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Although not often discussed in an archaeological context, religion plays an important role in human migrations by working as an anchor of collective identity and distinction among the migrants. By establishing permanent religious structures – such as burials – the newcomers can also use religion as a tool to indicate an enduring presence in their new homeland. Remarkably, such practices can also be seen among the groups connected with the Corded Ware complex that migrated and settled in the eastern and northern Baltic Sea region roughly 5000 years ago. According to the material remains of the mortuary practices associated with this complex, these people did not travel alone; they carried with them a novel religion. Defined in this paper as a 'steppe-originated religion', this belief system continued mortuary practices known from the Pontic Steppe, while also incorporating material and ritual elements from different regions over the course of time. Despite this syncretism, the core ideas of the religion nevertheless persisted. As these ideas seem to relate to the mixing of past and present generations, as well as the merging of homeland and new land, this religion could have provided much-needed aid and comfort for a people on the move. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely known that governance is central to the successful implementation of sustainable development policies and measures. Yet, there is a paucity of research which explore the links between governance and sustainability. This paper attempts to address this research need by providing an analysis of the role of governance in enabling – and to some extent – fostering a transition towards sustainable societies. A set of indicators for assessing the capacity for and willingness and commitment to transition to a more sustainable society is presented, enabling identification of direction of change. This paper presents the results of a study, in the context of which sustainability governance has been comparatively investigated in a sample of European countries with, by methodological purpose, very different economic, environmental, political and social conditions (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland). Lessons learnt and examples of good practice – which may be replicable elsewhere-are outlined. For instance, it is discussed that limited knowledge about sustainable development amongst municipal development planners and decision-makers, deficiencies in policy integration, intersectoral cooperation, municipality and stakeholder cooperation and urban management practices are major reasons for weak governance practices in sustainable development. Furthermore, some recommendations on the role of sustainability governance are made, so as to allow the integration of the principles of governance into sustainability practice and hence provide a more general basis upon which a transition towards sustainable societies may become a reality in different types of European countries and societies. The scientific value of this paper lies in identifying opportunities for integrating principles of governance into sustainability practice, as well as outlining the basis for sustainability transitions, providing a general picture of required policy measures. The paper offers a unique comparative analysis of sustainability governance in the Baltic Sea countries, outlining some of the challenges in sustainability governance in the Baltic Sea region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the scope for simultaneously managing nutrient abatement and climate change mitigation in the Baltic Sea (BS) region through the implementation of a selection of measures. The analysis is undertaken using a cost-minimisation model for the entire BS region, the BALTCOST model. In the present research, the model has been extended to include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions effects, enabling us to analyse the trade-offs between cost-effective GHG and nutrient load reductions. We run the model for four different scenarios in order to compare the environmental and economic consequences of contrasting strategies: single environmental objective management versus joint implementation strategy. The results show that implementing land-based measures with a sole focus on water quality (to meet the HELCOM's 2013 Baltic Sea Action Plan nutrient abatement targets) can produce climate change mitigation co-benefits equivalent to 2.3% of the 2005 emission level (from agriculture and waste water combined) for the entirety of the BS region. More interestingly, a joint implementation strategy can deliver further climate change mitigation benefit (i.e. up to 5.4%) at a marginal cost that is comparable to mitigation costs reported by other studies for efficient technologies. All in all the results demonstrate that a joint strategy to improve water quality and to reduce climate change is economically beneficial. Our findings show that the cost and the outcome of the implementation vary between countries. This illustrates the need to develop a joint regional policy for water and climate regulation that fully considers the asymmetry in both the expected effects and cost distribution across the countries in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the LNG-related supply chain in the South Baltic Sea Region which was specified as a result of the MarTech LNG Project. First part of the paper presents specification of technologies and technical solutions. Then it turns to the LNG-related stakeholders, i.e. all actors involved into LNG supply, delivery as well as end-user technologies. Aspects of LNG-related infrastructure accomplish the presentation of the SBSR supply chains. The