Editing North Sea

{{Short description|Marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox sea
| name               = North Sea
| image              = NASA NorthSea1 2.jpg
| caption            = 
| alt                = A satellite image of North-Western Europe showing the expanse of the North Sea
| image_bathymetry   = 
| caption_bathymetry = 
| location           = [[Western Europe]] and [[Northern Europe]]
| coords             = {{coord|56|N|3|E|scale:5000000_type:waterbody|name=North Sea|display=inline,title}}
| type               = [[Sea]]
| inflow             = [[Baltic Sea]], [[Elbe]], [[Weser]], [[Ems (river)|Ems]], [[Rhine]]/[[Waal (river)|Waal]], [[Meuse]], [[Scheldt]], [[River Spey|Spey]], [[River Don, Aberdeenshire|Don]], [[River Dee, Aberdeenshire|Dee]], [[River Tay|Tay]], [[River Forth|Forth]], [[River Tyne|Tyne]], [[River Wear|Wear]], [[River Tees|Tees]], [[Humber]], [[River Thames|Thames]]
| outflow            = 
| catchment          = 
| basin_countries    = [[United 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]]
| length             = {{convert|960|km|abbr=on}}
| width              = {{convert|580|km|abbr=on}}
| area               = {{convert|570000|km2|abbr=on}}
| depth              = {{convert|95|m|abbr=on}}
| max-depth          = {{convert|700|m|abbr=on}}
| volume             = {{convert|54000|km3|acre.ft|abbr=on}}
| residence_time     = 
| salinity           = 3.4 to 3.5%
| shore              = 
| temperature_high   = {{convert|18|C|F|abbr=on}}
| temperature_low    = {{convert|6|C|F|abbr=on}}
| frozen             = 
| islands            = 
| trenches           = 
| benches            = 
| cities             = 
| reference          = [https://www.seatemperature.org/north-sea Seatemperature.org] and [http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/NorthSea/facts.php Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences]
}}
{{GeoGroup|article=Geography of the North Sea}}<!--

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The '''North Sea''' lies between [[Great Britain]], [[Denmark]], [[Norway]], [[Germany]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], and [[France]]. A sea on the [[Europe]]an [[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 {{convert|970|km|mi}} long and {{convert|580|km|mi}} wide, covering {{convert|570000|km2|sqmi}}.

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 energy|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 [[Viking Age|Vikings' rise]]. The [[Hanseatic League]], the [[Dutch Golden Age|Dutch Republic]], and [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] all 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 [[fjord]]s and sheer cliffs mark much of its [[Norway|Norwegian]] and [[Scotland|Scottish]] coastlines respectively, whereas in the south, the coast consists mainly of sandy beaches, estuaries of long rivers and wide [[mudflat]]s. Due to the dense population, heavy [[industrialisation]], and intense use of the sea and the area surrounding it, various environmental issues affect the sea's ecosystems. Adverse environmental issues{{snd}}commonly including [[overfishing]], industrial and agricultural [[surface runoff|runoff]], [[dredging]], and dumping, among others{{snd}} have led to several efforts to prevent degradation and to safeguard long-term economic benefits.

==Geography==
{{main|Geography of the North Sea}}
{{See also|List of rivers discharging into the North Sea}}
{{Annotated image | float=right| caption=Sk{{=}}[[Skagerrak]]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ka=[[Kattegat]]<br />Eng Ch=[[English Channel]] | image=North Sea map-en.png | width=240 | height=313
|image-width=250
|annotations=
{{Annotation|81|0|'''[[Norwegian Sea|Norwegian<br />Sea]]'''}}
{{Annotation|195|90|'''[[Skagerrak|Sk]]'''}}
{{Annotation|225|105|'''[[Kattegat|Ka]]'''}}
{{Annotation|24|298|'''[[English Channel|Eng Ch]]'''}}
}}
The North Sea is bounded by the [[Orkney Islands]] and east coast of [[Great Britain]] to the west<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia
|last = L.M.A.
|editor = University of Chicago
|encyclopedia =Encyclopædia Britannica Macropædia
|title = Europe
|edition = Fifteenth
|year = 1985
|publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.
|volume =18
|location = U.S.A.
|isbn =978-0-85229-423-9
|pages = 832–835
}}
</ref> and the northern and [[central Europe]]an mainland to the east and south, including [[Norway]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], and [[France]].<ref name="American">{{cite book
|last=Ripley
|first=George
|author2=Charles Anderson Dana
|title=The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEpMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA499
|year=1883
|publisher=D. Appleton and company
|page=499
|access-date=17 February 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083622/https://books.google.com/books?id=GEpMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA499
|url-status=live
}}</ref> In the southwest, beyond the [[Strait of Dover|Straits of Dover]], the North Sea becomes the [[English Channel]] connecting to the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="American"/> In the east, it connects to the [[Baltic Sea]] via the [[Skagerrak]] and [[Kattegat]],<ref name="American"/> narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and [[Sweden]] respectively.<ref name="Britannica"/> 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]].<ref name="Britannica"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Helland-Hansen|first=Bjørn|author2=Fridtjof Nansen|title=IV. The Basin of the Norwegian Sea.|work=Report on Norwegian Fishery and Marine-Investigations Vol. 11 No. 2|year=1909|publisher=Geofysisk Institutt|url=http://web.gfi.uib.no/The%20Norwegian%20Sea/TNS-002.htm|access-date=9 January 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114230040/http://web.gfi.uib.no/The%20Norwegian%20Sea/TNS-002.htm|archive-date=14 January 2009}}</ref>

The North Sea is more than {{convert|970|km|mi}} long and {{convert|580|km|mi}} wide, with an area of {{convert|750000|km2|sqmi}} and a volume of {{convert|54000|km3}}.<ref name="Safety">{{cite web|title = About the North Sea: Key facts|publisher = Safety at Sea project: Norwegian Coastal Administration|year = 2008|url = http://www.safetyatsea.se/index.php?section=northsea|access-date = 2 November 2008|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081209095426/http://www.safetyatsea.se/index.php?section=northsea|archive-date = 9 December 2008}}</ref> Around the edges of the North Sea are [[List of the largest islands in the North Sea|sizeable islands]] and [[archipelago]]s, including [[Shetland]], [[Orkney]], and the [[Frisian Islands]].<ref name="American"/> 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 (river)|Meuse]].<ref name="Ray">{{cite book
|last=Ray
|first=Alan
|author2=G. Carleton
|author3=Jerry McCormick-Ray
|title=Coastal-marine Conservation: Science and Policy
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7xLaYVGEF4C&q=%22North+Sea%22+watershed&pg=PA262
|year=2004
|edition=illustrated
|publisher=Blackwell Publishing
|isbn=978-0-632-05537-1
|page=262
|access-date=2 October 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083657/https://books.google.com/books?id=E7xLaYVGEF4C&q=%22North+Sea%22+watershed&pg=PA262
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Around 185&nbsp;million people live in the [[drainage basin|catchment area]] of [[List of rivers discharging into the North Sea|the rivers discharging into the North Sea]] encompassing some highly industrialized areas.<ref name="NorthSeaPDF">{{cite web
 |title       = Chapter 5: North Sea
 |work        = Environmental Guidebook on the Enclosed Coastal Seas of the World
 |publisher   = International Center for the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas
 |year        = 2003
 |url         = http://www.emecs.or.jp/guidebook/eng/pdf/05north.pdf
 |access-date  = 24 November 2008
|url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217143715/http://www.emecs.or.jp/guidebook/eng/pdf/05north.pdf
 |archive-date = 17 December 2008
}}
</ref><!-- see [http://www.emecs.or.jp/guidebook/eng/guidebookeng.html Emecs website, Enclosed Coastal Seas] -->

===Major features===
For the most part, the sea lies on the European [[continental shelf]] with a mean depth of {{convert|90|m}}.<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="Calow">{{cite book
|last=Calow
|first=Peter
|title=Blackwell's Concise Encyclopedia of Environmental Management
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L7V-JtHroGkC&pg=PA100
|access-date=26 December 2008
|year=1999
|publisher=Blackwell Publishing
|isbn=978-0-632-04951-6
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083622/https://books.google.com/books?id=L7V-JtHroGkC&pg=PA100
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The only exception is the [[Norwegian trench]], which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from [[Oslo]] to an area north of [[Bergen]].<ref name="Britannica"/> It is between {{convert|20|and|30|km|mi}} wide and has a maximum depth of {{convert|725|m}}.<ref name="Lis">{{cite web| title=Limits in the seas: North Sea continental shelf boundaries| work=U.S. Department of State| publisher=United States Government| date=14 June 1974| url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/62000.pdf| access-date=17 June 2013| archive-date=11 June 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611210859/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/62000.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Dogger Bank]], a vast [[moraine]], or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris, rises to a mere {{cvt|15|to|30|m|round=5}} below the surface.<ref name="Ostergren">{{cite book
|last=Ostergren
|first= Robert Clifford
|author2=John G. Rice
 |title=The Europeans: A Geography of People, Culture, and Environment
|url=https://archive.org/details/europeansgeograp00oste
|url-access=registration
|year=2004
|publisher=Guilford Press
|location=Bath, UK
|isbn= 978-0-89862-272-0
|page=[https://archive.org/details/europeansgeograp00oste/page/62 62]
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
 |publisher    = Maptech Online MapServer
 |title        = Dogger Bank
 |date         = 1989–2008
 |url          = http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=54.74456315454079&lon=2.3527509224287115&scale=1500000&zoom=50&type=0&icon=0&width=498&height=498&searchscope=dom&CFID=1719760&CFTOKEN=33728793&scriptfile=http%3A%2F%2Fmapserver.maptech.com%2Fhomepage%2Findex.cfm&latlontype=DMS
 |url-status   = dead
 |access-date  = 20 July 2007
|archive-date = 11 July 2012
|archive-url  = https://archive.today/20120711211708/http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=54.74456315454079&lon=2.3527509224287115&scale=1500000&zoom=50&type=0&icon=0&width=498&height=498&searchscope=dom&CFID=1719760&CFTOKEN=33728793&scriptfile=http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm&latlontype=DMS
}}</ref> This feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea.<ref name="Britannica"/> The [[Long Forties]] and the [[Broad Fourteens]] are large areas with roughly uniform depth in [[fathom]]s (forty fathoms and fourteen fathoms or {{cvt|73|and|26|m|disp=or}} deep, respectively). These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate,<ref name="Tuckey">{{cite book
|last=Tuckey
|first=James Hingston
|title=Maritime Geography and Statistics ...
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EMMBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA420
|year=1815
|publisher=Black, Parry & Co.
|isbn=9780521311915
|page=445
|access-date=17 February 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083623/https://books.google.com/books?id=EMMBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA420
|url-status=live
}}</ref> which has been alleviated by the implementation of [[Global navigation satellite system|satellite navigation systems]].<ref name="Bradford">{{cite book
|last=Bradford
|first=Thomas Gamaliel
|title=Encyclopædia Americana: A Popular Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, History, Politics, and Biography, Brought Down to the Present Time; Including a Copious Collection of Original Articles in American Biography; on the Basis of the Seventh Edition of the German Conversations-lexicon
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cxsPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA445
|year=1838
|publisher=Thomas, Cowperthwait, & co.
|isbn=9780521311915
|page=445
|access-date=17 February 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083623/https://books.google.com/books?id=cxsPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA445
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The [[Devil's Hole (North Sea)|Devil's Hole]] lies {{convert|320|km|mi|abbr=}} east of [[Dundee]], Scotland. The feature is a series of asymmetrical trenches between {{convert|20|and|30|km|mi}} long, {{convert|1|and|2|km|mi|spell=in|1}} wide and up to {{convert|230|m}} deep.<ref>{{cite journal| journal=The Edinburgh Geologist| issue=14| date=Autumn 1983| title=The Devil's Hole in the North Sea| author=Alan Fyfe| url=http://www.edinburghgeolsoc.org/edingeologist/z_14_04.html/| access-date=2 November 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201164653/http://www.edinburghgeolsoc.org/edingeologist/z_14_04.html/| archive-date=1 December 2008}}</ref>

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:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011}}</ref>

<blockquote>''On the Southwest.'' A line joining the ''Phare de Walde'' (Walde Lighthouse, in France, 50°59'37"N, 1°54'53"E) and [[Leathercoat Point]] (England, 51°10'01.4"N 1°24'07.8").<ref>The Walde Lighthouse is {{convert|6|km|0|abbr=on}} east of [[Calais]] ({{Coord|50|59|06|N|1|55|00|E|display=inline}}), and Leathercoat Point is at the north end of [[St Margaret's Bay, Kent]] ({{Coord|51|10|00|N|1|24|00|E|display=inline}}) </ref> northeast of Dover.

''On the Northwest.'' From [[Dunnet Head]] (58°40'20"N, 3°22'30"W) in [[Scotland]] to Tor Ness (58°47'N) in the Island of [[Hoy, Orkney|Hoy]], thence through this island to the Kame of Hoy (58°55'N) on to Breck Ness on [[Mainland, Orkney|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 Holm|Horse Island]] (South point of the [[Shetland]] Islands).

