Editing North Sea (section)

====Temperature and salinity====
[[File:NorthSeaCurrents.png|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Ocean current]]s mainly entering via the north entrance exiting along the Norwegian coast]]
[[File:Tiden loc.png|thumb|upright=1.25|• Localization of the tide-gauges listed<br/>• [[Norwegian Sea#Hydrology|Tide times after Bergen]] (negative = before)<br/>• The three amphidromic centers<br/>• Coasts:<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;marshes = green<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;mudflats = greenish blue<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;lagoons = bright blue<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;dunes = yellow<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;sea dikes= purple<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;moraines near the coast= light brown<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;rock-based coasts = greyish brown]]
The average temperature is {{convert|17|°C|°F}} in the summer and {{convert|6|°C|°F}} in the winter.<ref name="Safety"/> The average temperatures have been trending higher since 1988, which has been attributed to [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 September 2009 |title=North Sea cod 'could disappear' even if fishing outlawed |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/6162167/North-Sea-cod-could-disappear-even-if-fishing-outlawed.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914053346/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/6162167/North-Sea-cod-could-disappear-even-if-fishing-outlawed.html |archive-date=14 September 2009 |website=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title = Global Warming Triggers North Sea Temperature Rise
|work = Agence France-Presse
|publisher = Terra Daily
|date = 14 November 2006
|url = http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Global_Warming_Triggers_North_Sea_Temperature_Rise_999.html
|access-date = 1 December 2008
|archive-date = 3 January 2009
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090103150607/http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Global_Warming_Triggers_North_Sea_Temperature_Rise_999.html
|url-status = live
}}</ref> Air temperatures in January range on average between {{convert|0|and|4|C|F}} and in July between {{convert|13|and|18|C|F}}. The winter months see frequent gales and storms.<ref name="Britannica"/>

The [[salinity]] averages between {{convert|34|and|35|g/L|g/usgal|0}} of water.<ref name="Safety"/> 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.<ref name="Reddy">{{cite book
|last=Reddy
|first=M. P. M.
|title=Descriptive Physical Oceanography
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NC3JmKI7mYC&pg=PA120
|access-date=3 December 2008
|year=2001
|publisher=Taylor & Francis
|isbn=978-90-5410-706-4
|page=114
|chapter=Annual variation in Surface Salinity
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083623/https://books.google.com/books?id=2NC3JmKI7mYC&pg=PA120
|url-status=live
}}</ref>