Current measurements in the North Sea near the entrance of the port of Rotterdam

At the Dutch coast the Rhine outflow area is a hydrodynamically complex area. There the fresh river water discharges into the Southern North Sea almost perpendicular to the tidal currents that are mainly oriented along shore. As a result the local currents are influenced not only by the tidal forcing, but also to a large extent by strong density effects that can sometimes create a strong stratification.