''On the North.'' From the North point (Fethaland Point) of the [[Mainland, Shetland|Mainland]] of the Shetland Islands, across to Graveland Ness (60°39'N) in the Island of [[Yell, Shetland|Yell]], through Yell to Gloup Ness (1°04'W) and across to Spoo Ness (60°45'N) in [[Unst]] island, through Unst to [[Hermaness|Herma Ness]] (60°51'N), on to the SW point of the Rumblings and to [[Muckle Flugga]] ({{coord|60|51|N|0|53|W|display=inline}}) all these being included in the North Sea area; thence up the meridian of 0°53' West to the [[61st parallel north|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]] ({{coord|57|07|N|8|36|E|display=inline}}) and the Naze ([[Lindesnes]], {{coord|58|N|7|E|display=inline}})].</blockquote>

===Hydrology===
====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>

====Water circulation and tides====
The main pattern to the flow of water in the North Sea is an [[anti-clockwise]] rotation along the edges.<ref>{{cite web
|title = Met Office: Flood alert!
|publisher = Met office UK government
|date = 28 November 2006
|url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/secondary/students/flood.html
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061231073713/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/secondary/students/flood.html
|archive-date = 31 December 2006
|access-date = 2 November 2008}}
</ref>

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.<ref name="SaS">{{cite web
 |title        = Safety at Sea
 |work         = Currents in the North Sea
 |year         = 2009
 |url          = http://www.safetyatsea.se/index.php?art=2041&group=400
 |access-date  = 9 January 2009
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081209094254/http://www.safetyatsea.se/index.php?art=2041&group=400
 |archive-date = 9 December 2008
 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Freestone
|first=David
|author2=Ton IJlstra
|title=The North Sea: Perspectives on Regional Environmental Co-operation
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGSMw7gCOLYC&pg=PA67
|access-date=3 December 2008
|year=1990
|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
|isbn=978-1-85333-413-9
|pages=66–70
|chapter=Physical Properties of Sea Water and their Distribution Annual: Variation in Surface Salinity
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083634/https://books.google.com/books?id=sGSMw7gCOLYC&pg=PA67
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

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 point|amphidromic]] systems and a third incomplete amphidromic system.<ref name="Dyke">{{cite book
|last=Dyke
|first=Phil
|title=Modeling Coastal and Offshore Processes
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3MOQKCru6sC&pg=PA328
|access-date=4 December 2008
|year=1974
|publisher=Imperial College Press
|isbn=978-1-86094-674-5
|pages=323–365
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083656/https://books.google.com/books?id=c3MOQKCru6sC&pg=PA328
|url-status=live
}} p. 329 tidal map showing amphidromes</ref><ref name="Carter">{{cite book
|last=Carter
|first=R. W. G.
|title=Coastal Environments: An Introduction to the Physical, Ecological and Cultural Systems of Coastlines
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=STBKHpqMt6MC&pg=PA157
|access-date=4 December 2008
|year=1974
|publisher=Academic Press
|isbn=978-0-12-161856-8
|pages=155–158
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083702/https://books.google.com/books?id=STBKHpqMt6MC&pg=PA157
|url-status=live
}} p. 157 tidal map showing amphidromes</ref> In the North Sea the average tide difference in wave amplitude is between zero and {{convert|8|m|ft|spell=in}}.{{clarify|reason= There are two averages: The average tide in any given place, which is an average over time, of may tides, and then there is an average of those average tides at all those places. So this was and is technically correct, if someone could think of a way to clarify, that might help readers understand. "In wave amplitude" also invites misinterpretation, people could think that was about sea wave height, which it isn't. This is especially bad since it directly follows a discussion of actual sea wave speeds and heights.|date=March 2025}}<ref name="Safety"/> 

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.<ref name="Changing">{{cite book
|last=Pugh
|first=D. T.
|title=Changing Sea Levels: Effects of Tides, Weather, and Climate
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ysa4ymmEotYC&pg=PA93
|year=2004
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=978-0-521-53218-1
|page=93
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083624/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ysa4ymmEotYC&pg=PA93
|url-status=live
}} p. 94 shows the amphidromic points of the North Sea</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" 
|+Selected&nbsp;tidal&nbsp;ranges
! Tidal range <small>([[Metre|m]])</small><br/><small>(from&nbsp;calendars)</small> !! width=70pt|Maximum tidal range <small>(m)</small> !! Tide-gauge !! Geographical and historical features
|-
| align="center" | 0.79–1.82 || align="center" | 2.39 || [[Lerwick]]<ref>Tide table for Lerwick: [http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Lerwick-Shetland-Islands-Scotland/tides/latest tide-forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426232252/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Lerwick-Shetland-Islands-Scotland/tides/latest |date=26 April 2014 }}</ref> || [[Shetland]] Islands
|-
| align="center" | 2.01–3.76 || align="center" | 4.69 || [[Aberdeen]]<ref>Tide table for Aberdeen: [http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Aberdeen-Scotland/tides/latest tide-forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805091018/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Aberdeen-Scotland/tides/latest |date=5 August 2014 }}</ref> || Mouth of [[River Dee, Aberdeenshire|River Dee]] in [[Scotland]]
|-
| align="center" | 2.38–4.61 || align="center" | 5.65 || [[North Shields]]<ref>Tide table for North Shields: [http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/North-Shields-England/tides/latest tide-forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201938/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/North-Shields-England/tides/latest |date=26 April 2014 }}</ref> || Mouth of [[River Tyne|Tyne]] estuary
|-
| align="center" | 2.31–6.04 || align="center" | 8.20 || [[Kingston upon Hull]]<ref>Tide tables for Kingston upon Hull: [https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/City-of-Kingston-upon-Hull/Hull-(Albert-Dock)/ Tides Chart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415215651/https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/City-of-Kingston-upon-Hull/Hull-(Albert-Dock)/ |date=15 April 2019 }} and [http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Hull-England/tides/latest Tide-Forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307142404/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Hull-England/tides/latest |date=7 March 2014 }}</ref> || Northern side of [[Humber]] estuary
|-
| align="center" | 1.75–4.33 || align="center" | 7.14 || [[Grimsby]]<ref>Tide table for Grimsby: [http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Grimsby/tides/latest Tide-Forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307152140/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Grimsby/tides/latest |date=7 March 2014 }}</ref> || Southern side of [[Humber]] estuary farther seaward
|-
| align="center" | 1.98–6.84 || align="center" | 6.90 || [[Skegness]]<ref>Tide tables for Skegness: [https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/Lincolnshire/Skegness/ Tideschart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612052508/https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/Lincolnshire/Skegness/ |date=12 June 2020 }} und
[http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Skegness/tides/latest Tide-Forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307140443/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Skegness/tides/latest |date=7 March 2014 }}</ref> || [[Lincolnshire]] coast north of [[the Wash]]
|-
| align="center" | 1.92–6.47 || align="center" | 7.26 || [[King's Lynn]]<ref>Tide tables for King's Lynn: [https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/Norfolk/Kings-Lynn/ Tideschart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612040543/https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/Norfolk/Kings-Lynn/ |date=12 June 2020 }} und
[http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Kings-Lynn/tides/latest Tide-Forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307141015/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Kings-Lynn/tides/latest |date=7 March 2014 }}</ref> || Mouth of [[River Great Ouse|Great Ouse]] into [[the Wash]]
|-
| align="center" | 2.54–7.23 || align="center" | || [[Hunstanton]]<ref>Tide tables for Hunstanton: [https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/Norfolk/Hunstanton/ Tideschart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612030249/https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/England/Norfolk/Hunstanton/ |date=12 June 2020 }}</ref> || Eastern edge of [[the Wash]]
|-
| align="center" | 2.34–3.70 || align="center" | 4.47 || [[Harwich]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Harwich-England/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Harwich|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=26 April 2014|archive-date=29 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829064731/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Harwich-England/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || [[East Anglia]]n coast north of [[Thames Estuary]]
|-
| align="center" | 4.05–6.62 || align="center" | 7.99 || [[London Bridge]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/London-Bridge-England/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for London|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=26 April 2014|archive-date=8 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208084433/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/London-Bridge-England/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Inner end of [[Thames Estuary]]
|-
| align="center" | 2.38–6.85 || align="center" | 6.92 || [[Dunkerque]]<ref>Tide tables for Dunkerque: [https://www.tideschart.com/France/Hauts--de--France/Departement-du-Nord/Dunkerque/ Tides Chart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415215651/https://www.tideschart.com/France/Hauts--de--France/Departement-du-Nord/Dunkerque/ |date=15 April 2019 }} and [http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Dunkerque-France/tides/latest tide forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306233424/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Dunkerque-France/tides/latest |date=6 March 2014 }}</ref> || Dune coast east of the [[Strait of Dover]]
|-
| align="center" | 2.02–5.53 || align="center" | 5.59 || [[Zeebrugge]]<ref>Tide tables for Zeebrugge: [https://www.tideschart.com/Belgium/Flanders/Provincie-West--Vlaanderen/Zeebrugge/ Tides Chart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415215700/https://www.tideschart.com/Belgium/Flanders/Provincie-West--Vlaanderen/Zeebrugge/ |date=15 April 2019 }} and [http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Zeebrugge-Belgium/tides/latest tide forecast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306235132/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Zeebrugge-Belgium/tides/latest |date=6 March 2014 }}</ref> || Dune coast west of [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta]]
|-
| align="center" | 3.24–4.96 || align="center" | 6.09 || [[Antwerp]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Antwerpen-Belgium/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Antwerpen|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=26 April 2014|archive-date=8 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008113252/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Antwerpen-Belgium/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Inner end of the southernmost estuary of [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta]]
|-
| align="center" | 1.48–1.90 || align="center" | 2.35 || [[Rotterdam]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Rotterdam-Netherlands/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Rotterdam|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223095839/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Rotterdam-Netherlands/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Borderline of estuary delta<ref>Ahnert. F.(2009): Einführung in die Geomorphologie. 4. Auflage. 393 S.</ref> and sedimentation delta of the Rhine
|-
| align="center" | 1.10–2.03 || align="center" | 2.52 || [[Katwijk]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Katwijkaan-Zee/tides/latest|title=Katwijk aan Zee Tide Times & Tide Charts|work=surf-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221175125/http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Katwijkaan-Zee/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Mouth of the Uitwateringskanaal of the [[Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland)|Oude Rijn]] into the sea
|-
| align="center" | 1.15–1.72 || align="center" | 2.15 || [[Den Helder]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Den-Helder-Netherlands/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Den Helder|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223095934/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Den-Helder-Netherlands/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Northeastern end of [[Holland]] dune coast west of [[IJsselmeer]]
|-
| align="center" | 1.67–2.20 || align="center" | 2.65 || [[Harlingen, Netherlands|Harlingen]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Harlingen-Netherlands/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Harlingen|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100203/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Harlingen-Netherlands/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || East of [[IJsselmeer]], outlet of [[IJssel]] river, the eastern branch of the Rhine
|-
| align="center" | 1.80–2.69 || align="center" | 3.54 || [[Borkum]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Borkum-Germany/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Borkum|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100148/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Borkum-Germany/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Island in front of [[Ems (river)|Ems]] river estuary
|-
| align="center" | 2.96–3.71 || align="center" | || [[Emden]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/emden|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221160235/http://de.windfinder.com/tide/Emden_Neue_Seeschleuse_Germany|url-status=dead|title=Windfinder.com – Wind, waves, weather & tide forecast Emden|archive-date=21 February 2014|website=Windfinder.com}}</ref> || East side of [[Ems (river)|Ems]] river estuary
|-
| align="center" | 2.60–3.76 || align="center" | 4.90 || [[Wilhelmshaven]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Wilhelmshaven-Germany/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Wilhelmshaven|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100201/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Wilhelmshaven-Germany/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || [[Jade Bight]]
|-
| align="center" | 2.66–4.01 || align="center" | 4.74 || [[Bremerhaven]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Bremerhaven-Germany/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Bremerhaven|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100153/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Bremerhaven-Germany/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Seaward end of [[Weser]] estuary
|-
| align="center" | 3.59–4.62 || align="center" | || [[Bremen]]-[[Oslebshausen]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gezeiten-kalender.de:9099/locations/473.html?y=2014&m=2&d=22|title=Gezeitenkalender für Bremen, Oslebshausen, Germany (Tidenkalender) – und viele weitere Orte|author=Guido Gerding|work=gezeiten-kalender.de|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222165136/http://gezeiten-kalender.de:9099/locations/473.html?y=2014&m=2&d=22|url-status=dead}}</ref> || [[Ports of Bremen|Bremer Industriehäfen]], inner [[Weser]] estuary
|-
| align="center" | 3.3–4.0 || align="center" | || [[Bremen]] Weser barrage<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bsh.de/cgi-bin/gezeiten/was_tab.pl?ort=DE__752P&zone=Gesetzliche+Zeit+%B9&niveau=NN|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140217155825/http://www.bsh.de/cgi-bin/gezeiten/was_tab.pl?ort=DE__752P&zone=Gesetzliche+Zeit+%B9&niveau=NN|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 February 2014|title=Gezeitenvorausberechnung|work=bsh.de|access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref> || Artificial tide limit of river Weser, 4&nbsp;km upstream of the city centre
|-
| align="center" | <span style="color:purple;"> 2.6–4.0 </span>|| ||<span style="color:purple;"> Bremerhaven 1879</span><ref name="Franzius">calculated from [[Ludwig Franzius]]: ''Die Korrektion der Unterweser'' (1898). suppl. B IV.: weekly average tide ranges 1879</ref>||<span style="color:purple;"> Before start of [[Weser Correction]] (Weser straightening works)</span>
|-
| align="center" | <span style="color:purple;"> 0–0.3</span> || ||<span style="color:purple;"> Bremen city centre 1879</span><ref name="Franzius"/> ||<span style="color:purple;"> Before start of [[Weser Correction]] (Weser straightening works)</span>
|-
| align="center" | <span style="color:blue;"> 1.45</span> || ||<span style="color:blue;"> Bremen city centre 1900</span><ref>telephonical advice by Mrs. Piechotta, head of department of hydrology, Nautic Administration for Bremen ([http://www.wsv.de/wsa-hb/ WSA Bremen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327220829/http://www.wsv.de/wsa-hb/ |date=27 March 2014 }})</ref> ||<span style="color:blue;"> [[Große Weserbrücke]], 5 years after completion of [[Weser Correction]] works</span>
|-
| align="center" | 2.54–3.48 || align="center" | 4.63 || [[Cuxhaven]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Cuxhaven-Germany/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Cuxhaven|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100158/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Cuxhaven-Germany/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Seaward end of [[Elbe]] estuary
|-
| align="center" | 3.4–3.9 || align="center" | 4.63 || [[Hamburg]] St. Pauli<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Hamburg-Germany/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Hamburg|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=12 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312105840/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Hamburg-Germany/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bsh.de/cgi-bin/gezeiten/was_tab.pl?ort=DE__508P&zone=Gesetzliche+Zeit+%B9&niveau=KN|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140217155834/http://www.bsh.de/cgi-bin/gezeiten/was_tab.pl?ort=DE__508P&zone=Gesetzliche+Zeit+%B9&niveau=KN|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 February 2014|title=Gezeitenvorausberechnung|work=bsh.de|access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref> || [[St. Pauli Piers]], inner part of [[Elbe]] estuary
|-
| align="center" | 1.39–2.03 || align="center" | 2.74 || [[Westerland, Germany|Westerland]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Westerland-Germany/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Westerland|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100146/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Westerland-Germany/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || [[Sylt]] island, off the [[Nordfriesland]] coast
|-
| align="center" | 2.8–3.4 || align="center" | || [[Dagebüll]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bsh.de/cgi-bin/gezeiten/was_tab.pl?ort=DE__635P&zone=Gesetzliche%20Zeit&niveau=KN|title=Gezeitenvorausberechnung|work=bsh.de|access-date=17 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223104352/http://www.bsh.de/cgi-bin/gezeiten/was_tab.pl?ort=DE__635P&zone=Gesetzliche%20Zeit&niveau=KN|archive-date=23 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> || Coast of [[Wadden Sea]] in [[Nordfriesland]]
|-
| align="center" | 1.1–2.1 || align="center" | 2.17 || [[Esbjerg]]<ref name="DMI">{{cite web|url=http://www.dmi.dk/en/hav/maalinger/tidal-tables/|title=Tidal tables|work=dmi.dk|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316211710/http://www.dmi.dk/en/hav/maalinger/tidal-tables/|archive-date=16 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Esbjerg-Denmark/tides/latest|title=Tide Times and Tide Chart for Esbjerg, Denmark|work=tide-forecast.com|access-date=7 March 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223095931/http://www.tide-forecast.com/locations/Esbjerg-Denmark/tides/latest|url-status=live}}</ref> || Northern end of Wadden Sea in [[Denmark]]
|-
| align="center" | 0.5–1.1 || align="center" | || [[Hvide Sande]]<ref name="DMI"/> || [[Denmark|Danish]] dune coast, entrance of [[Ringkøbing Fjord]] lagoon
|-
| align="center" | 0.3–0.5 || align="center" | || [[Thyborøn]]<ref name="DMI"/> || Danish dune coast, entrance of ''Nissum Bredning'' [[lagoon]], part of [[Limfjord]]
|-
| align="center" | 0.2–04 || align="center" | || [[Hirtshals]]<ref name="DMI"/> || [[Skagerrak]]. [[Hanstholm]] and [[Skagen]] have the same values.
|-
| align="center" | 0.14–0.30 || align="center" | 0.26 || [[Mandal, Norway|Tregde]]<ref name="Vannstand">[http://vannstand.no/index.php/nb/english-section/tide-table Vannstand – Norwegian official maritime Information → English version] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429091718/http://vannstand.no/index.php/nb/english-section/tide-table |date=29 April 2015 }}</ref> || [[Skagerrak]], southern end of [[Norway]], east of an [[amphidromic point]] 
|-
| align="center" | 0.25–0.60 || align="center" | 0.65 || [[Stavanger]]<ref name="Vannstand"/> || North of that amphidromic point, tidal rhythm irregular
|-
| align="center" | 0.64–1.20 || align="center" | 1.61 || [[Bergen]]<ref name="Vannstand"/> || Tidal rhythm regular
|}

