The the North Sea is a Mer épicontinentale of the Atlantic Ocean, located at the North-West of the Europe, and which extends on a surface from approximately 575  000 km ².

The countries which border the North Sea are:

It communicates with:

The North Sea constitutes a zone of strong maritime transit, oil exploitation and fishing. The North Sea and its littoral form a very rich natural environment, but pollution, surpêche, oil industry and tourism are a threat for the future. It is in the center of industrial Europe, of the estuary of the the Rhine to the Norwegian fjords and cliffs of the North of the Great Britain. The unwise exploitation and the ease with which are treated the problems of waste disposal carried out the eight bordering countries at the edge of the pit.

Geography

Towards North, starting from latitude 53°24" , generally, the sea-bed of North goes down irregularly. Towards the South, it is inclined towards Pas-de-Calais. The underwater peak is shown in blue in this chart. The North Sea has few major zones of more than 100 Mr. the depths met in his southernmost part are about 40 Mr. This sector is composed of many shallow waters or benches probably of the glacial eras driving with the liking of the strong tides. Those represent important maritime dangers. In the East of Great Britain, the vast morainic plate of the Dogger bank rises up to -15 to -30 m, thus forming a very full of fish area.

More the great depths are in the Norwegian pit which skirts the Norwegian coast of the sea of Norway to Oslo. Broad from 25 to 35 km, it is deep of approximately 300 m to broad of Bergen, and reached up to 700 m in Skagerrak.

One finds also great depths in the Western part of the North Sea, like the hole of the devil ( Devil' S Hole ) off Edinburgh, until more than 460 m; or some trenches with broad of the bay '' The Wash ''. These corridors could be formed by the rivers during the last glaciation. Indeed, at that time of glaciation, the sea level of North was low than the current level (regression). The rivers would then have eroded certain parts then discovered that the sea recovers today (transgression). What is most probable is that they are remainders of valleys tunnels maintained opened by the currents of tide.

The septentrional coasts of the North Sea are shredded, stripped by glaciers of the glacial periods, while those of the southernmost part are soft: covered with the remains glacials deposited or directly by the ice or redeposited by the sea. The Norwegian mountains plunge in the sea, giving birth, in the north of Stavanger to deep Fjord S and to archipelagoes with the multiple islands and small islands. In the south of Stavanger, the coast softens, the islands become fewer. The Eastern Scottish coast presents it as this torn pace, less marked however as in Norway. Starting from the head of Flamborough ( Flamborough Head ), in the North-East of the England the cliffs reduce, their material of moraine, less resistant, erodes more easily, the coasts take contours more rounded. In Holland, Belgium and in the East of England ( East Anglia ) the littoral becomes low and marshy. The east coasts and south-east of the North Sea (the Sea of Wadden) are mainly sandy and rectilinear, in particular in Belgium and in Denmark.

Very rich water

The sea waters of North are different from the different one. A complex system of tides and currents bring water rich of the Atlantique by the Manche by creating varied mediums which nourish a great diversity of animals. The Trent species of Cetacea live there, as six species of seals of which two reproduce on its coasts, the gray Phoque and the marine Veau.

More than 170 fish species, whose Shark S, Haddock, Cod, Mackerel and Hareng attend gray water of the North Sea. The flat Line S, fish, the Eel S and the Baudroie are carpet on the bottom, as well as myriads of invertebrates such as Homard S, sponge S, Oursin S, Crabe S and Poulpe S.

On the high funds, the forests of kelp shelter Balane S, Moule S, lançon and Sprat S.

Consequences of overexploitation

During centuries, the North Sea nourished the people which lived along the littoral. But these last years, its ressouces natural were subjected to new pressures. Surpêche decimated the Hareng S and the Morue S. In 1983, of the catch quotas were defined, but the experts think today that they would have to be divided by two.

The sick or deformed fish form an increasing proportion of the captures. It is thought that is due to pollution. One even rejected at sea North of the Radioactive waste which will remain in the ecosystem during centuries. The hydrocarbons coming from the cleaning of the tanks at sea or the accidents of oil tankers are a serious threat for fauna.

Each year, Great Britain sends 250.000 tons of nitrogen at sea North, by air. But largest pollution comes from the ground, brought by the rivers or the sewers.

The threatened littoral

The coasts of the North Sea are very varied, of the rock shores to the salted marshes and mudholes of the estuaries. These last are surfaces of essential nutrition for the Limicole S like the Redshank and the variable Bécasseau, as well as ducks and geese. When the sea is withdrawn with the tide, all come gaver from Crustacé S and Mollusque S hidden in the mud.

But these biotopes are threatened. The fragile marshes are choked by layers of oil. The plants decay, private of sun under the thick black layer and fauna dies of hunger.

Many wetlands of the coasts of the sea of North disappeared, drained and recovered by agriculture, industry or tourism. Thus were transformed into arable lands 40.000 hectares of Waddenzee, zone which accommodates 1000 animal species and vegetable and of important sites of abrasion. Between 1935 and 1982,48% of the estuaries of the the Thames, of Medway and Swale were emphasized and 90% of the estuary of the Tees were transformed into industrial park. All these areas were used as sites of wintering with limicolous and Anatidé S. Of other was drained to increase the ports, as around Rotterdam.

The Oiseau X moved have few chances to find of another sites and generally die.

The action plan international

Every three years, the conference of the North Sea joins together the eight states (Belgium, France, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, German, Denmark and the Netherlands) bordering, but large a nomdre of the objectives was never reached. The Great Britain is the country more the pollutant and, only, continuous to pour its industrial waste in spite of the agreement of 1987 applicable end 1989.

In 1990, the conference decided that the rejection of muds of sewer was gradually to cease from here 1995 and the incineration of waste in seaside to cease in 1993. Atmospheric pollution was to regress of 50%, while the effects of intensive fishing were studied.

In progress

Large seaports of North

See too

External bonds

  • Site of Commission OSPAR

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