paper is concluded by structural delineation of the supply chains in the SBSR. INSET: 0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the conditions of formation of large accumulative forms on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea and presents the results of a comparative analysis of these structures. It has been established that Baltic barrier-lagoon systems have a complex geological and geomorphologic structure. Sandy barriers, which are, in general, marine accumulative formations, often comprise various fragments of different genesis (moraine remnants, glaciolacustrine and deltaic plains, etc.). The formation and development of large accumulative forms in the southeastern Baltic occurred against the background of sea level fluctuations in the Littorina time following a unified scenario for the entire coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the 'marginalization thesis' which asserts that marginalized populations are more likely to participate in undeclared work, we analyse a 2013 Eurobarometer survey of eight Baltic Sea countries, namely four Western countries (Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden) and four post-Soviet countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland). Finding that across both the Western and post-Soviet Baltic Sea countries, some marginalized populations (e.g. those having difficulties paying household bills, younger people) are significantly more likely to participate in undeclared work, and others are not (e.g. women, those with a high level of tax morality), a more nuanced and variegated understanding of the marginalization thesis is developed that is valid across both Western and post-Soviet Baltic Sea countries. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development strategy for the port of Gdańsk assumes that , up to 2027, it will become the main transport centre in the Baltic Sea region. To this end , for many years work has been carried out to facilitate access to the port both by sea and land. One of the elements of extension of the port is the building of another terminal of Deepwater Container Terminal, Gdańsk. In this task, geotechnical operations aimed at appropriate preparation of subgrade for storage of containers and operation of cranes, have been especially important. Effectiveness of the assumed design solution of land-side girder for gantry crane has been verified by means of a technical monitoring system. This paper presents main elements of design the land-side girder of a new quay of the container terminal in Gdańsk, together with its computational analysis, as well as the results collected during a few months of observation, which have revealed real work of monitored elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the linguistic means used to express predicative possession in the languages of the Circum-Baltic area. The domain of possession is considered here as a prototypically organized domain, where the prototype is the notion of ownership. It is shown that most languages of the area do not provide evidence of splits in their possession systems: rather, they extend the scope of use of their ownership constructions to include all other non-prototypical possessive notions. The linguistic expression of notions that belong to domains neighboring possession, namely experience, location and attribution, is also analyzed. The results show that these notions are rarely coded by means of possessive constructions: exceptions are explained by invoking semantic causes as well as language contact. A comparison of the functions fulfilled by "have"-verbs in the Indo-European languages of the area and by adessive constructions in the Finnic languages is provided, too, and their different scopes of use are explained with reference to their diachronic development and to processes of areal convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reports the first observation of the North American amphipod Melita nitida Smith, 1873 in the Gulf of Gdańsk (the southern Baltic Sea, Poland). In 2014, 13 adult specimens, including 3 males, were collected in the Port of Gdynia, which is located in the western part of this waterbody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Freight transport in urban areas is still not well understood and there is no methodology aimed at the analysis and planning of such areas. To achieve urban sustainability, new models for the management of urban freight movements are needed, in which local authorities play a pro-active role. The aim of this paper is to contribute to lay the groundwork for designing strategies to overcome the challenges involved in sustainable urban freight transport. This paper is based on a multiple-case study analysing the current state of urban freight transport and current planning practices in cities around the Baltic Sea. While the cities differ in size, economy, and political and cultural frameworks, the transport sector plays a strong role in all cities. In-depth freight interviews with public and private stakeholders were conducted and complemented with several holistic interview sessions and document analysis. Potentials and shortcomings in urban freight transport planning are presented and the results show that freight transport is increasingly important for regional competitiveness while freight traffic is a growing threat for urban sustainability. In turn, the urban context is a barrier for efficient freight operations. However, both local authorities and transport operators neglect the problems that arise from freight in urban areas. An overall awareness is needed to understand that a deeper integration of freight transport and urban sustainability strategies can be beneficial for both the efficiency of freight transport