ages beginning 20th century Turnhout Brepols ISBN 978 2 503 51005 7 Tiedeke Thorsten Werner Weiler 2007 North Sea coast landscape panoramas Nelson NZ Visitor Lancaster Gazelle Drake Academic ISBN 978 1 877339 65 3 Waddington Clive Pedersen Kristian 2007 Mesolithic studies in the North Sea Basin and beyond proceedings of a conference held at Newcastle in 2003 Oxford Oxbow Books ISBN 978 1 84217 224 7 Zeelenberg Sjoerd 2005 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 Groningen University of Groningen OCLC 71640714 External links Edit Wikivoyage has a travel guide for North Sea Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Sea Look up North Sea in Wiktionary the free dictionary North Sea Commission Environment Group Member Profiles 2006 PDF Archived from the original on 10 August 2007 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link 910 KB Old map Manuscript chart of the North Sea VOC ca 1690 Archived 6 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine high resolution zoomable scan The Jurassic Cretaceous North Sea Rift Dome and associated Basin Evolution PDF 2 5 MB OSPAR Commission Homepage an international commission designed to protect and conserve the North East Atlantic and its resources North Sea Region Programme 2007 2013 transnational cooperation programme under the European Regional Development Fund Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title North Sea amp oldid 1128566608, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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