=== Coasts ===
{{main|Coastline of the North Sea}}
[[File:Wattenmeer-Nordfriesland.jpg|thumb|The German North Sea coast]]
The eastern and western coasts of the North Sea are jagged, formed by [[glacier]]s during the [[Quaternary glaciation|ice ages]]. The coastlines along the southernmost part are covered with the remains of deposited glacial sediment.<ref name="Britannica"/> The Norwegian mountains plunge into the sea creating deep [[fjord]]s and [[archipelago]]s. South of Stavanger, the coast softens, the islands become fewer.<ref name="Britannica"/> The eastern Scottish coast is similar, though less severe than Norway. From [[North East England|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.<ref name="EastRiding">{{cite web| title = Development of the East Riding Coastline| url = http://www.eastriding.gov.uk/aspirelinks/coastal/1development.pdf| publisher = East Riding of Yorkshire Council| access-date = 24 July 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070810055627/http://www.eastriding.gov.uk/aspirelinks/coastal/1development.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->| archive-date = 10 August 2007| url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="Eurosion">{{cite web| title = Holderness Coast United Kingdom| url = http://copranet.projects.eucc-d.de/files/000164_EUROSION_Holderness_coast.pdf| publisher = EUROSION Case Study| access-date = 24 July 2007| archive-date = 11 May 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110511113054/http://copranet.projects.eucc-d.de/files/000164_EUROSION_Holderness_coast.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> In the Netherlands, Belgium and in [[East Anglia]] the [[littoral]] is low and marshy.<ref name="Britannica"/> 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.<ref name="GHC">{{Cite book
 |title        = Overview of geography, hydrography and climate of the North Sea (Chapter II of the Quality Status Report).
 |publisher    = [[Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic]] (OSPAR)
 |year         = 2000
 |url          = http://www.ospar.org/eng/doc/pdfs/R2C2.pdf
 |access-date  = 4 December 2007
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070710023601/http://www.ospar.org/eng/doc/pdfs/R2C2.pdf
 |archive-date = 10 July 2007
 }}<!--This citation covers the entire paragraph for the intro--></ref>

=== Coastal management ===
{{further|Afsluitdijk|Delta Works|Flood control in the Netherlands|Thames Barrier|Zuiderzee Works}}
[[File:Afsluitdijk 1031.jpg|thumb|The [[Afsluitdijk]] (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands]]

The southern coastal areas were originally [[flood plain]]s and swampy land. In areas especially vulnerable to storm surges, people settled behind elevated levees and on natural areas of high ground such as [[spit (landform)|spits]] and [[geest]]land.<ref name="Wefer"/>{{rp|[302,303]}} As early as 500 BC, people were constructing [[artificial dwelling hill]]s higher than the prevailing flood levels.<ref name="Wefer"/>{{rp|[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.<ref name="Wefer">{{cite book
|last=Wefer
|first=Gerold
|author2=Wolfgang H. Berger
|author3=K. E. Behre
|author4=Eystein Jansen
|title=Climate Development and History of the North Atlantic Realm: With 16 Tables
|orig-year=2002
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NACgnCN_jaEC&pg=PA308
|access-date=4 December 2008
|year=2002
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-3-540-43201-2
|pages=308–310
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083652/https://books.google.com/books?id=NACgnCN_jaEC&pg=PA308
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web
 |last         = Oosthoek
 |first        = K. Jan
 |publisher    = Environmental History Resources
 |title        = History of Dutch river flood defences
 |date         = 2006–2007
 |url          = http://www.eh-resources.org/floods.html
 |access-date  = 24 July 2007
 |archive-date = 26 June 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070626085020/http://www.eh-resources.org/floods.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web
|publisher = Compare Infobase Limited
|title =North Sea Protection Works – Seven Modern Wonders of World
|date =2006–2007
|url =http://www.allwondersoftheworld.com/seven-modern-wonders/north-sea-protection-works.html
|access-date = 24 July 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070525134637/http://www.allwondersoftheworld.com/seven-modern-wonders/north-sea-protection-works.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 25 May 2007}}</ref> Currently, 27% of the Netherlands is below sea level protected by dikes, dunes, and beach flats.<ref>{{cite web
 |last         = Rosenberg
 |first        = Matt
 |work         = About.com – Geography
 |title        = Dykes of the Netherlands
 |date         = 30 January 2007
 |url          = http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/dykes.htm
 |access-date  = 19 July 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090201074700/http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/dykes.htm
 |archive-date = 1 February 2009
 |url-status   = dead
 }}</ref>

[[Coastal management]] today consists of several levels.<ref name="BASF">{{cite web
 |title        = Science around us: Flexible covering protects imperiled dikes – BASF – The Chemical Company – Corporate Website
 |publisher    = BASF
 |url          = http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/content/news-and-media-relations/science-around-us/imperiled-dikes/index
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20130102043157/http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/content/news-and-media-relations/science-around-us/imperiled-dikes/index
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = 2 January 2013
 |access-date  = 16 January 2009
 }}</ref> The dike slope reduces the energy of the incoming sea, so that the dike itself does not receive the full impact.<ref name="BASF"/> Dikes that lie directly on the sea are especially reinforced.<ref name="BASF"/> The dikes have, over the years, been repeatedly raised, sometimes up to {{convert|9|m|ft}} and have been made flatter to better reduce wave erosion.<ref>{{cite web
 |last         = Peters
 |first        = Karsten
 |author2      = Magnus Geduhn
 |author3      = Holger Schüttrumpf
 |author4      = Helmut Temmler
 |title        = Impounded water in Sea Dikes
 |publisher    = ICCE
 |date         = 31 August – 5 September 2008
 |url          = http://icce2008.hamburg.baw.de/downloads/intern/Paper/BookOfAbstracts/0863_Peters.pdf
 |access-date  = 16 January 2009
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205005638/http://icce2008.hamburg.baw.de/downloads/intern/Paper/BookOfAbstracts/0863_Peters.pdf
 |archive-date = 5 February 2009
 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = Dune Grass Planting
 |work         = A guide to managing coastal erosion in beach/dune systems – Summary 2
 |publisher    = [[Scottish Natural Heritage]]
 |year         = 2000
 |url          = http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/heritagemanagement/erosion/appendix_1.2.shtml
 |access-date   = 2 November 2008
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081212154705/http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/heritagemanagement/erosion/appendix_1.2.shtml
 |archive-date  = 12 December 2008
|url-status     = dead
}}</ref>

=== Storm tides ===
{{main|Storm tides of the North Sea}}
[[File:Watersnoodramp 1953.jpg|thumb|[[Zuid-Beveland]], [[North Sea flood of 1953]]]]
[[Storm surge]]s threaten, in particular, the coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark and low-lying areas of eastern England particularly around [[The Wash]] and [[The Fens|Fens]].<ref name="GHC"/>
Storm surges are caused by changes in [[Atmospheric pressure|barometric pressure]] combined with strong wind created [[Ocean surface wave|wave action]].<ref>{{cite book
|last=Ingham
|first=J. K.
|author2=John Christopher Wolverson Cope
|author3=P. F. Rawson
|title=Atlas of Palaeogeography and Lithofacies
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0I6BNSgx3_cC&pg=RA1-PA150
|access-date=15 December 2008
|year=1999
|publisher=Geological Society of London
|isbn=978-1-86239-055-3
|page=150
|chapter=Quaternary
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083625/https://books.google.com/books?id=0I6BNSgx3_cC&pg=RA1-PA150
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Morin">{{cite web
 |last         = Morin
 |first        = Rene
 |title        = Social, economical and political impact of Weather
 |publisher    = EMS annual meeting
 |date         = 2 October 2008
 |url          = http://www.emetsoc.org/annual_meetings/documents/Morin_SilverMedalLecture_2008.pdf
 |access-date  = 4 December 2008
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217143715/http://www.emetsoc.org/annual_meetings/documents/Morin_SilverMedalLecture_2008.pdf
 |archive-date = 17 December 2008
 }}</ref> In 1362, the [[Saint Marcellus' flood|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]].<ref name="Untergang">{{cite web
|title =scinexx &#124; Der Untergang: Die Grote Manndränke – Rungholt Nordsee
|publisher =MMCD NEW MEDIA
|date =24 May 2008
|url =http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.g-o.de/dossier-detail-395-8.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=5&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D1362%2BGroote%2BManndr%25C3%25A4nke%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DG
|language =de
|access-date =4 December 2008
|archive-date =12 May 2011
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110512012345/http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.g-o.de/dossier-detail-395-8.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=5&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D1362%2BGroote%2BManndr%25C3%25A4nke%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DG
|url-status =live
}}</ref>
In the 20th century, the [[North Sea flood of 1953]] flooded several nations' coasts and cost more than 2,000 lives.<ref>{{Cite book
 |publisher  = Investigating Rivers
 |title      = Coastal Flooding: The great flood of 1953
 |url        = http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/rivers/gt%20stour%20case%20study-pages/fld-cstl.html
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20021126105045/http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/rivers/gt%20stour%20case%20study-pages/fld-cstl.html
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = 26 November 2002
 |access-date = 24 July 2007
}}</ref>
315 citizens of Hamburg died in the [[North Sea flood of 1962]].<ref name="Lamb">{{cite book
|last=Lamb
|first=H. H.
|title=Weather, Climate & Human Affairs: A Book of Essays and
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5IOAAAAQAAJ&q=North+Frisian+Flood+of+1981&pg=PA131
|edition=illustrated
|year=1988
|publisher=Taylor & Francis
|isbn=9780415006743
|page=187
|access-date=2 October 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083632/https://books.google.com/books?id=m5IOAAAAQAAJ&q=North+Frisian+Flood+of+1981&pg=PA131
|url-status=live
}}</ref>{{rp|[79,86]}}