networks and for local sustainability. City authorities need more logistics competence to facilitate the required integration between private and public actors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The European consumer revolution has gained increasing attention in recent years. This paper goes beyond the previous scholarly focus upon western Europe in general, and Britain in particular, by studying the consumer revolution in the Baltic region in general, and Denmark and Sweden in particular. Previous research has underestimated the quantities of 'new luxuries' imported into the Baltic region. Disaggregating the region, the empirical evidence shows that the Danish population consumed approximately as much sugar for example as the British did, already by the late 18th century. The paper argues that this to a large extent can be attributed to the fact that real wages in Denmark were comparatively high at the time, even approaching the levels paid to workers in high-wage countries in north-western Europe. The high wages, together with a number of other factors, thus enabled an early consumer revolution at least in this part of the Baltic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with examples of reconstructing the significance of Northern Europe (Norden) in the post-modern social reality. After decades of being regarded as a trailblazer of the social modernisation project from the 1960 to the 1980s, the Nordic societal model and the Nordic identity deriving from it experienced a period of crisis in the beginning of the 1990s. As noted by a leading Danish specialist of international relations, the past ideas and self-images of being better than Europe, upon which the Scandinavian model had been founded, started to give way to fears of the Nordic area becoming a periphery in the new geopolitical setting after the Cold War. The European Union and the Baltic Sea region became the nodal co-ordinates of the discourse that aimed at counteracting the alleged peripherization of this area. The paper attempts to point at the actors and sketch the scope of the discourses that contributed to the process of construction of the new identity as a part of the emerging Baltic Sea region identity. This involved reshaping of the Nordic social and geographical space of reference and reconstructing nodal points of the Nordic identity in a post-modern fashion. Institutional and individual actors that constructed the new reality are presented along with the new structures that have arisen as a result of their actions. Particular attention has been paid to the political agenda that made regionalization in the Baltic Sea area a prominent theme of the Nordic identity formation after the Cold War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of the oldest evidence for human presence in the southeastern Baltic Sea region. This paper presents an overview of the Riadino-5 archaeological site in the lower course of the Šešupė River (Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia) and direct infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) ages for the culture-bearing sediments from the site, which place the time of occupation well within the range of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (ca 57-26 ka). Luminescence ages were determined using the multiple-aliquot additive-dose technique, applied to sand-sized potassium feldspar. Four of the six IRSL samples from the site come from the cultural deposits, while two are from the surrounding sediments. The luminescence age of the deposits implies that human occupation of the southeastern Baltic Sea region occurred at least between 50 ka and 44 ka during the first half of MIS 3 and the Middle-Upper Paleolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vistula River, rich with sea trout ( Salmo trutta m. trutta L.) is the longest river in Poland, flowing into the southern Baltic Sea, with its population sustained mainly by enhancement programmes. The population source was declined and the proportion of Vistula winter and summer sea trout stocks existing in the river was drastically changed over a few decades. This paper is the first detailed genetic study of stocks of the species in the river. Five samples representing wild winter (1971), enhanced winter (2010/11) and summer (2003), and hatchery winter (2003) sea trout stocks were analysed. Twelve microsatellite loci were employed to investigate long-term and seasonal genetic differentiation affected by strong anthropogenic activities and thence to assist fish stock management in the Vistula River. The genetic structure of past and current stocks was observed. The substructure of the sea trout stocks, showing different spawning behaviour, was also exhibited. The drop of private alleles and bottleneck effect were noted, pointing the decrease of Vistula sea trout genetic sources in last 40 years. The pronounced differentiation (pairwise Fst values from 0.024 to 0.057) and high full-siblings share (68%) recorded for the hatchery stock, being the only source for supplementary stocking of winter sea trout stock, imply that this source should be used with caution and action to improve, and subsequently maintain, conditions for natural spawning should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar radiation has been continuously measured in Estonia since 1950, but the recordings of longwave radiation began only about ten years ago. This paper presents the first description of the characteristic features of up- and downwelling longwave radiation in the Baltic Sea region. In the radiation balance the longwave fluxes have an important role. In the annual totals of radiation incident upon the ground surface in Estonia, the longwave atmospheric downwelling radiation L1↓ exceeds the direct