Search

In this article, we describe multiannual variations of the atmospheric aerosol optical depth values in the widely understood area of the Baltic Sea. We present the trends in the changes and depict unusual aerosol situations. As a result of analyses, we focus on 2019, since unusually high values of aerosol optical depth were recorded in several stations around the Baltic. We match the high aerosol levels with an unusually high number of wildfires across Europe in spring and summer, which emitted large quantities of aerosols into the atmosphere that were distributed over vast European areas in part by the wind. We then connect this case with the climate change consequences. Since aerosols influence the radiative budget of the planet by directly affecting the atmospheric radiation budget, it is obvious that human well-being is in danger due to wildfires, as well as from the atmospheric perspective. Climate change will lead to more frequent fires; thus, humans need to develop solutions to decrease the risk of fire outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1970s Baltic States apprehended that the Baltic Sea, a distinct marine region with grave environmental problems, called for an effective protective system. The initiatives of the Baltic States resulted in Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area which was signed on 22 March 1974. Material provisions of this convention, which came into force on 3 May 1980, and its shortcomings are analysed in Part 2 of this paper. In the light of political changes and developments in international environmental as well as maritime law, a new convention was signed in 1992 by all the states bordering the Baltic Sea as well as the European Community and it entered into force on 17 January 2000. The most important novelties of this convention as compared with the one signed in 1972 are described in Part 4 of this paper. Despite major improvements introduced by the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992, it failed to rectify some of the shortcomings inherited from its predecessor and reviewed in Part 5 of this paper. At the end of this paper certain conclusions as regards the sufficiency of the existing framework in order to achieve the objectives of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992, are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present paper is to propose and elaborate on the concept of Emerald Growth as a new framework concept for managing ecological quality and ecosystem services of transitional waters. The research approach combines the longstanding experience of the authors of this article in the investigation of transitional waters of Europe with an analysis of relevant European Union directives and a comparative case study of two European coastal lagoons. The concept includes and reassesses traditional knowledge of the environment of lagoons and estuaries as an engine for sustainable development, but also proposes locally tailored approaches for the renewal of these unique areas. The investigation results show that the Emerald Growth concept enables to extricate better specific management aspects of ecosystem services of transitional waters that fill-in the continuum between the terrestrial (Green Growth) and the maritime areas (Blue Growth). It results from adjusting of both Green Growth and Blue Growth concepts, drivers, indicators and planning approaches regarding durable ways of revitalising coastal communities and their prospects for sustainable development. We conclude that the Emerald Growth concept offers a suitable framework for better dealing with complex and complicated issues pertinent to the sustainable management of transitional waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is acknowledged that an incorrect age datum was used to construct the depth–age relationship for the lower part of the core in question, the conclusions of the paper, which related to salinity changes of the last 10 000 years, are unaffected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baltic Sea is one of the World's most oxygen‐depletes seas, so the region requires urgent mitigation measures to significantly reduce nitrogen and phosphorus inputs from land through rivers, which cannot be achieved without large‐scale restoration of wetland buffer zones. The manuscript summarizes the findings of the discrete choice experiment aimed at assessment of the preferences of Danish, German, and Polish citizens toward ecosystem services of lowland small rivers of the Baltic Sea basin. Our results suggest that respondents in all the studied countries are willing to pay substantial amounts to improve water quality in rivers and the Baltic Sea, as well as to restore naturally meandering rivers and natural riparian vegetation. Wild marshes and Wetland agriculture were equally valued as the most desirable options. Respondents systematically cared about the appearance of small rivers in their neighborhood. We conclude that re‐meandering, rewetting of floodplains, and restoration of wild marshes (i.e. natural wetland vegetation) or development of wetland agriculture could gain a lot of public support in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The