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Skagerrak

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Skagerrak
Location of Skagerrak in Europe
Location of Skagerrak in Europe
Skagerrak
Map of Skagerrak and surrounding waters
Skagerrak and Kattegat
LocationNorth SeaKattegat (Atlantic Ocean)
Coordinates58°N 9°E / 58°N 9°E / 58; 9Coordinates: 58°N 9°E / 58°N 9°E / 58; 9
TypeStrait
Basin countriesDenmark
Norway
Sweden
Surface area47,000 km2 (18,000 sq mi)
Average depth200 metres (660 ft)
Max. depth700 metres (2,300 ft)

The Skagerrak (Danish: [ˈskɛːjɐˌʁɑk], Norwegian: [ˈskɑ̀ːɡərɑk], Swedish: [ˈskɑ̌ːɡɛrak]) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea.

The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping routes in the world, with vessels from every corner of the globe. It also supports an intensive fishing industry.[1] The ecosystem is strained and negatively affected by direct human activities. Oslo and Gothenburg are the only large cities in the Skagerrak region.

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Strait

Strait

A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channel that lies between two land masses. Some straits are not navigable, for example because they are either too narrow or too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago. Straits are also known to be loci for sediment accumulation. Usually, sand-size deposits occur on both the two opposite strait exits, forming subaqueous fans or deltas.

Jutland

Jutland

Jutland, known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany. The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri, respectively.

Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Nordic constituent country in Northern Europe. It is the most populous and politically central constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the North Atlantic Ocean. Metropolitan Denmark is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries, lying south-west and south of Sweden, south of Norway, and north of Germany, with which it shares a short land border, its only land border.

Norway

Norway

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency of Norway; it also lays claims to the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.

Sweden

Sweden

Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge–tunnel across the Öresund. At 447,425 square kilometres (172,752 sq mi), Sweden is the largest Nordic country, the third-largest country in the European Union, and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of 10.5 million, and a low population density of 25.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi), with around 87% of Swedes residing in urban areas, which cover 1.5% of the entire land area, in the central and southern half of the country.

North Sea

North Sea

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

Kattegat

Kattegat

The Kattegat is a 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden in the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Danish Straits. The sea area is a continuation of the Skagerrak and may be seen as a bay of the North Sea, but in traditional Scandinavian usage, this is not the case.

Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.

Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of 709,037 in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, and the metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,546,706 in 2021.

Gothenburg

Gothenburg

Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a population of approximately 590,000 in the city proper and about 1.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.

Name

The meaning of Skagerrak is most likely the Skagen Channel/Strait. Skagen is a town near the northern cape of Denmark (The Skaw). Rak means 'straight waterway' (compare the Damrak in Amsterdam); it is cognate with reach.[2][3] The ultimate source of this syllable is the Proto-Indo-European root *reg-, 'straight'. Rak means 'straight' as in 'straight ahead' in modern Norwegian and Swedish. Råk in both modern Norwegian and Swedish refers to a channel or opening of water in an otherwise ice-covered body of water. There is no evidence to suggest a connection with the modern Danish word rak (meaning rabble or riff-raff). Another possibility is that the Skagerrak was named by Dutch seafarers, in the same way the adjacent Kattegat got its name. It was quite common for the Dutch to call similar stretches of waterways a rak, such as: Langerak, Damrak, Gouderak, and Tuikwerderrak. (See Kattegat for its etymology, in which gat means "gate" or "hole".)

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Skagen

Skagen

Skagen is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, 41 kilometres (25 mi) north of Frederikshavn and 108 kilometres (67 mi) northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is Denmark's main fishing port and it also has a thriving tourist industry, attracting 2 million people annually.

Waterway

Waterway

A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary between maritime shipping routes and waterways used by inland water craft. Maritime shipping routes cross oceans and seas, and some lakes, where navigability is assumed, and no engineering is required, except to provide the draft for deep-sea shipping to approach seaports (channels), or to provide a short cut across an isthmus; this is the function of ship canals. Dredged channels in the sea are not usually described as waterways. There is an exception to this initial distinction, essentially for legal purposes, see under international waters.