solar radiation Egi about three times, and this ratio has an essential seasonal run. In the total upwelling radiation L1↓, the infrared part is still greater, up to 92%. Comparing the measured and calculated (according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law) hourly totals of L1↓ for snow (emissivity e = 0.85) we found a good linear relationship (R² = 0.96). However, the measured totals systematically exceeded the calculated values (on average by 18%). Dependence of the downwelling infrared radiation L1↓ on the near-surface water vapour pressure e is approximated by a power function (R² = 0.73). This is in good accordance with the results of studies carried out at other geographical sites. The influence of clouds on the fitted power function is noteworthy. Separate analysis of the hours with full cloudiness of low clouds and the cloudless hours confirmed the validity of the power function. However, a difference was found in their parameters (for overcast sky the exponent b = 0.20, R² = 0.91 and for cloudless sky b = 0.25 and R² = 0.93). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term monitoring data from catchments with relatively uniform land use is important in order to cover management needs such as implementation of various EU Directives. This paper in a uniform fashion examines the temporal trends in nitrogen (N) concentrations and losses from agricultural catchments in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Thirty-five (35) catchments (range 0.1–33 km 2 ) in Norway (9), Denmark (5), Sweden (8), Finland (4), Estonia (3), Latvia (3) and Lithuania (3) were selected for this study. The longest time series were 23 years (1988–2010), while the shortest one was 10 years (2002–2011). The monthly nitrogen concentration and loss data series were tested for statistical trends ( p < 0.05; two-sided test) using the partial Mann–Kendall (PMK) test with stream discharge as an explanatory variable. The study results show a large variation in nitrogen concentrations and losses among the studied catchments, with a large interannual variability in all catchments. For nitrogen losses, 11 statistically significant trends were detected. Nine of these were downward (four out of five Danish catchments; four out of eight in Sweden; one out of three in Finland). Upward trends were detected in two catchments (one in Estonia and one in Latvia). For nitrogen concentrations, 13 statistically significant trends were detected. 10 of these were downward. Among the 11 catchments that showed trends in nitrogen losses, nine catchments also showed statistically significant trends in the in-stream concentration series. In addition, three more Swedish catchments showed downward trends in the concentration series, and one Estonian catchment showed an upward trend. These results indicate that targeted strategies towards reduced nitrogen losses from agricultural land (as in the case of Denmark and Sweden) may significantly improve nutrient surface water quality in small agricultural catchments [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic changes will influence the possibilities for agricultural production (e.g. longer growing season), agricultural management practices (e.g. changes in tillage, fertilization, increased use of fungicides) and runoff conditions, and thereby the losses of nutrients from agricultural fields to the environment. Nitrogen (N) is of particular interest in the Baltic Sea region because of its adverse effects on water quality. This paper gives an overview of the expected climatic changes in the Nordic–Baltic region, and the possible effects of these changes on runoff and N losses. Downscaled climate scenarios are used as a basis for evaluating the potential effects of climate change on hydrology, runoff and N losses. Examples from selected catchments in Nordic–Baltic water quality monitoring programmes, including data from extreme events, are presented and used for an assessment of the required adaptations. The analysis shows that there is a strong relationship between annual precipitation and runoff, and between runoff and N loss. The seasonality of precipitation, runoff and N loss indicate high losses outside the growing season. With climate change, increased precipitation is expected to occur mainly outside the growing season – in September–March – and result in increased runoff and thereby increased N losses. Existing data show that extreme events of precipitation have occurred in all seasons during the monitoring period, and have caused high runoff and high losses of N. With the expected increases in N losses, there is an urgent need for efficient measures to reduce N losses in order to fulfil the requirements of e.g. the EU Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD) and the Nitrates Directive and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) transport and retention in streams are largely determined by hydrological characteristics (e.g. water runoff, baseflow index (BFI) and flashiness index (FI)) in the catchment. It is important to know the impact of catchment characteristics such as land use, subsurface drainage intensity, elevation difference and catchment size on the hydrological properties and N loss. This paper presents a comparison of the magnitude and variation of the baseflow and flashiness in streams in relation to the selected geographical and drainage characteristics for thirty studied agriculture dominated catchments in the Nordic and Baltic countries and the effects it can have on N loss. The analysis included measured data from the total discharge and nitrogen loss at the catchment outlets for the period from the beginning of 1993 to 2011, although there is variation in the length of periods among catchments and countries. The