sediment transport processes in the south-western Baltic Sea are predicted by means of a numerical model in the project DYNAS. There are two sediment parameters that influence the results of modelling remarkably: critical shear stress velocity and bottom roughness. This paper presents the way how to parameterise these factors and extrapolate them into the investigation area. The critical shear stress velocity is parameterised basing on grain size data, combining approximations after Hjulström [Hjulström, F., 1935: Studies in the morphological activity of rivers as illustrated by the river Fyris. Geological Institution of University of Uppsala: Bulletin (25): 221–528.], Shields [Shields, A., 1936: Anwendung der Ähnlichkeits-Mechanik und der Turbulenzforschung auf die Geschiebebewegung. Mitteilungen der Preussischen Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau und Schiffahrt (26): 26 pp.] and Bohling [Bohling, B., 2003: Untersuchungen zur Mobilität natürlicher und anthropogener Sedimente in der Mecklenburger Bucht. unpublished doctoral thesis, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald/Germany, 156 pp.]. The roughness length, in the case of absence of macro zoo-benthos and their structures, is parameterised basing on grain size too employing Soulsby [Soulsby, R.L., 1997: Dynamics of Marine Sands: a Manual for Practical Applications. London, Thomas Telford Publications. 249 pp.], Nielsen [Nielsen, P., 1983: Analytical determination of nearshore wave height variation due to refraction shoaling and friction. Coastal Engineering 7, 233–251.] and Yalin [Yalin, M.S., 1977: Mechanics of Sediment Transport. Pergamon Press, New York. 298 pp.]. No equivalent simple parameterisations for biologically caused bed roughness exist. Here, findings of Friedrichs [Friedrichs, M., 2004: Flow-induced effects of macro zoo-benthic structures on the near-bed sediment transport. Dissertation, Universität Rostock, 80 S.] and estimations by the DYNAS biologists group were combined in order to derive roughness lengths from abundance measurements of four previously selected key species which represent the originators of the dominating benthic structures at the sea floor in the south-western Baltic Sea. Critical shear stress velocity and bed roughness are known at few sample sites only. They were extrapolated into the larger investigation area using a proxy-target concept. The mean near bottom milieu (bathymetry, median grain size, salinity, oxygen) which was derived using results from numerical modelling serves as the proxy. Since the milieu parameters are measured at the sampling sites for which the target parameters have been determined, a combined hierarchical and supervised classification was employed to transfer the local knowledge into the unknown investigation area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Field studies in the framework of the EU funded BEEP project (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution in Marine Coastal Ecosystems, 2001–2004) aimed at validating and intercalibrating a battery of biomarkers of contaminant exposure and effects in selected indicator species in the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Seas. Major strategic goals of the BEEP project were the development of a sensitive and cost-efficient biological effects monitoring approach, delivery of information and advice to end-user groups, and the implementation of a network of biomarker researchers around Europe. Based on the main results obtained in the Baltic Sea component of the BEEP the present paper summarises and assesses the applicability of biomarkers for different regions and species in this sea area. Moreover, a general strategy and some practical considerations for the monitoring of biological effects in the Baltic Sea are outlined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The cumacean Nippoleucon hinumensis was recorded for the first time in Europe during a national monitoring survey of macrozoobenthos in the German Baltic Sea in April 2019. In total, five female individuals were found in the Strelasund near Stralsund, Germany. Nippoleucon hinumensis is native to the northwest Pacific and a successful invader of the American west coast since the 1970s. Since ovigerous females were detected among the collected individuals, N. hinumensis might have already reproduced successfully in the Baltic Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of future forests in global biogeochemical cycles will depend on how different tree species respond to climate. Interpreting the response of forest growth to climate change requires an understanding of the temporal and spatial patterns of seasonal climatic influences on the growth of common tree species. We constructed a new network of 310 tree‐ring width chronologies from three common tree species (Quercus robur, Pinus sylvestris and Fagus sylvatica) collected for different ecological, management and climate purposes in the south Baltic Sea region at the border of three bioclimatic zones (temperate continental, oceanic, southern boreal). The major climate factors (temperature, precipitation, drought) affecting tree growth at monthly and seasonal scales were identified. Our analysis