Satellite Remote Sensing Signatures of the Major Baltic Inflows

Abstract

The exchange of water between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea includes three main components. These are: 1) outflow of the low-salinity Baltic Sea water into the North Sea due to the surplus freshwater input from rivers and net precipitation; 2) episodic inflows forced by the baroclinic pressure gradient linked to the salinity difference between the Kattegat (34) and the Arkona Basin (8); 3) occasional barotropic inflows occurring when the sea level difference between the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea becomes large. When these sporadic inflows exceed 100 km3 of water they are classified as the Major Baltic Inflows (MBIs). The MBIs but have a fundamental influence on the state of the Baltic Sea, including the stratification of waters and conditions for life, particularly in the deep basins.