study revealed that the rate of subsurface drainage systems and drainage intensity (given as lateral tile drainage spacing) were statistically significant explanatory variables in explaining differences in hydrological characteristics between catchments. There is a considerable increase in the FI, almost by a factor of three, when using hourly discharge values instead of average daily values, indicating that large diurnal variation in discharge can occur, especially at higher FI values. The analysis also showed that there is a negative relation between FI and the BFI, i.e. a high BFI corresponding to a low FI and vice versa. In general, there seems to be a positive relationship between long-term average runoff and N loss, with the highest runoff and N loss occurring in the Norwegian catchments. However, flow path can have a significant influence on the N loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we ponder this question: what types of institutional principles would help to establish a macroregional climate change adaptation strategy in the Baltic Sea Region? Inspired by a new institutionalism approach, we trace some of the important elements of regulatory and normative institutional functions. We then discuss how topdown and bottom-up government and governance can contribute to a macroregional climate change adaptation strategy, and profile the local, national, and transnational development efforts that are already underway to facilitate coordination and learning about climate change adaptation in the Baltic Sea Region. Finally, we look at the specific role that a macroregional climate change adaptation strategy has in helping to manage institutional complexity inherent in a multilevel governance context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For several years, the Baltic Sea was divided by the Iron Curtain. However, though this situation changed over 20 years ago and this body of water has since become an internal sea of the European Union, there are still visible differences in the welfare and mentality of the people from the Baltic Sea Region. It's the world's largest body of brackish water, its beaches are exceptionally picturesque, and due to the concentration of iodine it is an exuberant source of medical richness. However, people view the coastal regions of the Baltic Sea countries almost exclusively as a destination for summer vacations. This results in the existence of an expansive, harmful tourist industry for a short time and distinct stagnancy throughout the rest of the year. The majority of local resorts from autumn to spring become examples of "ghost towns" where the inhabitants don't have regular incomes. The problem is, according to scholars, that extending the summer season is impossible in the Coastal Baltic Sea Region due to the local climate and economic conditions of the areas around the sea. The solution could be the creation of an alternative season based on sustainable tourism, as the extension of a summer season could only reduce the problem of the area's degradation due to mass tourism instead of solving it. This paper presents how an alternative season could be a real chance for a gradual end of the problem. Moreover, it shows real examples of transnational cooperation that could become the base for sustainable tourism in the Coastal Baltic Sea Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses long-term perceptions and meanings of coastal landscapes, particularly of coastal islands, in the northern Baltic Sea region from the Neolithic to the early modern period. Instead of identifying specific meanings attributed to particular landscape elements, the aim here is to explore similarities and continuities in the ways of relating with coastal landscapes across centuries and millennia, with an emphasis on how meanings of coastal landscapes and broader cosmological concepts would have been linked to environmental changes stemming from post-glacial land uplift and associated processes. While some socio-cultural impacts of land uplift have been addressed especially in the context of Stone Age archaeology, the broader and longer-term implications of living in dynamic coastal to environmental perception and cosmological concepts remain to be appreciated. A series of interlinked cases from the Neolithic to the early modern period will be employed to discuss those wider issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Helsinki Commission Red List project 2009-2012, taxonomic and distributional data of benthic (macro) invertebrates were compiled by the present authors in a comprehensive checklist of the Baltic Sea fauna. Based on the most recent and comprehensive data, this paper presents the diversity patterns observed among benthic invertebrates in the Baltic Sea. As expected, the total number of species per sub-region generally declined along the salinity gradient from the Danish Straits to the northern Baltic Sea. This relationship is well known from the Baltic Sea and has resulted in a general assumption of an exponentially positive relationship between species richness and salinity for marine species, and a negative relationship for freshwater species. In 1934, Remane produced a diagram to describe the hypothetical distribution of benthic invertebrate diversity along a marine-freshwater salinity gradient. Our results clearly indicated the validity of this theory for the macrozoobenthic diversity pattern within the Baltic Sea. Categorisation of sub-regions according to species composition showed both separation and grouping of some sub-regions and a strong alignment of similarity patterns of zoobenthic species composition along the salinity gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a conference titled "Fear and Loathing in the North: Muslims and Jews in Medieval Scandinavia and the Baltic Region," which was held June 10-11, 2013 at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden, is presented. Topics include the portrayal of Jews in medieval Swedish sermons, the religious views of Peter the Venerable, and the influence of Islamic scientific works in medieval Iceland.