=== Tsunamis ===
Though rare, the North Sea has been the site of a number of historically documented [[tsunami]]s. The [[Storegga Slide]]s 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 {{convert|20|m|ft}} high that swept through the North Sea, having the greatest effect on Scotland and the [[Faroe Islands|Faeroe Islands]].<ref name="spiegel">{{cite news
 |first        = Axel
 |last         = Bojanowski
 |work         = Spiegel Online
 |title        = Tidal Waves in Europe? Study Sees North Sea Tsunami Risk
 |date         = 11 October 2006
 |url          = http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,441819,00.html
 |access-date  = 24 July 2007
 |archive-date = 1 November 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071101180658/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,441819,00.html
 |url-status   = live
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first = Stein | last = Bondevik | author2 = Sue Dawson | author3 = Alastair Dawson | author4 = Øystein Lohne | date = 5 August 2003 | title = Record-breaking Height for 8000-Year-Old Tsunami in the North Atlantic | journal = Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union | volume = 84 | issue = 31 | pages = 289, 293 | doi = 10.1029/2003EO310001 | bibcode = 2003EOSTr..84..289B | hdl = 1956/729 | doi-access = free | hdl-access = free }}</ref>
The [[1580 Dover Straits earthquake|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.<ref name="Belgium"/> 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.<ref name="Belgium">{{Cite book
 |publisher    = Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
 |title        = A tsunami in Belgium?
 |year         = 2005
 |url          = http://www.naturalsciences.be/active/sciencenews/archive2005/tsunami
 |access-date  = 2 November 2008
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140425180447/http://www.naturalsciences.be/active/sciencenews/archive2005/tsunami
 |archive-date = 25 April 2014
 }}</ref>

In 1995, the {{convert|25.6|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall [[Draupner wave]] occurred in the North Sea, becoming the first [[rogue wave]] to be observed using scientific instruments.<ref name="TheWeek2">{{cite web |date=27 September 2010 |title=The last word: Terrors of the sea |url=http://theweek.com/articles/490823/last-word-terrors-sea |access-date=15 January 2016 |website=TheWeek}}</ref>

== Geology ==
{{main|Geology of the North Sea|Geology of southern North Sea}}

Shallow [[epicontinental]] seas like the current North Sea have since long existed on the European [[continental shelf]]. The [[rift]]ing that formed the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean during the [[Jurassic]] and [[Cretaceous]] periods, from about {{ma|150}}, caused [[tectonic uplift]] in the British Isles.<ref name="Ziegler">{{cite journal
|last = Ziegler
|first = P. A.
|title =Geologic Evolution of North Sea and Its Tectonic Framework
|journal=AAPG Bulletin|volume =59 |year=1975
|doi = 10.1306/83D91F2E-16C7-11D7-8645000102C1865D }}
</ref> Since then, a shallow sea has almost continuously existed between the uplands of the [[Fennoscandian Shield]] and the British Isles.<ref>See Ziegler (1990) or Glennie (1998) for the development of the paleogeography around the North Sea area from the Jurassic onwards</ref> This precursor of the current North Sea has grown and shrunk with the rise and fall of the [[eustacy|eustatic]] sea level during geologic time. Sometimes it was connected with other shallow seas, such as the sea above the [[Seine|Paris Basin]] to the south-west, the [[Paratethys|Paratethys Sea]] to the south-east, or the [[Tethys Ocean]] to the south.<ref name="Torsvik">{{cite web
 |last         = Torsvik
 |first        = Trond H.
 |author2      = Daniel Carlos
 |author3      = Jon L. Mosar
 |author4      = Robin M. Cocks
 |author5      = Tarjei N. Malme
 |title        = Global reconstructions and North Atlantic paleogeography 440 Ma to Recen
 |date         = November 2004
 |url          = http://www.earthdynamics.org/torsvik/torsvik-papers/2002/2002-Torsvik-etal-BATLAS.pdf
 |access-date  = 19 November 2008
 |archive-date = 22 June 2015
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150622010928/http://www.earthdynamics.org/torsvik/torsvik-papers/2002/2002-Torsvik-etal-BATLAS.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

During the Late Cretaceous, about {{ma|85}}, all of modern mainland Europe except for Scandinavia was a scattering of islands.<ref name="Glennie"/> By the Early [[Oligocene]], {{ma|34|28}}, 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.<ref>{{cite book
 |last         = Smith
 |first        = A. G.
 |title        = Atlas of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Coastlines
 |publisher    = Cambridge University Press
 |year         = 2004
 |isbn         = 978-0-521-60287-7
 |pages        = 27–38
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSuuvlMuQaEC&pg=PA66
 |access-date  = 1 July 2020
 |archive-date = 17 April 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083625/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSuuvlMuQaEC&pg=PA66
 |url-status   = live
 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal
|last=Gibbard |first= P.|s2cid= 4400105| title=Palaeogeography: Europe cut adrift
|journal=Nature | volume=448| pages=259–60| date=19 July 2007 | doi=10.1038/448259a
|pmid=17637645
|issue=7151
|bibcode = 2007Natur.448..259G |doi-access=free}} (Registration is required)</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
|last1=Gupta
|first1=Sanjeev
|last2=Collier
|first2=Jenny S.
|last3=Palmer-Felgate
|first3=Andy
|last4=Potter
|first4=Graeme
|s2cid=4408290
|title=Catastrophic flooding origin of shelf valley systems in the English Channel
|journal=Nature
|volume=448
|year=2007
|pages=342–5
|doi=10.1038/nature06018
|pmid=17637667
|issue=7151
|bibcode=2007Natur.448..342G
}}</ref> Since the start of the [[Quaternary]] period about {{ma|2.6}}, 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bradwell |first1=Tom |last2=Stoker |first2=Martyn S. |last3=Golledge |first3=Nicholas R. |last4=Wilson |first4=Christian K. |last5=Merritt |first5=Jon W. |last6=Long |first6=David |last7=Everest |first7=Jeremy D. |last8=Hestvik |first8=Ole B. |last9=Stevenson |first9=Alan G. |last10=Hubbard |first10=Alun L. |last11=Finlayson |first11=Andrew G. |last12=Mathers |first12=Hannah E. |date=June 2008 |title=The northern sector of the last British Ice Sheet: Maximum extent and demise |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825208000160 |journal=[[Earth-Science Reviews]] |volume=8 |issue=3–4 |pages=207–226 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.01.008 |bibcode=2008ESRv...88..207B |s2cid=129790365 |access-date=25 November 2022 |archive-date=25 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125175719/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825208000160 |url-status=live }}</ref> The present-day coastline formed after the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] when the sea began to flood the European continental shelf.<ref name="Plant">{{cite book
|last = Sola
|first = M. A.
|author2 = D. Worsley
|author3 = Muʼassasah al-Waṭanīyah lil-Nafṭ
|title = Geological Exploration in Murzuq Basin
|series = A contribution to IUGS/IAGC Global Geochemical Baselines
|publisher = Elsevier Science B.V.
|year = 2000
|isbn = 9780080532462
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WX2iJQmKTvcC&pg=PA18
|access-date = 17 February 2020
|archive-date = 17 April 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083626/https://books.google.com/books?id=WX2iJQmKTvcC&pg=PA18
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

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&nbsp;million years ago. This was the deepest dinosaur fossil ever found and the first find for Norway.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://palaeosbios.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/dinosaur-of-deep.html |title=Dinosaur of the Deep |author=Lindsey, Kyle |date=25 April 2006 |work=Paleontology Blog |access-date=23 June 2013 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502194031/http://palaeosbios.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/dinosaur-of-deep.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Doggerland.svg|Map showing hypothetical extent of [[Doggerland]] (c. 8,000 BC), which provided a land bridge between Great Britain and continental Europe
File:North Sea -.jpg|North Sea from De Koog, Texel island
File:Mediterranean Rupelian.jpg|The North Sea between {{ma|34}} and {{ma|28}}, as Central Europe became dry land
</gallery>

== Nature ==
=== Fish and shellfish ===
{{See also|List of fish of the North Sea}}
[[File:Bank met ondermeer kokkels mosselen en Japanse oesters in de Waddenzee bij Schiermonnikoog.jpg|thumb|[[Pacific oyster]]s, [[blue mussel]]s and [[cockle (bivalve)|cockle]]s in the [[Wadden Sea]] in the Netherlands]]

[[Copepod]]s and other [[zooplankton]] are plentiful in the North Sea. These tiny organisms are crucial elements of the [[food chain]] supporting many species of fish.<ref name="Ecoserve"/> Over 230 species of [[fish]] live in the North Sea. [[Cod]], [[haddock]], [[whiting (fish)|whiting]], [[saithe]], [[plaice]], [[sole (fish)|sole]], [[mackerel]], [[herring]], [[pouting (fish)|pouting]], [[sprat]], and [[sandeel]] are all very common and are fished commercially.<ref name="Ecoserve"/><ref name="OSPAR">{{cite web
|title = Quality Status Report for the Greater North Sea
|publisher = [[Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic]] (OSPAR)
|year = 2010
|url = http://qsr2010.ospar.org/en/ch12_02.html
|access-date = 23 June 2013
|archive-date = 25 January 2012
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120125104206/http://qsr2010.ospar.org/en/ch12_02.html
|url-status = live
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Piet, G. J. |author2=van Hal, R. |author3=Greenstreet, S. P. R. |year=2009 |title=Modelling the direct impact of bottom trawling on the North Sea fish community to derive estimates of fishing mortality for non-target fish species |journal=ICES Journal of Marine Science |volume=66 |issue=9 |pages=1985–1998 |doi=10.1093/icesjms/fsp162 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Crustacean]]s are also commonly found throughout the sea. [[Norway lobster]], [[Pandalus borealis|deep-water prawns]], and [[Crangon crangon|brown shrimp]] are all commercially fished, but other species of [[lobster]], [[Caridea|shrimp]], [[oyster]], [[mussel]]s and [[clam]]s all live in the North Sea.<ref name="Ecoserve"/> Recently non-indigenous species have become established including the [[Pacific oyster]] and [[Atlantic jackknife clam]].<ref name="OSPAR"/>

===Birds===
The coasts of the North Sea are home to [[nature reserve]]s 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.<ref name="Ecoserve">{{cite web
| title = MarBEF Educational Pullout: The North Sea
| work = Ecoserve
| publisher = [[MarBEF]] Educational Pullout Issue 4
| url = http://www.marbef.org/outreach/downloads/North%20sea%20pullout.pdf
| access-date = 12 January 2009
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205005633/http://www.marbef.org/outreach/downloads/North%20sea%20pullout.pdf
| archive-date = 5 February 2009
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> These locations provide breeding [[habitat (ecology)|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 kittiwake]]s, [[Atlantic puffin]]s, [[northern gannet]]s, [[northern fulmar]]s, and species of [[petrel]]s, [[seaduck]]s, [[loon]]s (divers), [[cormorant]]s, [[gull]]s, [[auk]]s, and [[tern]]s, and many other seabirds make these coasts popular for [[birdwatching]].<ref name="Ecoserve"/><ref name="OSPAR"/>

[[File:European seagull on the coast of North Sea.jpg|thumb|alt=European seagull on the coast of North Sea|European seagull on the coast of North Sea]]