Damrak

Damrak

The Damrak is an avenue and partially filled in canal at the centre of Amsterdam, running between Amsterdam Centraal in the north and Dam Square in the south. It is the main street where people arriving at the station enter the centre of Amsterdam. Also it is one of the two GVB tram routes from the station into the centre, with lines 4, 9, 16, and 25 running down it. It is also on the route of the North/South Line being constructed between the existing metro station at Centraal Station and the new Rokin station.

Reach (geography)

Reach (geography)

A reach is a segment of a stream, river, or arm of the sea, usually suggesting a straight, level, uninterrupted stretch.

Proto-Indo-European language

Proto-Indo-European language

Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages..

Kattegat

Kattegat

The Kattegat is a 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden in the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Danish Straits. The sea area is a continuation of the Skagerrak and may be seen as a bay of the North Sea, but in traditional Scandinavian usage, this is not the case.

Geography

The Oslofjord inlet near Oslo is part of the Skagerrak strait.
The Oslofjord inlet near Oslo is part of the Skagerrak strait.

The Skagerrak is 240 km (150 mi) long and between 80 and 140 km (50 and 87 mi) wide. It deepens toward the Norwegian coast, reaching over 700 m at the Norwegian Trench. Some ports along the Skagerrak are Oslo, Larvik and Kristiansand in Norway, Skagen, Hirtshals and Hanstholm in Denmark and Uddevalla, Lysekil and Strömstad in Sweden.

The Skagerrak has an average salinity of 80 practical salinity units, which is very low, close to that of brackish water, but comparable to most other coastal waters. The area available to biomass is about 3,600 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes a wide variety of habitats, from shallow sandy and stony reefs in Sweden and Denmark to the depths of the Norwegian trench.

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Skagerrak as follows:[4]

On the West. A line joining Hanstholm (57°07′N 8°36′E / 57.117°N 8.600°E / 57.117; 8.600) and the Naze (Lindesnes, 58°N 7°E / 58°N 7°E / 58; 7).

On the Southeast. The Northern limit of the Kattegat [A line joining Skagen (The Skaw, North Point of Denmark) and Paternosterskären (57°54′N 11°27′E / 57.900°N 11.450°E / 57.900; 11.450) and thence Northeastward through the shoals to Tjörn Island].

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Oslofjord

Oslofjord

The Oslofjord is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea. The Oslofjord is not a fjord in the geological sense — in Norwegian the term fjord can refer to a wide range of waterways.

Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of 709,037 in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, and the metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,546,706 in 2021.

Larvik

Larvik

Larvik is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality of Larvik has about 46,364 inhabitants. The municipality has a 110 km coastline, only shorter than that of neighbouring Sandefjord.

Kristiansand

Kristiansand

Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation of the municipalities of Søgne and Songdalen into the greater Kristiansand municipality. In addition to the city itself, Statistics Norway counts four other densely populated areas in the municipality: Skålevik in Flekkerøy with a population of 3,526 in the Vågsbygd borough, Strai with a population of 1,636 in the Grim borough, Justvik with a population of 1,803 in the Lund borough, and Tveit with a population of 1,396 in the Oddernes borough. Kristiansand is divided into five boroughs: Grim, which is located northwest in Kristiansand with a population of 15,000; Kvadraturen, which is the centre and downtown Kristiansand with a population of 5,200; Lund, the second largest borough; Søgne, with a population of around 12,000 and incorporated into the municipality of Kristiansand as of January 2020; Oddernes, a borough located in the west; and Vågsbygd, the largest borough with a population of 36,000, located in the southwest.

Norway

Norway

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency of Norway; it also lays claims to the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.

Hirtshals

Hirtshals

Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe. It is located in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland. The town of Hirtshals has a population of 5,532. Located on the Skagerrak, it is especially known for its fishing and ferry harbours.

Hanstholm

Hanstholm

Hanstholm is a small town and a former island, now elevated area in Thisted municipality of Region Nordjylland, located in northern Denmark. The population of the town is 2,104.

Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Nordic constituent country in Northern Europe. It is the most populous and politically central constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the North Atlantic Ocean. Metropolitan Denmark is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries, lying south-west and south of Sweden, south of Norway, and north of Germany, with which it shares a short land border, its only land border.

Lysekil

Lysekil

Lysekil is a locality and the seat of Lysekil Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 7,600 inhabitants in 2018. Situated on the south tip of Stångenäs peninsula at the mouth of Gullmarn fjord, it has two nature reserves.

Brackish water

Brackish water

Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater and fresh water together, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root brak. Certain human activities can produce brackish water, in particular civil engineering projects such as dikes and the flooding of coastal marshland to produce brackish water pools for freshwater prawn farming. Brackish water is also the primary waste product of the salinity gradient power process. Because brackish water is hostile to the growth of most terrestrial plant species, without appropriate management it is damaging to the environment.

Norwegian trench

Norwegian trench

The Norwegian trench or Norwegian channel is an elongated depression in the sea floor off the southern coast of Norway. It reaches from the Stad peninsula in Sogn og Fjordane in the northwest to the Oslofjord in the southeast. The trench is between 50 and 95 kilometres wide and up to 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep. Off the Rogaland coast it is 250–300 metres (820–980 ft) deep, and its deepest point is off Arendal where it reaches 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep – an abyss compared to the average depth of the North Sea, which is about 100 metres (330 ft).

International Hydrographic Organization

International Hydrographic Organization

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. As of May 2022, the IHO comprised 98 Member States.

History

German bunkers from World War II are still present along the coasts of Skagerrak. (Kjærsgård Strand in Denmark)
German bunkers from World War II are still present along the coasts of Skagerrak. (Kjærsgård Strand in Denmark)

Older names for the combined Skagerrak and Kattegat were the Norwegian Sea or Jutland Sea; the latter appears in the Knýtlinga saga.

Until the construction of the Eider Canal in 1784 (a predecessor to the Kiel Canal), Skagerrak was the only way in and out of the Baltic Sea. For this reason the strait has had a busy international traffic for centuries. After the Industrial Revolution, the traffic increased and today Skagerrak is among the busiest straits in the world. In 1862, a short cut, the Thyborøn Channel at the Limfjord was constructed in Denmark through Skagerrak from the North Sea by going directly to the Kattegat. The Limfjord supports only minor transports though.

In both world wars, the Skagerrak was strategically very important for Germany. The biggest sea battle of the First World War, the Battle of Jutland, also known as the Battle of the Skagerrak, took place here May 31 to June 1, 1916. In the Second World War, the importance of controlling this waterway, the only sea access to the Baltic, was the motive for the German invasions of Denmark, Norway and the construction of the northern parts of the Atlantic Wall. Both of these naval engagements have contributed to the large number of shipwrecks in the Skagerrak.

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Kattegat

Kattegat

The Kattegat is a 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden in the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Danish Straits. The sea area is a continuation of the Skagerrak and may be seen as a bay of the North Sea, but in traditional Scandinavian usage, this is not the case.

Knýtlinga saga

Knýtlinga saga

Knýtlinga saga is an Icelandic kings' saga written in the 1250s, which deals with the kings who ruled Denmark since the early 10th century.

Eider Canal

Eider Canal

The Eider Canal was an artificial waterway in southern Denmark which connected the North Sea with the Baltic Sea by way of the rivers Eider and Levensau. Constructed between 1777 and 1784, the Eider Canal was built to create a path for ships entering and exiting the Baltic that was shorter and less storm-prone than navigating around the Jutland peninsula. In the 1880s the canal was replaced by the enlarged Kiel Canal, which includes some of the Eider Canal's watercourse.

Kiel Canal

Kiel Canal

The Kiel Canal is a 98 km (61 mi) long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of 250 NM (460 km) is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula. This not only saves time but also avoids storm-prone seas and having to pass through the Danish straits.

Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.

Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines; new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes; the increasing use of water power and steam power; the development of machine tools; and the rise of the mechanized factory system. Output greatly increased, and a result was an unprecedented rise in population and in the rate of population growth. The textile industry was the first to use modern production methods, and textiles became the dominant industry in terms of employment, value of output, and capital invested.