The earliest heliolitids appeared more or less simultaneously in the Late Ordovician shallow seas of different palaeocontinents. In this paper the early Katian heliolitids, represented by the genus Protaraea, are described from the East Baltic region (North Estonia and north-west Russia) and discussed in detail for the first time. A new species Protaraea procella n. sp. Mõtus is established and a neotype for Protaraea diffluens (Eichwald) is designated. The new species shows a wide intraspecific variability including variably oriented septal trabeculae, which results in corallites commonly being poorly defined or not apparent in transverse sections of coralla. P. procella has much larger coralla than P. diffluens, with predominantly laminar growth forms, whereas the latter species is usually encrusting, suggesting that the two species were adapted to different palaeoenvironmental conditions. The new data indicate that these heliolitids, together with other tabulate corals, were already geographically dispersed in the early Katian and thereby contribute to a better understanding of coral diversification patterns in Baltica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the integrated water vapor (IWV) climatological regime and dynamics over the Baltic Sea region. It is the authors' ongoing work on the distribution of atmospheric moisture over the Baltic region, based on climatic remote sensing database. IWV daily means were obtained from the Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) archives for period 2004-2011. It was found that IWV long-term mean over the Baltic region is 15.38 kg/m². IVG average gradient is oriented north-south direction. The average difference between northern and southern part of the area is 2.1 kg/m². IVG has a seasonal variation: IVG maximum amount of midsummer at least three times higher than the late winter minimum. The largest horizontal IVG gradients are over the sea-land boundary areas. In October-March period IVG mean is higher 3% over sea surface than over land. In April-September IVG mean is 5% less over sea surface than over land. Homogeneity analysis showed that the ATOVS and SSMI / IVG data series over the central part of the Baltic are homogeneous only in the cold season from November to April. These data sets combined into one long data set helped to determine the climatic IVG indicators over the Central Baltic in 1989-2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Motorways of the Sea is rather a new concept and, thus, is still in the process of development by the European Commission and in the Baltic Sea Region. The Baltic Sea Region is one of the most dynamic growth areas. Due to this fact the new ideas and technologies are needed to optimize the sea transport system. In the paper the simulation model for the system safety state evaluation is presented. The simulation program can constitute a base for decision-support tool, on the level of safety management, especially to optimally plan the safety transport system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: One objective of the European Union (EU)''s Water Framework Directive (WFD: Directive 2000/60/EC) is for all European surface waters to achieve ‘good status’ by 2015. In support of this objective, the EU has facilitated an intercalibration exercise to ensure harmonized definitions of the status of water bodies, reflecting the deviation of their properties (mainly biotic assemblages) from a minimally disturbed state, termed the “reference condition”. One of the major challenges of the WFD has been to find common approaches for defining reference conditions and to define the level of anthropogenic intervention allowed in reference sites. In this paper we describe how river reference sites were selected in the Central-Baltic region of Europe. A list of pressure criteria was provided and 14 Member States (MSs) categorized each criterion according to the method (i.e. measured, field inspection, etc.) used for reference site screening. Additionally, reference land-use and water-chemistry thresholds were agreed among countries in order to base reference site selection on objective criteria. For land-use criteria, a reference threshold and a rejection threshold were established. Sites with all criteria below the reference threshold were considered to be reference sites; sites having most criteria below the reference threshold and only some parameters between the reference and rejection threshold were “possible reference sites”. These sites were retained only after carefully checking the cumulative effects of the pressures using local expertise, and a posteriori water-chemistry evaluation was necessary. In general, the most widespread method for defining a reference site was the measurement of pressures, followed by field inspections and expert judgment. However, some major pressures (e.g. hydromorphological alteration) were evaluated in a number of different ways (e.g. measured, field inspection, expert judgment). Our meta-analyses reveal a need to reinforce standardization in the application of pressure criteria by Member States. The pressure criteria identified in this exercise should be refined and tested with biological data to help in the further validation of minimally disturbed sites (i.e. the WFD “reference condition”) and to provide a firm foundation for ecological status assessment. This in turn would ensure that there is pan-European