Climate in the Nordic Seas
The Nordic Seas stretch from the Barents Sea in the north to the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea and Skagerrak in the south. The area is characterized by large environmental variations. The Barents Sea is shallow with an average depth of 230 metres and a distinctive arctic character. During winter large parts of the northern Barent Sea are covered by ice. The Norwegian Sea has an average depth of 1600 meters and consits of two deep ocean basins of more than 3500 meters.
The North Sea and Skagerrak can be divided into two main parts. The northern part is close to the "Norskerenna", a deep ocean trench 800 metres deep. The southern part is bordered to Great Britain, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The average depht is 50 metres. The temperature rises southwards throughout the Norwegian Sea and towards the North Sea. This makes the North Sea a temperate area.
The Nordic Seas are strongly affected by the inflow of warm and salty Atlantic water from the south. This warm Atlantic water origines from the Gulf of Mexico and is transported with the Gulf Stream through the North Atlantic and into the Nordic Seas entering inbetween Shetland and Iceland.