===Marine mammals===
[[File:Bottlenose dolphin with young.JPG|thumb|A female [[bottlenose dolphin]] with her young in [[Moray Firth]], Scotland]]
The North Sea is also home to marine mammals. [[Common seal]]s, [[grey seal]]s, and [[harbour porpoise]]s 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 seal|bearded]], [[harp seal|harp]], [[hooded seal|hooded]] and [[ringed seal]]s, and even [[walrus]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecomare.nl/index.php?id=4184&L=2 |title=Walrus |work=Ecomare |access-date=23 June 2013 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502205938/http://www.ecomare.nl/index.php?id=4184&L=2 |url-status=live }}</ref> North Sea [[cetaceans]] include various [[porpoise]], [[dolphin]] and [[whale]] species.<ref name="OSPAR"/><ref>{{Cite book |title = Whales and dolphins in the North Sea 'on the increase' |publisher = Newcastle University Press Release |date = 2 April 2005 |url = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/?ref=1112607082 |access-date = 21 December 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090101213218/http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/?ref=1112607082 |archive-date = 1 January 2009 }}</ref>

===Flora===
[[File:Phytoplankton Bloom in the North Sea.jpg|thumb|[[Phytoplankton]] bloom in the North Sea]]

Plant species in the North Sea include species of [[wrack (science)|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.<ref name="OSPAR"/> [[Zostera|Eelgrass]], formerly common in the entirety of the Wadden Sea, was nearly wiped out in the 20th century by a disease.<ref>{{cite journal
|last=Nienhuis
|first=P.H.
|s2cid=37221865
|title =Causes of the eelgrass wasting disease: Van der Werff's changing theories
|journal=Aquatic Ecology
|issue=1
|volume=28
|year = 2008
|doi=10.1007/BF02334245
|pages=55–61}}
</ref> Similarly, [[Seagrass|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.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10323&page=27 |title=Effects of Trawling and Dredging on Seafloor Habitat |publisher=[[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] |others=Ocean Studies Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, [[National Research Council (United States)|National Research Council]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-309-08340-9 |chapter=Effects of Trawling and Dredging |doi=10.17226/10323 |access-date=2 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515185007/http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10323&page=27 |archive-date=15 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Invasive [[Sargassum muticum|Japanese seaweed]] has spread along the shores of the sea clogging harbours and inlets and has become a nuisance.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Tait
|first=Ronald Victor
|author2=Frances Dipper
|title=Elements of Marine Ecology
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHrXsKJ89rEC&pg=PA432
|year=1998
|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann
|isbn=9780750620888
|page=432
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083626/https://books.google.com/books?id=gHrXsKJ89rEC&pg=PA432
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===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. [[Flamingo]]s and [[pelican]]s were once found along the southern shores of the North Sea, but became extinct over the second millennium.<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = Extinct / extirpated species
 |work         = Dr.&nbsp;Ransom A. Myers – Research group website
 |publisher    = Future of Marine Animal Populations / Census of Marine Life
 |date         = 27 October 2006
 |url          = http://www.fmap.ca/ramweb/media/biodiversity_loss/downloads/Examples_regional_extinctions.doc
 |url-status   = dead
 |access-date  = 24 November 2008
 |format       = doc
 |archive-url  = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081217143715/http://www.fmap.ca/ramweb/media/biodiversity_loss/downloads/Examples_regional_extinctions.doc
 |archive-date = 17 December 2008
 }}</ref> Walruses frequented the Orkney Islands through the mid-16th&nbsp;century, as both Sable Island and Orkney Islands lay within their normal range.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last = Ray  |first = C.E.
 |year = 1960
 |title = ''Trichecodon huxlei'' (Mammalia: Odobenidae) in the Pleaistocene of southeastern United States
 |journal= Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology
 |volume = 122   |pages = 129–142
}}
</ref> [[Gray whale|Grey whale]]s also resided in the North Sea but were driven to extinction in the Atlantic in the 17th&nbsp;century<ref>{{cite web
 |website      = The Extinction Website
 |series       = Species Info
 |title        = Atlantic Grey Whale
 |date         = 19 January 2008
 |url          = http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/atlanticgreywhale.htm
 |access-date  = 3 December 2008
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090104224507/http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/atlanticgreywhale.htm
 |archive-date = 4 January 2009
 }}</ref> Other species have dramatically declined in population, though they are still found. [[North Atlantic right whale]]s, [[sturgeon]], [[shad]], [[Batoidea|rays]], [[Skate (fish)|skate]]s, [[salmon]], and other species were common in the North Sea until the 20th&nbsp;century, when numbers declined due to [[overfishing]].<ref>{{cite news
 |last = Brown
 |first = Paul
 |date = 21 March 2002
|title = North Sea in crisis as skate dies out: Ban placed on large areas to stave off risk of species being destroyed
 |newspaper = [[The Guardian]]
 |location = London, UK
 |publisher = Guardian Unlimited, Guardian News and Media Limited
 |url = https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4378387,00.html
 |access-date = 3 December 2008
 |archive-date = 17 April 2023
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083626/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2002/mar/21/fish.food
 |url-status = live
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 |last1        = Williot
 |first1       = Patrick
 |last2        = Rochard
 |first2       = Éric
 |series       = Ecosystems and territories
 |title        = Sturgeon: Restoring an endangered species
 |publisher    = Cemagref
 |url          = http://www.cemagref.fr/english/seven/News/07/25ans/ETsturgeon.pdf
 |access-date  = 3 December 2008
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217143716/http://www.cemagref.fr/english/seven/News/07/25ans/ETsturgeon.pdf
 |archive-date = 17 December 2008
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

Other factors like the introduction of [[non-indigenous species]], [[industrial pollution|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.<ref name="OSPAR"/> For example, a resident [[orca]] pod was lost in the 1960s, presumably due to the peak in [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCB]] pollution in this time period.<ref>{{cite news
 |last=Carrington
 |first=Damian
 |date=14 January 2016
 |title=UK's last resident killer whales 'doomed to extinction'
 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]
 |place=London, UK
 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/14/uks-last-resident-killer-whales-doomed-to-extinction
 |access-date=17 February 2019
 |archive-date=20 February 2019
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220003210/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/14/uks-last-resident-killer-whales-doomed-to-extinction
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref>

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.<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=OSPAR Convention
 |publisher=European Union
 |year=2000
 |url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28061.htm
 |access-date=30 November 2008 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108222855/http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28061.htm
 |archive-date=8 January 2009
}}
</ref> All North Sea border states are signatories of the [[MARPOL 73/78]] Accords, which preserve the marine environment by preventing pollution from ships.<ref>{{cite journal
 | title = Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27&nbsp;November 2000 on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues
 | date = 28 December 2000
 | journal = Official Journal of the European Communities
 | id = 28 December 2000 L 332/81
 | url = http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:332:0081:0089:EN:PDF
 | access-date = 12 January 2009
 | archive-date = 10 May 2011
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110510104253/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:332:0081:0089:EN:PDF
 | url-status = live
 }} "Member States have ratified Marpol 73/78".</ref> Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands also have a trilateral agreement for the protection of the [[Wadden Sea]], or [[mudflat]]s, which run along the coasts of the three countries on the southern edge of the North Sea.<ref>
{{cite report
 |chapter      = Wadden Sea region case study
 |date         = 1 June 2006
 |title        = Scottish Natural Heritage: A review of relevant experience in sustainable tourism in the coastal and marine environment, case studies, level 1, Wadden Sea region
 |publisher    = Stevens & Associates
 |chapter-url          = http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/strategy/CMNP/Case%20Study/Wadden%20Sea%20Region%20Final.pdf
 |access-date   = 1 December 2008 |url-status = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217143713/http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/strategy/CMNP/Case%20Study/Wadden%20Sea%20Region%20Final.pdf
 |archive-date  = 17 December 2008
}}
</ref>

==Names==
The North Sea has had [[History of the North Sea#Naming|various names]] throughout history. One of the earliest recorded names was {{lang|la|Septentrionalis Oceanus}}, or "Northern Ocean", which was cited by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]].<ref>{{cite book
|last=Roller
|first=Duane W.
|title=Through the Pillars of Herakles: Greco-Roman Exploration of the Atlantic
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMPjAyyz1W4C&pg=PA119
|access-date=8 December 2008
|year=2006
|publisher=Taylor and Francis
|isbn=978-0-415-37287-9
|page=119
|chapter=Roman Exploration
|quote=Footnote 28. Strabo 7.1.3. The name North Sea – more properly 'Northern Ocean'. Septentrionalis Oceanus – probably came into use at this time; the earliest extant citation is Pliny, ''Natural History'' 2.167, 4.109.
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084127/https://books.google.com/books?id=DMPjAyyz1W4C&pg=PA119
|url-status=live
}}</ref> He also noted that the [[Cimbri]] called it ''Morimarusa'' – "Dead Sea".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lsj.gr/wiki/Morimarusa|title=Morimarusa – Ancient Greek (LSJ)|website=lsj.gr|access-date=7 July 2023|archive-date=7 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162727/https://lsj.gr/wiki/Morimarusa|url-status=live}}</ref> The name "North Sea" probably came into English, however, via the Dutch {{lang|nl|Noordzee}}, who named it thus either in contrast with the {{lang|nl|[[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 {{lang|la|Mare Germanicum}} and {{lang|la|Oceanus Germanicus}},<ref>[[Hartmann Schedel]] 1493 map ([[:File:Schedelsche Weltchronik d 287.jpg|q.v.]]): Baltic Sea called "Mare Germanicum", North Sea called "Oceanus Germanicus"</ref> and these persisted in use until the First World War.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03085690903319291 | volume=62 | title='North Sea or German Ocean'? The Anglo-German Cartographic Freemasonry, 1842–1914 | year=2009 | journal=Imago Mundi | pages=46–62 | last1 = Scully | first1 = Richard J.| s2cid=155027570 }}</ref> Other common names in use for long periods were the [[Latin]] terms {{lang|la|Mare Frisicum}}, as well as the English equivalent, "Frisian Sea".<ref>{{cite book
|last=Thernstrom
|first=Stephan
|author2=Ann Orlov
|author3=Oscar Handlin
|title=Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=npQ6Hd3G4kgC&pg=PA401
|year=1980
|publisher=Harvard University Press
|isbn=978-0-674-37512-3
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084127/https://books.google.com/books?id=npQ6Hd3G4kgC&pg=PA401
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="Looijenga">{{cite book |last=Looijenga |first=Tineke |title=Texts & Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-edm1fMPbXwC&pg=PA70 |year=2003 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12396-0 |page=70 |chapter=Chapter 2 History of Runic Research |access-date=1 July 2020 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084127/https://books.google.com/books?id=-edm1fMPbXwC&pg=PA70 |url-status=live }}</ref> The modern names of the sea in the other local languages are: {{langx|da|Vesterhavet|lit=West Sea}} {{IPA|da|ˈvestɐˌhɛˀvð̩|}} or {{lang|da|Nordsøen}} {{IPA|da|ˈnoɐ̯ˌsøˀn̩|}}, {{langx|nl|Noordzee}}, {{langx|nds-nl|Noordzee}}, {{langx|fr|Mer du Nord}}, {{langx|fy|Noardsee}}, {{langx|de|Nordsee}}, {{langx|nds|Noordsee}}, {{langx|frr|Weestsiie|lit=West Sea}}, {{langx|sv|Nordsjön}}, {{langx|nb|Nordsjøen}} {{IPA|no|ˈnûːrˌʂøːn|}}, {{langx|nn|Nordsjøen}}, {{langx|sco|North Sea}} and {{langx|gd|An Cuan a Tuath}}.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Prima Europe tabula.jpg|A 1482 recreation of a map from Ptolemy's ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' showing the "Oceanus Germanicus"
File:Solar eclipse 1715May03 Halley map.png|[[Edmond Halley]]'s [[Solar eclipse of May 3, 1715|solar eclipse]] 1715 map showing ''The German Sea''
</gallery>

==History==
{{main|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.<ref name="Britannica"/> 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<ref name="Cuyvers" /> 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<ref name="Cuyvers">{{cite book
|last=Cuyvers
|first=Luc
|title=The Strait of Dover
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WBX6rrR20zYC&pg=PA2
|year=1986
|publisher=BRILL
|isbn=9789024732524
|page=2
|access-date=17 February 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084138/https://books.google.com/books?id=WBX6rrR20zYC&pg=PA2
|url-status=live
}}</ref> and many Scandinavian tribes participated in raids and wars against the Romans and Roman coinage and manufacturing were important trade goods. When the Romans [[End of Roman rule in Britain|abandoned]] Britain in 410, the Germanic [[Angles (tribe)|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.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Green
|first=Dennis Howard
|others=Frank Siegmund
|title=The Continental Saxons from the Migration Period to the Tenth Century: An Ethnographic Perspective
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MThYNoTutLkC&pg=PA49
|year=2003
|publisher=Boydell Press
|isbn=9781843830269
|pages=48–50
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084206/https://books.google.com/books?id=MThYNoTutLkC&pg=PA49
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

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 [[longship]]s, they raided, traded, and established colonies and outposts along the coasts of the sea. From the Middle Ages through the 15th century, the [[northern Europe]]an 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.<ref name="BrtishIsles"/> Commerce during this era was mainly conducted by maritime trade due to underdeveloped roadways.<ref name="BrtishIsles">{{cite journal
|last = Smith
|first = H. D.
|s2cid = 153753702
|title = The British Isles and the Age of Exploration – A Maritime Perspective
|journal = GeoJournal
|volume = 26
|issue = 4
|pages = 483–487
| year = 1992
|doi = 10.1007/BF02665747|bibcode = 1992GeoJo..26..483S
}}
</ref>

