Seasonal and longer term trends in sea temperature along the French North Sea coast, 1975 to 2002

Abstract

Regular sea temperature measurements have been made since 1975 at Gravelines (French coast of the Southern Bight of the North Sea) within the framework of a research programme aimed at monitoring the influence of the thermal discharge of a nuclear power plant. The sampling has yielded a 28-year time-series. Pluriannual natural fluctuations of temperature show cyclic patterns and long-term trends in good accordance with global climatic changes as revealed by the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) annual index.