Effects of strengthening the Baltic Sea ECA regulations

Abstract. Emissions of most land based air pollutants in western Europe have decreased in the last decades. Over the same period emissions from shipping have also decreased, but with large differences depending on species and sea area. At sea, sulphur emissions in the SECAs (Sulphur Emission Control Areas) have decreased following the implementation of a 0.1 % limit on sulphur in marine fuels from 2015. In Europe the North Sea and the Baltic Sea are designated as SECAs by the International maritime Organisation (IMO). Model calculations assuming present (2016) and future (2030) emissions have been made with the regional scale EMEP model covering Europe and the sea areas surrounding Europe including the North Atlantic east of 30 degrees west. The main focus in this paper is on the effects of ship emissions from the Baltic Sea. To reduce the influence of meteorological variability, all model calculations are presented as averages for 3 meteorological years (2014, 2015, 2016). For the Baltic Sea, model calculations have also been made with higher sulphur emissions representative of year 2014 emissions. From Baltic Sea shipping the largest effects are calculated for NO2 in air, but effects are also seen for PM2.5 and depositions of oxidised nitrogen, mainly in coastal zones close to the main shipping lanes. As a result country averaged contributions from ships are small for large countries that extend far inland like Germany and Poland, and larger for smaller countries like Denmark and the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where ship emissions are among the largest contributors to concentrations and depositions of anthropogenic origin. Following the implementations of stricter SECA regulations, sulphur emissions from ships in the Baltic Sea shipping now have virtually no effects on PM2.5 concentrations and sulphur depositions in the Baltic Sea region. Following the expected reductions in European emissions, model calculated NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations, depositions of oxidised nitrogen, and partially also surface ozone levels, in the Baltic Sea region are expected to decrease in the next decade. Parts of these reductions are caused by reductions in the Baltic Sea ship emissions mainly as a result of the Baltic Sea being defined as a Nitrogen Emission Control Area from 2021.

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Effects of strengthening the Baltic Sea ECA regulations

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-19-13469-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (21) ◽

pp. 13469-13487 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jan Eiof Jonson ◽

Michael Gauss ◽

Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen ◽

Lasse Johansson

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Coastal Zones ◽

Ship Emissions ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Model Calculations ◽

The North ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The Baltic ◽

Sulfur Emissions

Abstract. Emissions of most land-based air pollutants in western Europe have decreased in the last decades. Over the same period emissions from shipping have also decreased, but with large differences depending on species and sea area. At sea, sulfur emissions in the SECAs (Sulphur Emission Control Areas) have decreased following the implementation of a 0.1 % limit on sulfur in marine fuels from 2015. In Europe the North Sea and the Baltic Sea are designated as SECAs by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Model calculations assuming present (2016) and future (2030) emissions have been made with the regional-scale EMEP model covering Europe and the sea areas surrounding Europe, including the North Atlantic east of 30∘ W. The main focus in this paper is on the effects of ship emissions from the Baltic Sea. To reduce the influence of meteorological variability, all model calculations are presented as averages for 3 meteorological years (2014, 2015, 2016). For the Baltic Sea, model calculations have also been made with higher sulfur emissions representative of year 2014 emissions. From Baltic Sea shipping the largest effects are calculated for NO2 in air, accounting for more than 50 % of the NO2 concentrations in central parts of the Baltic Sea. In coastal zones contributions to NO2 and also nitrogen depositions can be of the order of 20 % in some regions. Smaller effects, up to 5 %–10 %, are also seen for PM2.5 in coastal zones close to the main shipping lanes. Country-averaged contributions from ships are small for large countries that extend far inland like Germany and Poland, and larger for smaller countries like Denmark and the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, where ship emissions are among the largest contributors to concentrations and depositions of anthropogenic origin. Following the implementations of stricter SECA regulations, sulfur emissions from Baltic Sea shipping now have virtually no effects on PM2.5 concentrations and sulfur depositions in the Baltic Sea region. Adding to the expected reductions in air pollutants and depositions following the projected reductions in European emissions, we expect that the contributions from Baltic Sea shipping to NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations, and to depositions of nitrogen, will be reduced by 40 %–50 % from 2016 to 2030 mainly as a result of the Baltic Sea being defined as a Nitrogen Emission Control Area from 2021. In most parts of the Baltic Sea region ozone levels are expected to decrease from 2016 to 2030. For the Baltic Sea shipping, titration, mainly in winter, and production, mainly in summer, partially compensate. As a result the effects of Baltic Sea shipping on ozone are similar in 2016 and 2030.