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.<ref name="EuropeanNaval">{{cite book
|last1 = Lewis
|first1 = H. D.
|last2 = Ross
|first2 = Archibald
|last3 = Runyan
|first3 = Timothy J.
|title = European Naval and Maritime History, 300–1500
|page = 128
|publisher = Indiana University Press
|year = 1985
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OzIRDbARyWIC&pg=PA128
|isbn = 9780253320827
|access-date = 1 July 2020
|archive-date = 17 April 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084139/https://books.google.com/books?id=OzIRDbARyWIC&pg=PA128
|url-status = live
}}</ref> The League lost its dominance in the 16th century, as neighbouring states took control of former [[Trade route#Hanseatic trade|Hanseatic]] cities and outposts. Their internal conflict prevented effective cooperation and defence.<ref name="Hansen">{{cite book
|last = Hansen
|first = Mogens Herman
|title = A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures: An Investigation
|page = 305
|publisher = Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
|year = 2000
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8qvY8pxVxcwC&pg=PA305
|isbn = 9788778761774
|access-date = 1 July 2020
|archive-date = 17 April 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084129/https://books.google.com/books?id=8qvY8pxVxcwC&pg=PA305
|url-status = live
}}</ref> As the League lost control of its maritime cities, new [[trade route]]s emerged that provided Europe with Asian, American, and African goods.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Køppen
|first=Adolph Ludvig
|author2=Karl Spruner von Merz
|title=The World in the Middle Ages
|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4bujwAigzEgC
|publisher=D. Appleton and Company
|location=New York
|oclc=3621972
|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4bujwAigzEgC/page/n183 179]
|year= 1854
}}
</ref><ref name="Ripley">{{cite book
|last=Ripley
|first=George R
|author2=Charles Anderson Dana
|title=The New American Cyclopædia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AAoAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA539
|publisher=D. Appleton
|location=New York
|page=540
|year=1869
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084139/https://books.google.com/books?id=2AAoAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA539
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===Age of sail===
[[File:Willem van de Velde (II) - De verovering van het Engelse admiraalschip de 'Royal Prince'.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Cook
|first=Harold John
|title=Matters of Exchange: Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden Age
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haiG4P79gysC&pg=PA7
|page=7
|year=2007
|publisher=Yale University Press
|isbn=978-0-300-11796-7
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084129/https://books.google.com/books?id=haiG4P79gysC&pg=PA7
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="PowerPlenty">{{cite book
|last=Findlay
|first=Ronald
|author2=Kevin H. O'Rourke
|title=Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium
|url=https://archive.org/details/powerplentytrade00rona
|url-access=registration
|publisher=Princeton University Press
|isbn=9780691118543
|page=[https://archive.org/details/powerplentytrade00rona/page/187 187] and 238
|year= 2007
}}
</ref> Important overseas colonies, a vast merchant marine, a large fishing fleet,<ref name="BrtishIsles"/> 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.<ref name="PowerPlenty"/> After the [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1688, the Dutch prince [[William III of England|William]] ascended to the English throne. With unified leadership, commercial, military, and political power began to shift from Amsterdam to London.<ref name="MacDonald">{{cite book
|last=MacDonald
|first=Scott
|others=Albert L. Gastmann
|title=A History of Credit and Power in the Western World
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5wlngm9J29kC&pg=PA134
|publisher=Transaction Publishers
|isbn=978-0-7658-0833-2
|pages=122–127, 134
|year=2004
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084129/https://books.google.com/books?id=5wlngm9J29kC&pg=PA134
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
The British did not face a challenge to their dominance of the North Sea until the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Sondhaus
|first=Lawrence
|title=Naval Warfare, 1815–1914
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKXn0IQBKCcC&pg=PA183
|year=2001
|publisher=Routledge
|location=New York
|isbn=978-0-415-21478-0
|page=183
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084141/https://books.google.com/books?id=TKXn0IQBKCcC&pg=PA183
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Bluecher sinkend.jpg|thumb|German cruiser [[SMS Blücher|SMS ''Blücher'']] sinks in the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|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,<ref name="Halpern">{{cite book
|last=Halpern
|first=Paul G.
|title=A naval history of World War I
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hwb6ovvYCcC
|publisher=Routledge
|location=Ontario
|isbn=978-1-85728-498-0
|pages=29, 180
|year=1994
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084134/https://books.google.com/books?id=6hwb6ovvYCcC
|url-status=live
}}</ref> which became the main [[Naval warfare of World War I#Theaters|theatre of the war]] for surface action.<ref name="Halpern"/> 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.<ref name="Tucker">{{cite book
|last=Tucker
|first=Spencer
|title=World War I: Encyclopedia
|orig-year=2005
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&pg=RA2-PA836
|publisher=ABC-CLIO
|location=New York, US
|isbn=978-1-85109-420-2
|pages=836–838
|others=Priscilla Mary Roberts
|date=September 2005
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084141/https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&pg=RA2-PA836
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Major battles included the [[Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914)|Battle of Heligoland Bight]],<ref name="Osborne">{{cite book
|last=Osborne
|first=Eric W.
|title=The Battle of Heligoland Bight
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IcGeprPmDkC
|publisher=Indiana University Press
|location=London
|isbn=978-0-253-34742-8
|page=Introduction
|year=2006
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084132/https://books.google.com/books?id=4IcGeprPmDkC
|url-status=live
}}</ref> the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of the Dogger Bank]],<ref name="navies"/> and the [[Battle of Jutland]].<ref name="navies">{{cite book
|last=Sondhaus
|first=Lawrence
|title=Navies in Modern World History
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka-1eQRnXMUC
|publisher=Reaktion Books
|location=London
|isbn=978-1-86189-202-7
|pages=190–193, 256
|year=2004
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084135/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka-1eQRnXMUC
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
World War I also brought the first extensive use of [[submarine warfare]], and a number of submarine actions occurred in the North Sea.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Tucker
|first=Spencer
|author2=Priscilla Mary Roberts
|title=World War I: Encyclopedia
|orig-year=2005
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&q=World+War+I:+Encyclopedia
|publisher=ABC-CLIO
|location=London
|isbn=9781851094202
|pages=165, 203, 312
|date=September 2005
|access-date=2 October 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084131/https://books.google.com/books?id=B1cMtKQP3P8C&q=World+War+I:+Encyclopedia
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

The [[Second World War]] also saw action in the North Sea, though it was restricted more to aircraft reconnaissance and action by fighter/bomber aircraft, submarines and smaller vessels such as [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] and [[torpedo boat]]s.<ref name="Frank">{{cite book|last=Frank|first=Hans|title=German S-Boats in Action in the Second World War: In the Second World War|orig-year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGDxkiWKa-IC&pg=PA12|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=9781591143093|pages=12–30|date=15 October 2007|access-date=1 July 2020|archive-date=17 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084135/https://books.google.com/books?id=lGDxkiWKa-IC&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Atlantic, WW2, U-boats, convoys, OA, OB, SL, HX, HG, Halifax, RCN&nbsp;... |publisher=Naval-History.net |url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsStartEurope.htm |access-date=24 July 2007 |archive-date=13 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113180911/http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsStartEurope.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the war, hundreds of thousands of tons of chemical weapons were disposed of by being dumped in the North Sea.<ref name="Kaffka">{{cite book
|last=Kaffka
|first=Alexander V.
|title=Sea-dumped Chemical Weapons: Aspects, Problems, and Solutions
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGJ5qp7QrgMC&pg=PA49
|publisher=Springer
|location=New York, US
|isbn=978-0-7923-4090-4
|page=49
|year=1996
|others=North Atlantic Treaty Organization Scientific Affairs Division
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084132/https://books.google.com/books?id=TGJ5qp7QrgMC&pg=PA49
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

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 [[North Sea oil|oil and gas resources]].<ref>It was, incidentally, the home of several [[Pirate Radio]] stations from 1960 to 1990. {{cite book
|last=Johnston
|first=Douglas M.
|title=Marine Policy and the Coastal Community
|orig-year=1976
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9I8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA195
|year=1976
|publisher=Taylor & Francis
|location=London
|isbn=978-0-85664-158-9
|page=49
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084137/https://books.google.com/books?id=9I8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA195
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The North Sea continues to be an active trade route.<ref>{{cite web
|title =Forth Ports PLC
|year =2008
|url =http://www.forthports.co.uk/ports/
|access-date =11 November 2007
|archive-date =22 October 2007
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071022043115/http://www.forthports.co.uk/ports/
|url-status =live
}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:north sea eez.PNG|thumb|The [[exclusive economic zone]]s in the North Sea]]

===Political status===
Countries that border the North Sea all claim the {{convert|12|nmi}} of [[territorial waters]], within which they have exclusive fishing rights.<ref name="Barry">{{Cite book
| last1 = Barry, M.
| first1 = Michael
| last2 = Elema
| first2 = Ina
| last3 = van der Molen
| first3 = Paul
| title = Governing the North Sea in the Netherlands: Administering marine spaces: international issues
| year = 2006
| publisher = International Federation of Surveyors (FIG)
| url = http://www.fig.net/pub/figpub/pub36/chapters/chapter_5.pdf
| place = Frederiksberg, Denmark
| pages = 5–17, Ch. 5
| isbn = 978-87-90907-55-6
| access-date = 12 January 2009
| archive-date = 5 February 2009
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205005632/http://www.fig.net/pub/figpub/pub36/chapters/chapter_5.pdf
| url-status = live
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book
|publisher = European Commission
|title = About the Common Fisheries Policy
|date = 24 January 2008
|url = http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/
|access-date = 2 November 2008
|archive-date = 14 July 2013
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130714182421/http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

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".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/8_1_1958_continental_shelf.pdf|title=Text of the UN treaty|access-date=21 October 2013|archive-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017192715/http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/8_1_1958_continental_shelf.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
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]].<ref name="Barry"/><ref>{{Cite book
|publisher=International Court of Justice
|title=North Sea Continental Shelf Cases
|date=20 February 1969
|url=http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&k=cc&case=52&code=cs2&p3=4
|access-date=24 July 2007
|archive-date=1 December 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201013509/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&k=cc&case=52&code=cs2&p3=4
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===Oil and gas===
{{further|North Sea oil|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.<ref name="Glennie">{{Cite book | last =Glennie | first =K. W. | year =1998 | title =Petroleum Geology of the North Sea: Basic Concepts and Recent Advances | publisher =Blackwell Publishing | pages =11–12 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=BRoJwOzO3NUC&pg=PA11 | isbn =978-0-632-03845-9 | access-date =1 July 2020 | archive-date =17 April 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084131/https://books.google.com/books?id=BRoJwOzO3NUC&pg=PA11 | url-status =live }}</ref> Onshore resources, for example the [[K12-B]] field in the Netherlands continue to be exploited today.

[[File:StatfjordA(Jarvin1982).jpg|thumb|Oil platform [[Statfjord oil field|Statfjord]] A with the [[flotel]] Polymarine]]

Offshore test drilling began in 1966 and then, in 1969, [[Phillips Petroleum Company]] discovered the [[Ekofisk oil field]]<ref name="Ekofisk">{{cite book
|last=Pratt
|first=J. A.
|editor=T. Priest, & Cas James
|title=Offshore Pioneers: Brown & Root and the History of Offshore Oil and Gas
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TW6yMgPdgbQC&pg=PP1
|access-date=8 December 2008
|year=1997
|publisher=Gulf Professional Publishing
|isbn=978-0-88415-138-8
|page=222
|chapter=Ekofisk and Early North Sea Oil
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084132/https://books.google.com/books?id=TW6yMgPdgbQC&pg=PP1
|url-status=live
}}</ref> distinguished by valuable, low-sulphur oil.<ref name="Lohne">{{cite book
|last=Lohne
|first=Øystein
|title=The Oil Industry and Government Strategy in the North Sea
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA73
|year=1980
|publisher=Taylor & Francis
|isbn=978-0-918714-02-2
|page=74
|chapter=The Economic Attraction
|access-date=1 July 2020
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084136/https://books.google.com/books?id=jZIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA73
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Commercial exploitation began in 1971 with [[Petroleum tanker|tankers]] and, after 1975, by a [[pipeline transport|pipeline]], first to [[Teesside]], England and then, after 1977, also to [[Emden]], Germany.<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = TOTAL E&P NORGE AS&nbsp;– The history of Fina Exploration 1965–2000
 |work         = About TOTAL E&P NORGE > History > Fina
 |url          = http://www.total.no/en/About+TOTAL+NORGE/History/Fina/index.aspx
 |access-date  = 15 January 2009
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20061007012331/http://www.total.no/en/About+TOTAL+NORGE/History/Fina/index.aspx
 |archive-date = 7 October 2006
}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book
|last=McKetta
|first=John J.
|editor=Guy E. Weismantel
|title=Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design: Volume 67 – Water and Wastewater Treatment: Protective Coating Systems to Zeolite
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MfjDlUe8Kc0C&pg=PA102
|year=1999
|publisher=CRC Press
|isbn=978-0-8247-2618-8
|page=102
|chapter=The Offshore Oil Industry
}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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.<ref name="Lohne"/> The largest single humanitarian catastrophe in the North Sea [[Petroleum industry|oil industry]] was the destruction of the offshore [[oil platform]] [[Piper Alpha]] in 1988 in which 167 people lost their lives.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/6/newsid_3017000/3017294.stm| title=On This Day 6 July 1988: Piper Alpha oil rig ablaze| publisher=BBC| access-date=3 November 2008| date=6 July 1988| archive-date=3 September 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903235323/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/6/newsid_3017000/3017294.stm| url-status=live}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gassco.no/wps/wcm/connect/Gassco-EN/gassco/home/var-virksomhet/ror-og-plattformer/statpipe_rich_gas/| title=Statpipe Rich Gas| publisher=Gassco| access-date=3 November 2008| archive-date=14 June 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614102612/http://www.gassco.no/wps/wcm/connect/Gassco-EN/Gassco/Home/var-virksomhet/ror-og-plattformer/statpipe_rich_gas/| url-status=dead}}</ref> The largest [[natural gas field]] in the North Sea, [[Troll gas field]], lies in the Norwegian trench, dropping over {{convert|300|m|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 [[Petroleum|crude oil]] from the rest of the world.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/northseabrentcrude.asp| title=North Sea Brent Crude| publisher=Investopedia ULC| access-date=3 November 2008| archive-date=26 October 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026171717/http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/northseabrentcrude.asp| url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web
| title = North Sea
| work = Country Analysis Briefs
| publisher = Energy Information Administration (EIA)
| date = January 2007
| url = http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/absolute_advantage
| access-date = 23 January 2008
| archive-date = 9 March 2009
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090309153553/http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/absolute_advantage
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

