Solar insolation stabilizes the water column and suppresses vertical exchan
ge. Observations from the central North Sea clearly show that increased hea
ting in summer is accompanied by enhanced de-stabilizing vertical current d
ifferences (shear), surprisingly to such extent that the equilibrium state
is marginally stable. Under calm weather conditions, the shear is predomina
ntly generated by near-inertial motions while the internal wave spectrum pr
imarily results from nonlinear interaction between the dominating tidal and
near-inertial motions. In terms of the associated enhanced vertical mixing
across the largest vertical temperature gradients, shelf seas are not diff
erent from the abyssal ocean, despite the proximity to energy sources near
boundaries in the former. By the lack of sufficiently strong wind- and tida
l mixing this internal mixing is considered to be responsible for the diapy
cnal transport of nutrients leading to the observed increase in near-surfac
e values and triggering the late-summer phytoplankton bloom.