Limfjord

Limfjord

The Limfjord is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from the North Sea and Kattegat, and hence separates the North Jutlandic Island from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula. The Limfjord extends from Thyborøn Channel on the North Sea to Hals on the Kattegat. It is approximately 180 kilometres long and of an irregular shape with numerous bays, narrowings, and islands, most notably Mors, and the smaller ones Fur, Venø, Jegindø, Egholm and Livø. It is deepest at Hvalpsund.

Germany

Germany

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of 357,022 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), with a population of over 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during the First World War. The battle unfolded in extensive manoeuvring and three main engagements, from 31 May to 1 June 1916, off the North Sea coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in that war. Jutland was the third fleet action between steel battleships, following the Battle of the Yellow Sea in 1904 and the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War. Jutland was the last major battle in history fought primarily by battleships.

Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Nordic constituent country in Northern Europe. It is the most populous and politically central constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the North Atlantic Ocean. Metropolitan Denmark is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries, lying south-west and south of Sweden, south of Norway, and north of Germany, with which it shares a short land border, its only land border.

Norway

Norway

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency of Norway; it also lays claims to the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.

Atlantic Wall

Atlantic Wall

The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticipated Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe from the United Kingdom, during World War II. The manning and operation of the Atlantic Wall was administratively overseen by the German Army, with some support from Luftwaffe ground forces. The Kriegsmarine maintained a separate coastal defence network, organised into a number of sea defence zones.

Traffic and industry

A cargo ship on Skagerrak.
A cargo ship on Skagerrak.

Skagerrak is a heavily trafficated strait, with c. 7,500 individual vessels (excluding fishing vessels) from all over the world visiting in 2013 alone. Cargo ships are by far the most common vessel in Skagerrak at c. 4,000 individual ships in 2013, followed by tankers, which are nearly half as frequent. When viewed in combination with the Baltic Sea area, ships from 122 different nationalities visited in 2013, with most of these carrying cargo or passengers within Europe, regardless of their flag state.[5]

Nearly all commercial vessels in Skagerrak are tracked by the Automatic Identification System (AIS).[6]

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Cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Today, they are almost always built of welded steel, and with some exceptions generally have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years before being scrapped.

Tanker (ship)

Tanker (ship)

A tanker is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, molasses and wine. In the United States Navy and Military Sealift Command, a tanker used to refuel other ships is called an oiler but many other navies use the terms tanker and replenishment tanker. Tankers were first developed in the late 19th century as iron and steel hulls and pumping systems were developed. As of 2005, there were just over 4,000 tankers and supertankers 10,000 LT DWT or greater operating worldwide.

Flag state

Flag state

The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed, and is deemed the nationality of the vessel. A merchant vessel must be registered and can only be registered in one jurisdiction, but may change the register in which it is registered. The flag state has the authority and responsibility to enforce regulations over vessels registered under its flag, including those relating to inspection, certification, and issuance of safety and pollution prevention documents. As a ship operates under the laws of its flag state, these laws are applicable if the ship is involved in an admiralty case.

Recreation

Skagerrak is popular for recreational activities in all three countries. There are many summer house residences and several marinas along the coasts.

Biology

The Skagerrak is habitat for approximately 2,000 marine species, many of them adapted to its waters. For example, a variety of Atlantic cod called the Skagerrak cod spawns off the Norwegian coast. The eggs are buoyant and the hatchlings feed on zooplankton. Juveniles sink to the bottom where they have a shorter maturity cycle (2 years). They do not migrate but remain local to Norwegian fjords.

The variety of habitats and the large volume of plankton on the surface support prolific marine life. Energy moves from the top to the bottom according to Vinogradov's ladder of migrations; that is, some species are benthic and others pelagic, but there are graded marine layers within which species move vertically for short distances. In addition, some species are benthopelagic, moving between surface and bottom. The benthic species include Coryphaenoides rupestris, Argentina silus, Etmopterus spinax, Chimaera monstrosa and Glyptocephalus cynoglossus. On the top are Clupea harengus, Scomber scombrus, Sprattus sprattus. Some species that move between are Pandalus borealis, Sabinea sarsi, Etmopterus spinax.