In the UK sector of the North Sea, the oil industry invested £14.4&nbsp;billion in 2013 and was on track to spend £13&nbsp;billion in 2014. Industry body [[Oil & Gas UK]] put the decline down to rising costs, lower production, high tax rates, and less exploration.<ref name="ShellUK">{{cite news|title=Shell to cut 250 onshore jobs at its Scotland North Sea operations|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shell-cut-250-onshore-jobs-091711459.html|date=12 August 2014|access-date=16 December 2014|work=Yahoo Finance|archive-date=14 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714044647/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/shell-cut-250-onshore-jobs-091711459.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/279100/number-of-offshore-rigs-worldwide-by-region/|title=Number offshore rigs worldwide by region 2018|website=Statista|access-date=9 July 2018|archive-date=9 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709215723/https://www.statista.com/statistics/279100/number-of-offshore-rigs-worldwide-by-region/|url-status=live}}</ref><br>

The British North Sea's oil and gas production, peaking in 2000, had declined by 2024, while offshore wind projects like Dogger Bank grew to support renewable energy goals, with windfall taxes funding the transition.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 January 2024|title=The fall of UK North Sea oil and rise of offshore wind|newspaper=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/fall-uk-north-sea-oil-rise-offshore-wind-2025-01-03/ |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref>

===Fishing===
{{main|Fishing in the North Sea}}
[[File:Fischkutterquerinhafen.jpg|thumb|A trawler in [[Nordstrand, Germany]]]]

The North Sea is Europe's main fishery accounting for over 5% of international commercial fish caught.<ref name="Britannica"/> Fishing in the North Sea is concentrated in the southern part of the coastal waters. The main method of fishing is [[trawling]].<ref>{{cite book
|last=Sherman
|first=Kenneth
|author2=Lewis M. Alexander
|author3=Barry D. Gold
|title=Large Marine Ecosystems: Stress, Mitigation, and Sustainability
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mtucgF2qOrIC&pg=RA1-PA252
|access-date=12 January 2009
|edition=3, illustrated
|year=1993
|publisher=Blackwell Publishing
|isbn=978-0-87168-506-3
|pages=252–258
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084702/https://books.google.com/books?id=mtucgF2qOrIC&pg=RA1-PA252
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
In 1995, the total volume of fish and shellfish caught in the North Sea was approximately 3.5&nbsp;million tonnes.<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = MUMM – Fishing
 |publisher    = Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
 |date         = 2002–2008
 |url          = http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/NorthSea/fishing.php
 |access-date  = 29 November 2008
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081202121543/http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/NorthSea/fishing.php
 |archive-date = 2 December 2008
 |url-status   = dead
 }}</ref> Besides saleable fish, it is estimated that one million tonnes of unmarketable [[by-catch]] is caught and discarded to die each year.<ref>{{cite web
|title =One Million Tons of North Sea Fish Discarded Every Year
|publisher =Environment News Service (ENS)
|year =2008
|url =http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2008/2008-11-05-03.asp
|access-date =9 December 2007
|archive-date =9 November 2008
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081109062620/http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2008/2008-11-05-03.asp
|url-status =dead
}}</ref>

In recent decades, [[overfishing]] has left many fisheries unproductive, disturbing marine [[food chain]] dynamics and costing jobs in the [[fishing industry]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Clover |first= Charles| year=2004| title=The End of the Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat| publisher=Ebury Press| location=London| isbn=978-0-09-189780-2}}</ref> Herring, cod and plaice fisheries may soon face the same plight as mackerel fishing, which ceased in the 1970s due to overfishing.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = North Sea Fish Crisis – Our Shrinking Future
 |work        = Part 1
 |publisher   = Greenpeace
 |year        = 1997
 |url         = http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/cbio/crisis1.html
 |access-date  = 2 November 2008
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070704031349/http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/cbio/crisis1.html
 |archive-date = 4 July 2007
}}
</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite book
|first =Ana
|last =Olivert-Amado
|publisher =European Parliament Fact Sheets
|title =The common fisheries policy: origins and development
|date =13 March 2008
|url =http://www.europarl.europa.eu/facts_2004/4_3_1_en.htm
|access-date =19 July 2007
|archive-date =22 March 2008
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080322120042/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/facts_2004/4_3_1_en.htm
|url-status =live
}}</ref>

=== Whaling ===
Whaling was an important economic activity from the 9th until the 13th century for Flemish whalers.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/233490.pdf |title=Cetaceans and Belgian whalers, A brief historical review |work=Belgian whalers |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402145444/http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/233490.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lindquist|first1=O.|title=The North Atlantic grey whale (Escherichtius [sic] robustus): An historical outline based on Icelandic, Danish-Icelandic, English and Swedish sources dating from ca 1000 AD to 1792.|date=2000|publisher=Occasional papers 1. Universities of St Andrews and Stirling, Scotland. 50 p.}}</ref> By 1902 the whaling had ended.<ref name="auto"/> After being absent for 300 years a single grey whale returned in 2010,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Scheinin|first1=Aviad P|last2=Aviad|first2=P.|last3=Kerem|first3=Dan|title=Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in the Mediterranean Sea: anomalous event or early sign of climate-driven distribution change?|journal=Marine Biodiversity Records|date=2011|volume=2|page=e28|doi=10.1017/s1755267211000042|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |bibcode=2011MBdR....4E..28S }}</ref> it probably was the first of many more to find its way through the now ice-free [[Northwest Passage]].

===Mineral resources===
[[File:Amber Bernstein many stones.jpg|thumb|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.<ref name="Phua">{{cite web |author=Phua, C. |author2=S. van den Akker |author3=M. Baretta |author4=J. van Dalfsen |title=Ecological Effects of Sand Extraction in the North Sea |url=http://www.fc.up.pt/pessoas/ptsantos/azc-docs/phua_et_al_ecological_effects_sand_extraction_north_sea.pdf |publisher=[[University of Porto]] |access-date=12 January 2009 |archive-date=5 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205005633/http://www.fc.up.pt/pessoas/ptsantos/azc-docs/phua_et_al_ecological_effects_sand_extraction_north_sea.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
Rolled pieces of [[amber]] may be picked up on the east coast of England.<ref name="Rice">{{cite book
|last=Rice
|first=Patty C.
|title=Amber: Golden Gem of the Ages: Fourth Edition
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6NVVpqhixIC&pg=PA153
|access-date=12 January 2009
|edition=4, illustrated
|year=2006
|publisher=Patty Rice
|isbn=978-1-4259-3849-9
|pages=147–154
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084711/https://books.google.com/books?id=g6NVVpqhixIC&pg=PA153
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

===Renewable energy===
{{further|Renewable energy in the European Union|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.<ref>{{cite book
|author1=LTI-Research Group
|author2=LTI-Research Group
|title=Long-term Integration of Renewable Energy Sources into the European Energy System
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q9r6aYDLwkgC&pg=PA206
|access-date=12 January 2009
|year=1998
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-3-7908-1104-9
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084723/https://books.google.com/books?id=q9r6aYDLwkgC&pg=PA206
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The North Sea is the home of one of the first large-scale [[offshore wind farm]]s in the world, [[Horns Rev]] 1, completed in 2002. Since then many other [[wind farm]]s have been commissioned in the North Sea (and elsewhere). As of 2013, the 630&nbsp;[[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&nbsp;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 Wind Farm|Dogger Bank]] at 4,800&nbsp;MW, Norfolk Bank (7,200&nbsp;MW), and Irish Sea (4,200&nbsp;MW). At the end of June 2013 total European combined offshore wind energy capacity was 6,040&nbsp;MW. The UK installed 513.5&nbsp;MW of offshore wind power in the first half-year of 2013.<ref name=EWEA2013>[http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/files/library/publications/statistics/EWEA_OffshoreStats_July2013.pdf The European offshore wind industry -key trends and statistics 1st half 2013 ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430023032/http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/files/library/publications/statistics/EWEA_OffshoreStats_July2013.pdf |date=30 April 2016 }} EWEA 2013</ref> The development of the offshore wind industry in UK-controlled areas of the North Sea is traced to three phases: coastal, off-coastal and deep offshore in the period 2004 – 2021.<ref>Moss, Joanne "Critical perspectives: North Sea offshore wind farms.: Oral histories, aesthetics and selected legal frameworks relating to the North Sea." (2021) https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1611092/FULLTEXT01.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024154520/https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1611092/FULLTEXT01.pdf |date=24 October 2023 }} Retrieved 2 October 2023</ref>

The expansion of offshore wind farms has met with some resistance. Concerns have included shipping collisions<ref>{{cite web
|title = New Research Focus for Renewable Energies
|publisher = Federal Environment Ministry of Germany
|year = 2002
|url = http://www.bmu.bund.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/new_research.pdf
|page = 4
|access-date = 8 December 2008
|archive-date = 17 December 2008
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217143715/http://www.bmu.bund.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/new_research.pdf
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> and [[Environmental effects of wind power#Offshore|environmental effects]] on ocean ecology and wildlife such as fish and migratory birds,<ref>{{cite web
 |author       = Ecology Consulting
 |publisher    = United Kingdom Department for Business, Enterprise, & Regulatory Reform
 |title        = Assessment of the Effects of Offshore Wind Farms on Birds
 |year         = 2001
 |url          = http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file20258.pdf
 |access-date  = 16 January 2009
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205005628/http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file20258.pdf
 |archive-date = 5 February 2009
}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2235062/study-finds-offshore-wind-farms Study finds offshore wind farms can co-exist with marine environment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916234624/http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2235062/study-finds-offshore-wind-farms |date=16 September 2009 }}. Businessgreen.com (26 January 2009). Retrieved on 5 November 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/consultations/Offshore_Energy_SEA/OES_Non_Technical_Summary.pdf Future Leasing for Offshore Wind Farms and Licensing for Offshore Oil & Gas and Gas Storage] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090522203401/http%3A//www.offshore%2Dsea.org.uk/consultations/Offshore_Energy_SEA/OES_Non_Technical_Summary.pdf |date=22 May 2009 }}. UK Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment. January 2009 (PDF). Retrieved on 5 November 2011.</ref>
There are also concerns about reliability,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kaiser|first=Simone|author2=Michael Fröhlingsdorf|magazine=Der Spiegel|title=Wuthering Heights: The Dangers of Wind Power|date=20 August 2007|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,500902,00.html|access-date=16 January 2009|archive-date=25 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125110804/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,500902,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the rising costs of constructing and maintaining offshore wind farms.<ref>{{cite news
|publisher =BBC News
|title =Centrica warns on wind farm costs
|date =8 May 2008
|url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7391056.stm
|access-date =16 January 2009
|archive-date =1 December 2008
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081201140506/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7391056.stm
|url-status =live
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |publisher =New Energy Focus |title =Centrica seeks consent for 500MW North Sea wind farm |date =22 December 2008 |url =http://newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=2068&section=Wind |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230214163141/http://newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=2068&section=Wind |url-status =usurped |archive-date =14 February 2023 |access-date =16 January 2009 }}</ref> There have also been proposals for a [[North Sea Offshore Grid|transnational power grid in the North Sea]]<ref>{{cite news |last =Gow |first =David |newspaper =The Guardian |title =Greenpeace's grid plan: North Sea grid could bring wind power to 70m homes |date =4 September 2008 |url =https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/sep/04/windpower.renewableenergy |access-date =16 January 2009 |location =London |archive-date =3 November 2014 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141103101428/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/sep/04/windpower.renewableenergy |url-status =live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wynn |first=Gerard |work=Reuters |title=Analysis – New EU power grids in frame due to gas dispute |date=15 January 2009 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKLC493972 |access-date=30 March 2022 |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330041407/https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKLC493972 |url-status=live }}</ref> to connect [[North Sea Wind Power Hub|new offshore wind farms]].<ref name=hub>{{cite web |url= http://www.tennet.eu/our-key-tasks/innovations/north-sea-infrastructure/ |title= North Sea Infrastructure |publisher= [[TenneT]] |date= March 2017 |access-date= 25 March 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170308233832/http://www.tennet.eu/our-key-tasks/innovations/north-sea-infrastructure |archive-date= 8 March 2017 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