comparability when evaluating the achievement of environmental objectives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Our paper is concentraded at the scientific description and analysis of Baltic Sea region tourism potential. It bases on statistics of eight EU countries from the period of 2000-2009 and potential analyse of 2010-2011. It shows the influence of EU development, currency exchange rate and impact of the economic crisis of the years 2000-2009 on number of ferry tourism movement. It shows how the wrong preparation for the transport situation prevailed in the study area can reduce the competitiveness of shipping ferry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NANI/NAPI (net anthropogenic nitrogen/phosphorus input) Calculator Toolbox described in this paper is designed to address the consequences to Baltic Sea nutrient loads of the significant variation in agronomic practices and dietary preferences among European countries whose watersheds comprise the Baltic Sea basin. A primary objective of this work is to develop regional parameters and datasets for this budgeting tool. A previous version of the toolbox was applied to the entire contiguous United States to calculate NANI and its components (atmospheric N deposition, fertilizer N application, agricultural N fixation and N in net food and feed imports). Here, it is modified for application to the Baltic Sea catchments, where coastal watersheds from several countries are draining to international waters. A similar accounting approach is taken for calculating NAPI, which includes fertilizer P application, P in net food and feed imports and non-food use of P by human. Regional variation of NANI/NAPI parameters (agricultural fixation rates, human intake rates and livestock intake and excretion rates) are estimated, and their impact on the regional nutrient budget and the riverine nutrient flux is evaluated. There is a distinct north-to-south gradient in NANI and NAPI across the Baltic Sea catchments, and regional nutrient inputs are strongly related to riverine nutrient fluxes. Analysis of regional nutrient retention pattern indicates that, for some countries, compliance to the Baltic Sea Action Plan would imply enormous changes in the agricultural sector. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper investigates the first ever so-called 'macroregional strategy' developed under the aegis of the European Commission: the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). Through a drawing together of elements of actor-network theory and regionalization theory, it is argued that the adoption of the EUSBSR can be seen as a milestone within a wider process towards Baltic Sea regionalization, whereby the Baltic Sea region is increasingly 'solidified' through the positioning of the European Commission as a spokesperson for the interests of the region. It is further suggested that, if not seriously contested, the possible acceptance of the European Commission as a designated regional spokesperson might be a crucial step in a process whereby the soft space of the Baltic Sea Region may gradually become more formalized. Nonetheless, caution must be taken so as not to confuse degrees of formal institutional fixity with degrees of durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At first glance, present tourism in the southern Baltic Sea region could most likely be described as 'beach tourism'. Given that the beach is the main point of interest for the majority of coastal tourists, destinations largely rely on the potential of natural beaches. With more than 33 million overnight stays along the German Baltic coast in 2009 of which 70% refer to the beach as the main reason for choosing the destination, an effective management of beaches already today plays a decisive role for success. At present, predominant concerns of coastal communities are losses of sand caused by erosion and storm surges, and summery accumulations of beach wrack. They threaten the recreational use of beaches and are therefore driving elements in stakeholder discussions. In future, global influences such as climate change could be of additional influence. Impacts on a regional level are still being analyzed. Prospective favorable weather conditions in summer might further increase the number of visitors, and thus bring among new challenges also new economic possibilities. Based on these premises, ongoing national as well as European funded projects are conducting research on present and future influences on coastal tourism within the region. Parallel to identifying crucial issues for coastal destinations, relevant stakeholders are brought together in workshops and topical symposiums. Project work aims at initiating a participatory regional stakeholder network and enabling it to develop successful adaptation strategies to a variety of future challenges. In addition, studies on the perception of tourists are carried out and information brochures on climate change and other beach related aspects are devised. The paper summarizes recent results of the RADOST and BaltCICA projects and gives an overview on how current and future changes might affect coastal tourism at the German Baltic coast in the next decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Euroregions are administrative-territorial structures intended to promote cross-border cooperation between neighbouring local or regional authorities of different countries located along shared state borders. They are widely known tools of cooperation among the regions. Having integrated structures and their own financial resources, euroregions are able to address a variety of cross-border topics such as health, research and development, education and training, waste management, environmental protection, tourism