documents that 20th century Scots pine and deciduous species growth is generally controlled by different climate parameters, and that summer moisture availability is increasingly important for the growth of deciduous species examined. We report changes in the influence of winter climate variables over the last decades, where a decreasing influence of late winter temperature on deciduous tree growth and an increasing influence of winter temperature on Scots pine growth was found. By comparing climate–growth responses for the 1943–1972 and 1973–2002 periods and characterizing site‐level growth response stability, a descriptive application of spatial segregation analysis distinguished sites with stable responses to dominant climate parameters (northeast of the study region), and sites that collectively showed unstable responses to winter climate (southeast of the study region). The findings presented here highlight the temporally unstable and nonuniform responses of tree growth to climate variability, and that there are geographical coherent regions where these changes are similar. Considering continued climate change in the future, our results provide important regional perspectives on recent broad‐scale climate–growth relationships for trees across the temperate to boreal forest transition around the south Baltic Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neudarss cuspate foreland is one of the largest beach ridge plains in Europe. It comprises about 140 beach ridges which can be divided into eight ridge sets from morphological criteria, trends in course and advance as well as erosional discontinuities. The reconstruction of the foreland's evolution is based on the dating of 33 samples from 14 sites by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and three additional datings on the basis of historical maps and aerial images. The derived progradation model shows variations in the progradation rate which are consistent with past climate and sea‐level changes. Cool (warm) periods correlate with decreased (increased) progradation rates. Both area and volume growth of the ridge sets vary in the same direction. We conclude that the progradation rate is predominantly controlled by the sediment supply which in turn depends on sea‐level variations and wind‐driven wave action. The development of the plain's relief during the last 1000 years is compared with detailed climate parameter reconstructions. The Medieval Warm Period and several phases of the Little Ice Age can clearly be traced in the morphology, thus allowing conclusions concerning predominant wind direction and aeolian activity also on smaller time scales. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The development of one of the largest beach ridge plains in Europe (Neudarss, Southern Baltic), originating about 600 BCE, is reconstructed by means of extensive OSL dating, linking the dynamics of the plain's progradation and changes in the ridge morphology to climate and sea‐level changes on multi‐centennial to multi‐decadal time scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences is the property of Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a study on male bias among adult Common Eiders in Europe. Sex ratio of hatched eider ducklings and the sex ratio of ducklings that are found dead prior to fledging in a wild and free-ranging population were studied to evaluate the origin of male bias. The sex ratio of hatched ducklings was recorded not deviating from equal 50% females, n = 418, while the sex ratio of duckling carcasses was 59%, n = 118. The comparison suggests that the survival of female ducklings is lower than the male, thus suggesting that the adult male bias found in ducks are said to have already established at the early phases of life, despite an equal sex ratio at hatching.

The mysid crustacean Hemimysis anomala (‘bloody-red shrimp’) is one of the most recent participants in the invasion of European inland waters by Ponto-Caspian species. Recently the species also became established in England and the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. Using information from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene sequences, we traced the invasion pathways of H. anomala; the inferences were enabled by the observed phylogeographical subdivision among the source area populations in the estuaries of the Ponto-Caspian basin. The data distinguish two routes to northern and western Europe used by distinct lineages. One route has been to and through the Baltic Sea and further to the Rhine delta, probably from a population intentionally introduced to a Lithuanian water reservoir from the lower Dnieper River (NW Black Sea area) in 1960. The other lineage is derived from the Danube delta and has spread across the continent up the Danube River and further through the Main–Danube canal down to the Rhine River delta. Only the Danube lineage was found in England and in North America. The two lineages appear to have met secondarily and are now found intermixed at several sites in NW Europe, including the Rhine and waters linked with the man-made Mittellandkanal that interconnects the Rhine and Baltic drainage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]