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<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.emec.org.uk/wave_site.asp| title=Billia Croo Test Site| publisher=[[EMEC]]| access-date=1 November 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227231203/http://www.emec.org.uk/wave_site.asp| archive-date=27 December 2008}}</ref> and a tidal power testing station on the nearby island of [[Eday]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.emec.org.uk/tidal_site.asp| title=Fall of Warness Test Site| publisher=[[EMEC]]| access-date=1 November 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201165129/http://www.emec.org.uk/tidal_site.asp| archive-date=1 December 2008}}</ref> Since 2003, a prototype [[Wave Dragon]] energy converter has been in operation at Nissum Bredning fjord of northern Denmark.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.wavedragon.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=14| title=Prototype testing in Denmark| publisher=[[Wave Dragon]]| year=2005| access-date=1 November 2008| archive-date=3 January 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103112148/http://www.wavedragon.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=14| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Tourism===
[[File:Netherlands-Scheveningen-beach-1900.jpg|thumb|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<ref>{{cite book
|last=Wong
|first=P. P.
|title=Tourism Vs. Environment: The Case for Coastal Areas
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21ikixG655wC&pg=PA139
|access-date=27 December 2008
|year=1993
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-0-7923-2404-1
|page=139
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084645/https://books.google.com/books?id=21ikixG655wC&pg=PA139
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="Hall">{{cite book
|last=Hall
|first=C. Michael
|title=Nordic Tourism: Issues and Cases
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxq97WB2aVQC&pg=PA170
|access-date=27 December 2008
|year=2008
|publisher=Channel View Publications
|isbn=978-1-84541-093-3
|page=170
|author2=Dieter K. Müller
|author3=Jarkko Saarinen
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084645/https://books.google.com/books?id=mxq97WB2aVQC&pg=PA170
|url-status=live
}}</ref> are developed for tourism. The North Sea coast of the United Kingdom has tourist destinations with beach resorts and [[links (golf)|links]] golf courses; the coastal town of [[St. Andrews]] in Scotland is renowned as the home of [[golf]], and is a popular location among golfing pilgrims.<ref>{{cite news |title=St. Andrews, Scotland: See the place where golf was born and Will and Kate fell in love |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2019/10/24/st-andrews-scotland-where-golf-born-will-and-kate-fell-love/4067547002/ |date=24 October 2019 |first1=Rick |last1=Steves |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=USA Today |quote=Tiny St. Andrews has a huge reputation, known around the world as the birthplace and royal seat of golf. The chance to play on the world's oldest course – or at least take in the iconic view of its 18th hole – keeps the town perennially popular among golfing pilgrims}}</ref>

The [[North Sea Trail]] is a [[long-distance trail]] linking seven countries around the North Sea.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = Welcome - North Sea Trail
 |work        = European Union
 |publisher   = northseatrail.org
 |url         = http://www.northseatrail.org/
 |access-date  = 2 January 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101042324/http://www.northseatrail.org/
 |archive-date = 1 January 2016
}}
</ref> Windsurfing and sailing<ref>{{cite book
|last=Knudsen
|first=Daniel C.
|author2=Charles Greet
|author3=Michelle Metro-Roland
|author4=Anne Soper
|title=Landscape, Tourism, and Meaning
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNnCnURw2O4C&pg=PA112
|access-date=27 December 2008
|year=2008
|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
|isbn=978-0-7546-4943-4
|page=112
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084645/https://books.google.com/books?id=vNnCnURw2O4C&pg=PA112
|url-status=live
}}</ref> are popular sports because of the strong winds. [[Mudflat hiking]],<ref>{{cite book
|last= Schulte-Peevers
|first=Andrea
|author2=Sarah Johnstone |author3=Etain O'Carroll |author4=Jeanne Oliver |author5=Tom Parkinson |author6=Nicola Williams
|title=Germany
|url=https://archive.org/details/germany00schu
|url-access= registration
|access-date=27 December 2008
|year=2004
|publisher= Lonely Planet
|isbn= 978-1-74059-471-4
|page=[https://archive.org/details/germany00schu/page/680 680]
}}
</ref> [[fishing|recreational fishing]] and birdwatching<ref name="Hall"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite book
|publisher =German National Tourist Board
|title =Büsum: The natural healing power of the sea
|url =http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/destination_germany/master_tlkur-id1252.htm?cc_lang=
|access-date =2 November 2008
|archive-date =1 December 2008
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081201021723/http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/destination_germany/master_tlkur-id1252.htm?cc_lang=
|url-status =live
}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Barry"/> Major ports are located along its coasts: [[Rotterdam]], the busiest port in Europe and the [[List of busiest ports by cargo tonnage|fourth busiest port in the world by tonnage]] {{As of|2013|lc=on}}, [[Antwerp]] (was 16th) and [[Hamburg]] (was 27th), [[Bremen]]/[[Bremerhaven]] and [[Port of Felixstowe|Felixstowe]], both in the top 30 busiest [[List of busiest container ports|container seaports]],<ref>{{cite web| url=http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/Statistics/WORLD%20PORT%20RANKINGS%2020081.pdf| title=World Port Rankings| year=2008| publisher=[[American Association of Port Authorities]]| access-date=25 July 2010| archive-date=2 December 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202024733/http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/Statistics/WORLD%20PORT%20RANKINGS%2020081.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the [[Port of Zeebrugge|Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge]], Europe's leading [[Roll-on/roll-off|ro-ro]] port.<ref>{{cite web
|title = Port Authority Bruges-Zeebrugge
|publisher = MarineTalk
|date = 1998–2008
|url = http://www.marinetalk.com/articles-marine-companies/com/Port-Authority-Bruges-Zeebrugge-POR069.html
|access-date = 28 December 2008
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090725000609/http://www.marinetalk.com/articles-marine-companies/com/Port-Authority-Bruges-Zeebrugge-POR069.html
|archive-date = 25 July 2009
|url-status = usurped
}}</ref>

[[File:Waalhaven in Rotterdam 2016.jpg|thumb|[[Rotterdam]], Netherlands]]

Fishing boats, service boats for offshore industries, sport and pleasure craft, and merchant ships to and from [[List of North Sea ports|North Sea ports]] and [[Ports of the Baltic Sea|Baltic ports]] must share routes on the North Sea. The Dover Strait alone sees more than 400 commercial vessels a day.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/the_dover_strait.htm| title=The Dover Strait| publisher=[[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]]| year=2007| access-date=8 October 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831173118/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-searchandrescue/mcga-hmcgsar-sarsystem/channel_navigation_information_service__cnis_/the_dover_strait.htm| archive-date=31 August 2010}}</ref> Because of this volume, navigation in the North Sea can be difficult in high traffic zones, so ports have established elaborate [[vessel traffic service]]s to monitor and direct ships into and out of port.<ref name="Freestone">{{cite book
|last=Freestone
|first=David
|editor=link
|title=The North Sea: Perspectives on Regional Environmental Co-operation
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGSMw7gCOLYC&pg=PA167
|access-date=12 January 2009
|year=1990
|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
|isbn=978-1-85333-413-9
|pages=186–190
|archive-date=17 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417084646/https://books.google.com/books?id=sGSMw7gCOLYC&pg=PA167
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Kiel">{{cite web| url=http://www.kiel-canal.org/english.htm| title=Kiel Canal| publisher=Kiel Canal official website| access-date=2 November 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310035954/http://www.kiel-canal.org/english.htm| archive-date=10 March 2009}}</ref> It saves an average of {{convert|250|nmi}}, instead of the voyage around the [[Jutland]] peninsula.<ref name="Kiel2">{{cite web |url=http://www.hebridean.co.uk/_pdf/Hebridean-Spirit-The-Baltic-East.pdf |title=23390-Country Info Booklets Hebridean Spirit The Baltic East |publisher=Hebridean Island Cruises |access-date=18 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114213006/http://www.hebridean.co.uk/_pdf/Hebridean-Spirit-The-Baltic-East.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2008 }}</ref> The [[North Sea Canal]] connects [[Amsterdam]] with the North Sea.
{{Clear}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|Norway|United Kingdom|Germany|Denmark|Netherlands}}
* [[European Atlas of the Seas]]
* [[List of languages of the North Sea]]
* [[North Sea Commission]]
* [[Northwestern Europe]]

{{clear}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General references ==
*{{cite web|url=http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/NorthSea/facts.php|title=North Sea Facts|work=Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences|publisher=Management Unit of North Sea Mathematical Models|access-date=15 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602103541/http://www.mumm.ac.be/EN/NorthSea/facts.php|archive-date=2 June 2008|url-status=dead}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= North Sea | volume= 19 |last1= Dickson |first1= Henry Newton |author1-link= Henry Newton Dickson | pages = 786&ndash;787 |short=1}}
* {{cite book |last=Ilyina |first=Tatjana P. |title=The fate of persistent organic pollutants in the North Sea multiple year model simulations of [gamma]-HCH, [alpha]-HCH and PCB 153Tatjana P Ilyina;|publisher=Springer |location=Berlin; New York|year=2007 |isbn=978-3-540-68163-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Karlsdóttir |first=Hrefna M. |title=Fishing on common grounds: the consequences of unregulated fisheries of North Sea Herring in the postwar period|publisher=Ekonomisk-Historiska Inst., Göteborg Univ. |location=Göteborg |year=2005|isbn=978-91-85196-62-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Quante |first=Markus |author2=Franciscus Colijn |s2cid=132967560 |title=North Sea Region Climate Change Assessment |publisher=Springer |year=2016 |isbn= 978-3-319-39745-0 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-39745-0 |series=Regional Climate Studies }} ''Open Access''. 
* {{cite book |last=Starkey |first=David J.|author2=Morten Hahn-Pedersen |title=Bridging troubled waters: Conflict and co-operation in the North Sea Region since 1550|publisher=Fiskeri-og Søfartsmuseets|location=Esbjerg [Denmark] |year=2005 |isbn=978-87-90982-30-0}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Thoen |editor-first=Erik|title=Rural history in the North Sea area: a state of the art (Middle Ages – beginning 20th century) |publisher=Brepols |location=Turnhout|year=2007|isbn=978-2-503-51005-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Tiedeke |first=Thorsten |author2=Werner Weiler |title=North Sea coast: landscape panoramas |publisher=Nelson: NZ Visitor; Lancaster: Gazelle Drake Academic|year=2007|isbn=978-1-877339-65-3 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Waddington |first1=Clive |first2=Kristian |last2=Pedersen |title=Mesolithic studies in the North Sea Basin and beyond: proceedings of a conference held at Newcastle in 2003|publisher=Oxbow Books |location=Oxford |year=2007|isbn=978-1-84217-224-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Zeelenberg |first=Sjoerd |title=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 |publisher=[[University of Groningen]] |location=Groningen |year=2005 |oclc=71640714}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{Commons}}
{{wiktionary|North Sea}}
*{{cite web |url= http://www.northsea.org/nsc/thematic_groups/environment/documents/members/nsceg_membprofiles_0606.pdf |title= North Sea Commission Environment Group Member Profiles 2006 |url-status= bot: unknown |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070810055628/http://www.northsea.org/nsc/thematic_groups/environment/documents/members/nsceg_membprofiles_0606.pdf |archive-date= 10 August 2007 }} {{small|(910&nbsp;[[Kilobyte|KB]])}}
*[http://www.swaen.com/old_map_images.htm?zoomifyImagePath=http://www.swaen.com/os/zoom/22834/ Old map: Manuscript chart of the North Sea, VOC, ca.1690] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606123754/https://www.swaen.com/old_map_images.htm?zoomifyImagePath=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.swaen.com%2Fos%2Fzoom%2F22834%2F |date=6 June 2021 }} (high resolution zoomable scan)
*{{cite web |url= http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/2006/06013graversen/images/graversen.pdf |title= ''The Jurassic-Cretaceous North Sea Rift Dome and associated Basin Evolution'' |access-date= 27 October 2007 |archive-date= 29 October 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071029204309/http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/2006/06013graversen/images/graversen.pdf |url-status= live }} {{small|(2.5&nbsp;[[Megabyte|MB]])}}
*[http://www.ospar.org/ OSPAR Commission Homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218074944/https://www.ospar.org/ |date=18 December 2020 }} an international commission designed to protect and conserve the North-East Atlantic and its resources
*[http://www.northsearegion.eu/ North Sea Region Programme 2007–2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315041223/https://northsearegion.eu/ |date=15 March 2022 }} transnational cooperation programme under the European Regional Development Fund

{{List of seas}}
{{Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:North Sea| ]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Belgium]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of England]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:European seas]]
[[Category:Federal waterways in Germany]]
[[Category:Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Seas of Denmark]]
[[Category:Seas of France]]
[[Category:Seas of Germany]]
[[Category:Seas of Norway]]
[[Category:Seas of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Triple junctions]]