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Model calculations of the effects of present and future emissions of air pollutants from shipping in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-14-21943-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (15) ◽

pp. 21943-21974 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

J. E. Jonson ◽

J. P. Jalkanen ◽

L. Johansson ◽

M. Gauss ◽

H. A. C. Denier van der Gon

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

North Sea ◽

Years Of Life Lost ◽

Ship Emissions ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Model Calculations ◽

The North ◽

Before And After ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Baltic

Abstract. Land-based emissions of air pollutants in Europe have steadily decreased over the past two decades, and this decrease is expected to continue. Within the same time span emissions from shipping have increased, although recently sulphur emissions, and subsequently particle emissions, have decreased in EU ports and in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, defined as SECAs (Sulphur Emission Control Areas). The maximum allowed sulphur content in marine fuels in EU ports is now 0.1%, as required by the European Union sulphur directive. In the SECAs the maximum fuel content of sulphur is currently 1% (the global average is about 2.4%). This will be reduced to 0.1% from 2015, following the new IMO rules (International Maritime Organisation). In order to assess the effects of ship emissions in and around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, regional model calculations with the EMEP air pollution model have been made on a 1/4° longitude × 1/8° latitude resolution, using ship emissions in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea that are based on accurate ship positioning data. The effects on depositions and air pollution and the resulting number of years of life lost (YOLL) have been calculated by comparing model calculations with and without ship emissions in the two sea areas. The calculations have been made with emissions representative of 2009 and 2011, i.e. before and after the implementation of stricter controls on sulphur emissions from mid 2010. The calculations with present emissions show that per person, an additional 0.1–0.2 years of life lost is estimated in areas close to the major ship tracks with present emission levels. Comparisons of model calculations with emissions before and after the implementation of stricter emission control on sulphur show a general decrease in calculated particle concentration. At the same time, however, an increase in ship activity has resulted in higher emissions and subsequently air concentrations, in particular of NOx, especially in and around several major ports. Additional model calculations have been made with land based and ship emissions representative of year 2030. Following a decrease in emissions, air quality is expected to improve, and depositions to be reduced. Particles from shipping are expected to decrease as a result of emission controls in the SECAs. Further controls of NOx emissions from shipping are not decided, and calculations are presented with and without such controls.

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Model calculations of the effects of present and future emissions of air pollutants from shipping in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-15-783-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 783-798 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

J. E. Jonson ◽

J. P. Jalkanen ◽

L. Johansson ◽

M. Gauss ◽

H. A. C. Denier van der Gon

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

North Sea ◽

Years Of Life Lost ◽

Ship Emissions ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Model Calculations ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Baltic ◽

Sulfur Emissions

Abstract. Land-based emissions of air pollutants in Europe have steadily decreased over the past two decades, and this decrease is expected to continue. Within the same time span emissions from shipping have increased in EU ports and in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, defined as SECAs (sulfur emission control areas), although recently sulfur emissions, and subsequently particle emissions, have decreased. The maximum allowed sulfur content in marine fuels in EU ports is now 0.1%, as required by the European Union sulfur directive. In the SECAs the maximum fuel content of sulfur is currently 1% (the global average is about 2.4%). This will be reduced to 0.1% from 2015, following the new International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules. In order to assess the effects of ship emissions in and around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, regional model calculations with the EMEP air pollution model have been made on a 1/4° longitude × 1/8° latitude resolution, using ship emissions in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea that are based on accurate ship positioning data. The effects on depositions and air pollution and the resulting number of years of life lost (YOLLs) have been calculated by comparing model calculations with and without ship emissions in the two sea areas. In 2010 stricter regulations for sulfur emissions were implemented in the two sea areas, reducing the maximum sulfur content allowed in marine fuels from 1.5 to 1%. In addition ships were required to use fuels with 0.1 % sulfur in EU harbours. The calculations have been made with emissions representative of 2009 and 2011, i.e. before and after the implementation of the stricter controls on sulfur emissions from 2010. The calculations with present emissions show that per person, an additional 0.1–0.2 years of life lost is estimated in areas close to the major ship tracks with current emission levels. Comparisons of model calculations with emissions before and after the implementation of stricter emission control on sulfur show a general decrease in calculated particle concentration. At the same time, however, an increase in ship activity has resulted in higher emissions of other components, and subsequently air concentrations, in particular of NOx, especially in and around several major ports. Additional model calculations have been made with land-based and ship emissions representative of year 2030. Following a decrease in emissions from all sectors, air quality is expected to improve, and depositions to be reduced. Particles from shipping are expected to decrease as a result of emission controls in the SECAs. Further controls of NOx emissions from shipping are not decided, and calculations are presented with and without such controls.