Reefs

A cold water coral reef in Norway.
A cold water coral reef in Norway.

Apart from sandy and stony reefs, extensive cold water coral reefs, mostly of Lophelia, are growing in Skagerrak. The Säcken Reef in the Swedish marine protection of Koster Fjord is an ancient cold water coral reef and the only known coral reef in the country. The Tisler Reef in the Norwegian marine protection of Ytre Hvaler National Park is the largest known coral reef in Europe. Lophelia reefs are also present in the Norwegian trench and they are known from the shallow waters of many Norwegian fjords.[7][8]

Skagerrak also holds a number of rare bubble reefs; biological reefs formed around cold seeps of geological carbohydrate outgassings, usually methane. These rare habitats are mostly known from the Danish waters of Skagerrak west of Hirtshals, but more might be discovered in future surveys.[9] Bubbly reefs are very rare in Europe and supports a very varied ecosystem.

With the centuries long heavy international seatraffic of Skagerrak, the seabed also holds an abundance of shipwrecks. Wrecks on shallow waters, provides a firm anchoring for several corals and polyps and explored wrecks have been revealed to support Dead Man's Fingers corals, Brittle stars and large wolffish.[10] A 2020 seafloor mapping project[11] around Jammerbugten in Skaggerak, ran by danish explorer Klaus Thymann, found evidence of much greater biodiversity in a range seafloor habitats previously thought to be sandy with a low density of wildlife. Dead Man’s Fingers corals were again among the species documented for the first time in these coastal habitats.

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Atlantic cod

Atlantic cod

The Atlantic cod is a benthopelagic fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as cod or codling. Dry cod may be prepared as unsalted stockfish, and as cured salt cod or clipfish.

Zooplankton

Zooplankton

Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequently, they drift or are carried along by currents in the ocean, or by currents in seas, lakes or rivers.

Fjord

Fjord

In physical geography, a fjord or fiord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Iceland, Ireland, Kamchatka, the Kerguelen Islands, Labrador, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Norway, Novaya Zemlya, Nunavut, Quebec, the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile, Russia, South Georgia Island, Tasmania, Scotland and Washington state. Norway's coastline is estimated to be 29,000 km (18,000 mi) long with its nearly 1,200 fjords, but only 2,500 km (1,600 mi) long excluding the fjords.

Plankton

Plankton

Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water that are unable to propel themselves against a current. The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales.

Vinogradov

Vinogradov

Vinogradov or Vinogradoff is a common Russian last name derived from the Russian word виноград. Vinogradova is a feminine version of the same name. Notable people with the surname include:Aleksandr Vinogradov (writer) (1930–2011), a Russian writer Aleksandr Vinogradov (canoeist), Russian sprint canoer Alexandre Mikhailovich Vinogradov (1938-2019), Russian and Italian mathematician Alexander Vinogradov (geochemist), (1895–1975), Soviet geochemist, academician Alexander Vinogradov (bass), a Russian bass opera singer Alexandra Vinogradova, Russian volleyballer Alexei Vinogradov (1899–1940), a Soviet World War II brigade commander Anton Vinogradov, a Russian voice actor Askold Vinogradov (1929–2005), a Russian mathematician Dagnis Vinogradovs, Latvia flatwater canoer Dmitry Vinogradov (1720–1758), a Russian scientist, inventor of porcelain Ekaterina Vinogradova, Russian biathlete and cross-country skier. Georgi Vinogradov (1908–1980), a Russian tenor Ivan Vinogradov (1891–1983), a Russian mathematician Maria Vinogradova (1922–1995), Russian actress Nadezhda Vinogradova, Soviet Union heptathlete Nikolai Vinogradov (1905–1979), Soviet naval officer Nikolay Vinogradov, the governor of Vladimir Oblast Olga Vinogradova, (1929–2001), Russian neurophysiologist Paul Vinogradoff (1854–1925), a Russian historian Pavel Vinogradov, a Russian cosmonaut Sergei Vinogradov, a Russian soccer player Sergei Vinogradov (journalist) (1958–2010), Russian author, journalist and translator Vasili Vinogradov (1874–1948), a Russian Tatar opera composer, violinist and pedagogue Vera Vinogradova (1895-1982) Soviet composer and pianist Viktor Vinogradov (1894–1969), a Russian linguist, literary critic, and academician Vladimir Vinogradov (1955–2008), a Russian businessman, the President of Inkombank Vladimir Vinogradov (diplomat) (1921–1997), a Soviet diplomat Vladislav Vinogradov (1899–1962), general Yekaterina Vinogradova, Russian swimmer Yelena Vinogradova, a Russian sprinter

