Exceptional influx of oceanic species into the North Sea late 1997

Continuous Plankton Recorder records from the North Sea and north-east Atla ntic from September 1997 to March 1998 indicate an exceptional influx of oc eanic indicator species into the North Sea. These inflow events, according to historical evidence, have only occurred sporadically during this century . This exceptional inflow and previous inflow events are discussed in relat ion to their similarity in terms of their physical and climatic conditions.