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Impact of a nitrogen emission control area (NECA) on the future air quality and nitrogen deposition to seawater in the Baltic Sea region

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-19-1721-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 1721-1752 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Matthias Karl ◽

Johannes Bieser ◽

Beate Geyer ◽

Volker Matthias ◽

Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

Nitrogen Deposition ◽

Fuel Efficiency ◽

Control Area ◽

Nox Emissions ◽

Ship Emissions ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The Baltic

Abstract. Air pollution due to shipping is a serious concern for coastal regions in Europe. Shipping emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in air over the Baltic Sea are of similar magnitude (330 kt yr−1) as the combined land-based NOx emissions from Finland and Sweden in all emission sectors. Deposition of nitrogen compounds originating from shipping activities contribute to eutrophication of the Baltic Sea and coastal areas in the Baltic Sea region. For the North Sea and the Baltic Sea a nitrogen emission control area (NECA) will become effective in 2021; in accordance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) target of reducing NOx emissions from ships. Future scenarios for 2040 were designed to study the effect of enforced and planned regulation of ship emissions and the fuel efficiency development on air quality and nitrogen deposition. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was used to simulate the current and future air quality situation. The meteorological fields, the emissions from ship traffic and the emissions from land-based sources were considered at a grid resolution of 4×4 km2 for the Baltic Sea region in nested CMAQ simulations. Model simulations for the present-day (2012) air quality show that shipping emissions are the major contributor to atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations over the Baltic Sea. In the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, with the introduction of the NECA, NOx emissions from ship traffic in the Baltic Sea are reduced by about 80 % in 2040. An approximate linear relationship was found between ship emissions of NOx and the simulated levels of annual average NO2 over the Baltic Sea in the year 2040, when following different future shipping scenarios. The burden of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) over the Baltic Sea region is predicted to decrease by 35 %–37 % between 2012 and 2040. The reduction in PM2.5 is larger over sea, where it drops by 50 %–60 % along the main shipping routes, and is smaller over the coastal areas. The introduction of NECA is critical for reducing ship emissions of NOx to levels that are low enough to sustainably dampen ozone (O3) production in the Baltic Sea region. A second important effect of the NECA over the Baltic Sea region is the reduction in secondary formation of particulate nitrate. This lowers the ship-related PM2.5 by 72 % in 2040 compared to the present day, while it is reduced by only 48 % without implementation of the NECA. The effect of a lower fuel efficiency development on the absolute ship contribution of air pollutants is limited. Still, the annual mean ship contributions in 2040 to NO2, sulfur dioxide and PM2.5 and daily maximum O3 are significantly higher if a slower fuel efficiency development is assumed. Nitrogen deposition to the seawater of the Baltic Sea decreases on average by 40 %–44 % between 2012 and 2040 in the simulations. The effect of the NECA on nitrogen deposition is most significant in the western part of the Baltic Sea. It will be important to closely monitor compliance of individual ships with the enforced and planned emission regulations.

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Ship emissions and the use of current air cleaning technology: contributions to air pollution and acidification in the Baltic Sea

Earth System Dynamics ◽

10.5194/esd-8-901-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 901-919 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Björn Claremar ◽

Karin Haglund ◽

Anna Rutgersson

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Deposition ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

Sulfur Content ◽

Dry Deposition ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Wet Deposition ◽

Ship Emissions ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Model Calculations ◽