Coryphaenoides rupestris

Coryphaenoides rupestris

Coryphaenoides rupestris is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Macrouridae. Its common names include the rock grenadier, the roundnose grenadier and the roundhead rat-tail. In France it is known as grenadier de roche and in Spain as granadero de roca. It is a large, deep-water species and is fished commercially in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Pandalus borealis

Pandalus borealis

Pandalus borealis is a species of caridean shrimp found in cold parts of the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans, although the latter population now often is regarded as a separate species, P. eous. The Food and Agriculture Organization refers to them as the northern prawn. Other common names include pink shrimp, deepwater prawn, deep-sea prawn, Nordic shrimp, great northern prawn, northern shrimp, coldwater prawn and Maine shrimp.

Deep-water coral

Deep-water coral

The habitat of deep-water corals, also known as cold-water corals, extends to deeper, darker parts of the oceans than tropical corals, ranging from near the surface to the abyss, beyond 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) where water temperatures may be as cold as 4 °C (39 °F). Deep-water corals belong to the Phylum Cnidaria and are most often stony corals, but also include black and thorny corals and soft corals including the Gorgonians. Like tropical corals, they provide habitat to other species, but deep-water corals do not require zooxanthellae to survive.

Lophelia

Lophelia

Lophelia pertusa, the only species in the genus Lophelia, is a cold-water coral that grows in the deep waters throughout the North Atlantic ocean, as well as parts of the Caribbean Sea and Alboran Sea. Although L. pertusa reefs are home to a diverse community, the species is extremely slow growing and may be harmed by destructive fishing practices, or oil exploration and extraction.

Environmental concerns

Scientists and environmental institutions have expressed concern about the increasing pressure on the ecosystem in Skagerrak. The pressure has already had negative impacts and is caused by cumulative environmental effects, of which direct human activities are only one piece of the puzzle. Climate change and ocean acidification are expected to have increasing impacts on the Skagerrak ecosystem in the future.[1]

Skagerrak and the North Sea receives considerable inputs of hazardous material and radioactive substances. Most is ascribed to long-range transport from other countries, but not all.[12] Marine litter is also a growing problem. Until recently, waste water and sewage pouring into Skagerrak from settlements and industries was not treated at all. In combination with wash out of excessive nutrients from conventional farming, this has often led to large algae blooms.[13]

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Ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and microbes.

Climate change

Climate change

In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming.

Ocean acidification

Ocean acidification

Ocean acidification is the decrease in the pH of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ocean acidification, with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels exceeding 410 ppm (in 2020). CO2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans. This produces carbonic acid (H2CO3) which dissociates into a bicarbonate ion (HCO−3) and a hydrogen ion (H+). The presence of free hydrogen ions (H+) lowers the pH of the ocean, increasing acidity (this does not mean that seawater is acidic yet; it is still alkaline, with a pH higher than 8). Marine calcifying organisms, such as mollusks and corals, are especially vulnerable because they rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons.

Hazardous waste

Hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits:ignitability, reactivity, corrosivity, toxicity. Listed hazardous wastes are materials specifically listed by regulatory authorities as hazardous wastes which are from non-specific sources, specific sources, or discarded chemical products. Hazardous wastes may be found in different physical states such as gaseous, liquids, or solids. A hazardous waste is a special type of waste because it cannot be disposed of by common means like other by-products of our everyday lives. Depending on the physical state of the waste, treatment and solidification processes might be required.