and leisure, rescue and security, transport and communication infrastructure, mobility of people, and business cooperation. This paper explores the main characteristics and problems of euroregions as institutions in the Baltic Sea Region and especially in the regions bordering the Third countries. First, it describes euroregions; then it focuses on their compositions and roles and main issues confronting them with reference to the empirical research carried out among the thirty-five cross-border cooperating organisations. The new legal instrument for euroregions deserves special attention since it provides a basis under public law for decentralised trans-European cooperation between regional and/or local authorities. The article concludes with a discussion of the needs and associated development opportunities available to euroregions within the Baltic Sea Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates a possible long term investment path for the Nordic energy system focussing on renewable energy in the supply sector and on hydrogen as the main fuel for transportation, covering up to 70% of all transport in 2050. The optimisation model Balmorel [Ravn H, et al. Balmorel: A model for analyses of the electricity and CHP markets in the Baltic Sea Region. www.Balmorel.com ; 2001. ] covering the Nordic energy system is used. The model has been expanded to include the modelling of hydrogen production technologies, storage and hydrogen power plants. The simulation shows that with an oil price at 100 $/barrel, a price at and the assumed penetration of hydrogen in the transport sector, it is economically optimal to cover more than 95% of the primary energy consumption for electricity and district heat by renewables in 2050. When the transport sector is converted as assumed 65% of the transportation relies on renewable energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the situation where a large increase in trade and freight transport volumes in the Baltic Sea region (BSR) is expected and in which the BSR is facing a major economic restructuring, efforts to achieve more integrated and sustainable transport and communication links within the BSR are needed. One of these efforts is the development of logistics centres (LCs) and their networking, which will continue to have an impact on improving communication links, spatial planning practices and approaches, logistics chain development and the promotion of sustainable transport modes. These factors will reflect on logistics processes both in major gateway cities and in remote BSR areas. The importance of logistics systems as a whole is not seen clearly enough. Logistics actors see that logistics operations are not appreciated as much as other fields of activity. In addition, logistics centres and the importance of logistics activities to the business life of areas and the employment rate should be brought up better. In the paper main goal and tasks of national approach to LCs development are discussed. Strategic focus of new activities in this area is on the integration of various networks within and between logistics centres in order to improve and develop the quality of logistics networks as well as to spatially widen the networking activities. The key objectives are to integrate the links between logistics centres, ports and other logistics operators in a functional and sustainable way, to promote spatial integration by creating sustainable and integrated approaches to spatial planning of logistics centres and transport infrastructure, to improve ICT-based networking and communication practices of the fields of transport and logistics and to increase the competence of logistics centres and associated actors by organising educational and training events. The current activities include, for example, the creation of measures for transport networking and port modernisation, multimodal transport network strategies, integrated networks between ports, logistics centres and other operators, the better involvement of LCs in spatial planning and knowledge of the land use needs of the LCs, territorial impact assessments on selected transport corridors where logistics centres are located, the establishment of a common vision of the future spatial and environmental development along the transport corridors and LC-areas, the elimination of bottlenecks in port-hinterland-LC connections, the integration of telematics supported logistics networks based on identification and analysis of networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the reliability of power supply for a 330/750 kV electrical ring. Consideration is also given to the influence of emergency automatics on the maximum permissible power flows in different electrical connection points of the ring as well as to the application of reliability criterion (N-1) in the case of using the emergency automatics to limit post-accident power flows in these points. The authors discuss the role of operative and technological management in securing the power supply reliability. They also analyze situations with disconnection of major generation units and its influence on the blackout development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is focused on the development of the Baltic Sea region taking into account the new EU energy policy. The authors elucidate the current situation and the power system infrastructure projects of the region. For the economic analysis and optimization of the development plans a method is proposed that takes into account the outlooks for upcoming 20-50 years and the initial information uncertainty. The method makes possible estimation of the technically-economic state, including market conditions, for a given power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]