The Baltic

Abstract. The shipping sector is a significant contributor to emissions of air pollutants in marine and coastal regions. In order to achieve sustainable shipping, primarily through new regulations and techniques, greater knowledge of dispersion and deposition of air pollutants is required. Regional model calculations of the dispersion and concentration of sulfur, nitrogen, and particulate matter, as well as deposition of oxidized sulfur and nitrogen from the international maritime sector in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, have been made for the years 2011 to 2013. The contribution from shipping is highest along shipping lanes and near large ports for concentration and dry deposition. Sulfur is the most important pollutant coupled to shipping. The contribution of both SO2 concentration and dry deposition of sulfur represented up to 80 % of the total in some regions. WHO guidelines for annual concentrations were not trespassed for any analysed pollutant, other than PM2.5 in the Netherlands, Belgium, and central Poland. However, due to the resolution of the numerical model, 50 km  ×  50 km, there may be higher concentrations locally close to intense shipping lanes. Wet deposition is more spread and less sensitive to model resolution. The contribution of wet deposition of sulfur and nitrogen from shipping was up to 30 % of the total wet deposition. Comparison of simulated to measured concentration at two coastal stations close to shipping lanes showed some underestimations and missed maximums, probably due to resolution of the model and underestimated ship emissions. A change in regulation for maximum sulfur content in maritime fuel, in 2015 from 1 to 0.1 %, decreases the atmospheric sulfur concentration and deposition significantly. However, due to costs related to refining, the cleaning of exhausts through scrubbers has become a possible economic solution. Open-loop scrubbers meet the air quality criteria but their consequences for the marine environment are largely unknown. The resulting potential of future acidification in the Baltic Sea, both from atmospheric deposition and from scrubber water along the shipping lanes, based on different assumptions about sulfur content in fuel, scrubber usage, and increased shipping density has been assessed. The increase in deposition for different shipping and scrubber scenarios differs for the basins in the Baltic Sea, with highest potential of acidification in the southern basins with high traffic. The proportion of ocean-acidifying sulfur from ships increases when taking scrubber water into account and the major reason for increasing acidifying nitrogen from ships is increasing ship traffic. Also, with the implementation of emission control for nitrogen, the effect of scrubbers on acidification is evident. This study also generates a database of shipping and scrubber scenarios for atmospheric deposition and scrubber exhaust from the period 2011 to 2050.

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Impact of a nitrogen emission control area (NECA) on the future air quality and nitrogen deposition to seawater in the Baltic Sea region

10.5194/acp-2018-1107 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthias Karl ◽

Johannes Bieser ◽

Beate Geyer ◽

Volker Matthias ◽

Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

Nitrogen Deposition ◽

Fuel Efficiency ◽

Nox Emissions ◽

Ship Emissions ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Nitrogen Emission ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The Baltic

Abstract. Air pollution due to shipping is a serious concern for coastal regions in Europe. Shipping emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) to air on the Baltic Sea are of similar magnitude (330 kt y−1) as the combined land-based NOx emissions from Finland and Sweden in all emission sectors. Deposition of nitrogen compounds originating from shipping activities contribute to eutrophication of the Baltic Sea and coastal areas in the Baltic Sea region. For the North Sea and the Baltic Sea a nitrogen emission control area (NECA) will become effective in 2021; in accordance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) target of reducing NOx emissions from ships. Future scenarios for 2040 were designed to study the effect of enforced and planned regulation of ship emissions and the fuel efficiency development on air quality and nitrogen deposition. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was used to simulate the current and future air quality situation. The meteorological fields, the emissions from ship traffic and the emissions from land-based sources were considered at a grid resolution of 4 × 4 km2 for the Baltic Sea region in nested CMAQ simulations. Model simulations for the present-day (2012) air quality show that shipping emissions are the major contributor to atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations over the Baltic Sea. In the business as usual (BAU) scenario, with the introduction of the NECA, NOx emissions from ship traffic in the Baltic Sea are reduced by about 80 % in 2040. An approximate linear relationship was found between ship emissions of NOx and the simulated levels of annual average NO2 over the Baltic Sea in year 2040, when following different future shipping scenarios. The burden of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) over the Baltic Sea region is predicted to decrease by 35–37 % between 2012 and 2040. The reduction of PM2.5 is larger over sea, where it drops by 50–60 % along the main shipping routes, and smaller over the coastal areas. The introduction of NECA is critical for reducing ship emissions of NOx to levels that are low enough to sustainably dampen ozone (O3) production in the Baltic Sea region. A second important effect of the NECA over the Baltic Sea region is the reduction of secondary formation of particulate nitrate. This lowers the ship-related PM2.5 by 72 % in 2040 compared to present-day, while it is reduced by only 48 % without implementation of the NECA. The effect of a lower fuel efficiency development on the absolute ship contribution of air pollutants is limited. Still, the annual mean ship contributions in 2040 to NO2, sulphur dioxide and PM2.5 and daily maximum O3 is significantly higher if a slower fuel efficiency development is assumed. Nitrogen deposition to the seawater of the Baltic Sea decreases on average by 40–44 % between 2012 and 2040 in the simulations. The effect of the NECA on nitrogen deposition is most significant in the western part of the Baltic Sea. It will be important to closely monitor compliance of individual ships with the planned nitrogen emission regulations.