Radioactive waste

Radioactive waste

Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons reprocessing. The storage and disposal of radioactive waste is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment.

Protections

Ytre Hvaler National Park.Kosterhavet National Park.The two national parks of Ytre-Hvaler and Kosterhavet, forms a connected cross-border protection between Norway and Sweden.
Ytre Hvaler National Park.
Ytre Hvaler National Park.Kosterhavet National Park.The two national parks of Ytre-Hvaler and Kosterhavet, forms a connected cross-border protection between Norway and Sweden.
Kosterhavet National Park.
The two national parks of Ytre-Hvaler and Kosterhavet, forms a connected cross-border protection between Norway and Sweden.

There are several marine protections in Skagerrak, including:

Norway
Sweden[14]
Denmark
  • Grenen and a 270,295-hectare (667,910-acre) sea area immediately north.[15]

Discover more about Protections related topics

Ytre Hvaler National Park

Ytre Hvaler National Park

Ytre Hvaler National Park is a national park located within the municipalities of Hvaler and Fredrikstad in Østfold, Norway. The park was established on 26 June 2009 and was the first national marine park in the country of Norway.

Raet National Park

Raet National Park

Raet National Park is a national park in Arendal, Tvedestrand and Grimstad in Agder, southeastern Norway. It is mostly a marine park, and includes some islands and coastal areas. Raet covers an area of 607 km2 (234 sq mi), of which 599 km2 (231 sq mi) is sea and 8 km2 (3 sq mi) is land. The park was established on 16 December 2016.

Kosterhavet National Park

Kosterhavet National Park

Kosterhavet National Park is the first national marine park in Sweden, inaugurated in September 2009. It is part of the Skagerrak sea and is located in Strömstad and Tanum municipalities in Bohuslän, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It consists of the sea and shores around the Koster Islands, excluding everything else on the islands. In the north, it borders the Norwegian marine park of Ytre Hvaler.

Natura 2000

Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively. The network includes both terrestrial and Marine Protected Areas.

Pockmark (geology)

Pockmark (geology)

Pockmarks are concave, crater-like depressions on seabeds that are caused by fluids escaping and erupting through the seafloor. They can vary in size and have been found worldwide.

Grenen

Grenen

Grenen is a long sandbar spit at Skagen Odde, north of the town of Skagen.

Source: "Skagerrak", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, January 25th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagerrak.

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See also
References
  1. ^ a b "The North Sea and Skagerrak". Norwegian Environment Agency. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  2. ^ Nudansk Ordbog (1993), 15th edition, 2nd reprint, Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag, entry Skagerrak.
  3. ^ Den Store Danske Encyklopædi (2004), CD-ROM edition, Copenhagen: Gyldendal, entry Skagerrak.
  4. ^ "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition" (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  5. ^ Mapping shipping intensity and routes in the Baltic Sea (PDF) (Report). Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment (Havsmiljöinstitutet). May 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Skagerrak". Marine Vessel Traffic. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  7. ^ Carina Eliasson (19 September 2012). "Sweden´s only coral reef at risk of dying". University of Gothenburg. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Saving Sweden's Last Ancient Deepwater Reef". Reef to Rainforest Media. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  9. ^ The outgassings continue into the North Sea and are also present in Kattegat in the east.
  10. ^ Kortlægning af Natura 2000 habitaterne: Boblerev (1180), rev (1170) og sandbanker (1110) (PDF) (Report) (in Danish). Skov- og Naturstyrelsen. June 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Coral discovered in uncharted Danish waters – in pictures". The Guardian. 2020-07-17. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  12. ^ Radioactivity in the Marine Environment 2010 (PDF) (Report). Norwegian Marine Monitoring Programme (RAME). 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Algal blooms in the Skagerrak and Kattegat". SMHI. 23 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Natura 2000" (in Swedish). Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  15. ^ Skagens Gren og Skagerrak (PDF) (Report) (in Danish). Danish Nature Agency. 1 December 2011. ISBN 978-87-7091-051-4. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
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