Regions of freshwater influence (ROFIs) - Introduction to the Physical and Biological Oceanography of Shelf Seas - page 271

(a)

64°N

Shetland Is.

56°N

0° 10°E 20°E

(b)

0

35.2

35

200

400

200

100 0

Distance (km)

Figure 9.2 The Norwegian Coastal Current: (a) Average surface salinity for the northern North
Sea in May showing low salinity water flowing northward along the Norwegian coast. After
(Mork, 1981 ) ; (b) Salinity distribution in February on a vertical section (grey dashed line
shown in (a)) from Shetland to the Norwegian coast. The coastal current, flowing into the
page, can be seen over the deep water of the Norwegian Trench. After (Rodhe, 1998 ), courtesy
of the Royal Society, London.

the German Bight where other freshwater inputs contribute to maintaining the
salinity deficit of the flow.
Figure 9.3b shows that the freshwater input from the Rhine also delivers large
quantities of nutrients whose influence dominates in the coastal current, as can be