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Constraints on ship NO<sub>x</sub> emissions in Europe using GEOS-Chem and OMI satellite NO<sub>2</sub> observations

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-14-1353-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 1353-1369 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

G. C. M. Vinken ◽

K. F. Boersma ◽

A. van Donkelaar ◽

L. Zhang

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

North Sea ◽

Emission Inventory ◽

Bay Of Biscay ◽

Ship Emissions ◽

Top Down ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Baltic

Abstract. We present a top-down ship NOx emission inventory for the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea based on satellite-observed tropospheric NO2 columns of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) for 2005–2006. We improved the representation of ship emissions in the GEOS-Chem chemistry transport model, and compared simulated NO2 columns to consistent satellite observations. Relative differences between simulated and observed NO2 columns have been used to constrain ship emissions in four European seas (the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea) using a mass-balance approach, and accounting for non-linear sensitivities to changing emissions in both model and satellite retrieval. These constraints are applied to 39 % of total top-down European ship NOx emissions, which amount to 0.96 Tg N for 2005, and 1.0 Tg N for 2006 (11–15% lower than the bottom-up EMEP ship emission inventory). Our results indicate that EMEP emissions in the Mediterranean Sea are too high (by 60%) and misplaced by up to 150 km, which can have important consequences for local air quality simulations. In the North Sea ship track, our top-down emissions amount to 0.05 Tg N for 2005 (35% lower than EMEP). Increased top-down emissions were found for the Baltic Sea and the Bay of Biscay ship tracks, with totals in these tracks of 0.05 Tg N (131% higher than EMEP) and 0.08 Tg N for 2005 (128% higher than EMEP), respectively. Our study explicitly accounts for the (non-linear) sensitivity of satellite retrievals to changes in the a priori NO2 profiles, as satellite observations are never fully independent of model information (i.e. assumptions on vertical NO2 profiles). Our study provides for the first time a space-based, top-down ship NOx emission inventory, and can serve as a framework for future studies to constrain ship emissions using satellite NO2 observations in other seas.

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Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region: A Summary

10.5194/esd-2021-67 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

H. E. Markus Meier ◽

Madline Kniebusch ◽

Christian Dieterich ◽

Matthias Gröger ◽

Eduardo Zorita ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

Food Web ◽

North Sea ◽

Earth System ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

The North ◽

Baltic Sea Region ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Baltic

Abstract. Based on the Baltic Earth Assessment Reports of this thematic issue in Earth System Dynamics and recent peer-reviewed literature, current knowledge about the effects of global warming on past and future changes in climate of the Baltic Sea region is summarized and assessed. The study is an update of the Second Assessment of Climate Change (BACC II) published in 2015 and focusses on the atmosphere, land, cryosphere, ocean, sediments and the terrestrial and marine biosphere. Based on the summaries of the recent knowledge gained in paleo-, historical and future regional climate research, we find that the main conclusions from earlier assessments remain still valid. However, new long-term, homogenous observational records, e.g. for Scandinavian glacier inventories, sea-level driven saltwater inflows, so-called Major Baltic Inflows, and phytoplankton species distribution and new scenario simulations with improved models, e.g. for glaciers, lake ice and marine food web, have become available. In many cases, uncertainties can now be better estimated than before, because more models can be included in the ensembles, especially for the Baltic Sea. With the help of coupled models, feedbacks between several components of the Earth System have been studied and multiple driver studies were performed, e.g. projections of the food web that include fisheries, eutrophication and climate change. New data sets and projections have led to a revised understanding of changes in some variables such as salinity. Furthermore, it has become evident that natural variability, in particular for the ocean on multidecadal time scales, is greater than previously estimated, challenging our ability to detect observed and projected changes in climate. In this context, the first paleoclimate simulations regionalized for the Baltic Sea region are instructive. Hence, estimated uncertainties for the projections of many variables increased. In addition to the well-known influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation, it was found that also other low-frequency modes of internal variability, such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, have profound effects on the climate of the Baltic Sea region. Challenges were also identified, such as the systematic discrepancy between future cloudiness trends in global and regional models and the difficulty of confidently attributing large observed changes in marine ecosystems to climate change. Finally, we compare our results with other coastal sea assessments, such as the North Sea Region Climate Change Assessment (NOSCCA) and find that the effects of climate change on the Baltic Sea differ from those on the North Sea, since Baltic Sea oceanography and ecosystems are very different from other coastal seas such as the North Sea. While the North Sea dynamics is dominated by tides, the Baltic Sea is characterized by brackish water, a perennial vertical stratification in the southern sub-basins and a seasonal sea ice cover in the northern sub-basins.

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