Understanding the North Sea System - Charnock, H. a Dyer, K.R. a Huthnance, J.M. a Liss, Peter a Simpson, B.H.

The continental shelf seas have an importance which is out of proportion to the rela­ tively small fraction of the area of the global ocean which they occupy. These shallow seas play an important role as the high energy boundary zones of the deep ocean where much of the ocean's tidal and wave energies are dissipated.