Robinson Hordoir

modeling the combined impact of changing climate and changing nutrient loads on the baltic sea environment in an ensemble of transient simulations for 1961 2099

The combined future impacts of climate change and industrial and agricultural practices in the Baltic Sea catchment on the Baltic Sea ecosystem were assessed. For this purpose 16 transient simulations for 1961–2099 using a coupled physical-biogeochemical model of the Baltic Sea were performed. Four climate scenarios were combined with four nutrient load scenarios ranging from a pessimistic business-as-usual to a more optimistic case following the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Annual and seasonal mean changes of climate parameters and ecological quality indicators describing the environmental status of the Baltic Sea like bottom oxygen, nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations and Secchi depths were studied. Assuming present-day nutrient concentrations in the rivers, nutrient loads from land increase during the twenty first century in all investigated scenario simulations due to increased volume flows caused by increased net precipitation in the Baltic catchment area. In addition, remineralization rates increase due to increased water temperatures causing enhanced nutrient flows from the sediments. Cause-and-effect studies suggest that both processes may play an important role for the biogeochemistry of eutrophicated seas in future climate partly counteracting nutrient load reduction efforts like the BSAP.

Impact of Climate Change on Ecological Quality Indicators and Biogeochemical Fluxes in the Baltic Sea: A Multi-Model Ensemble Study

Multi-model ensemble simulations using three coupled physical–biogeochemical models were performed to calculate the combined impact of projected future climate change and plausible nutrient load changes on biogeochemical cycles in the Baltic Sea. Climate projections for 1961–2099 were combined with four nutrient load scenarios ranging from a pessimistic business-as-usual to a more optimistic case following the Helsinki Commission′s (HELCOM) Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). The model results suggest that in a future climate, water quality, characterized by ecological quality indicators like winter nutrient, summer bottom oxygen, and annual mean phytoplankton concentrations as well as annual mean Secchi depth (water transparency), will be deteriorated compared to present conditions. In case of nutrient load reductions required by the BSAP, water quality is only slightly improved. Based on the analysis of biogeochemical fluxes, we find that in warmer and more anoxic waters, internal feedbacks could be reinforced. Increased phosphorus fluxes out of the sediments, reduced denitrification efficiency and increased nitrogen fixation may partly counteract nutrient load abatement strategies.

Effect of climate change on the thermal stratification of the baltic sea: a sensitivity experiment

The evolution in time of the thermal vertical stratification of the Baltic Sea in future climate is studied using a 3D ocean model. Comparing periods at the end of the twentieth and twenty first centuries we found a strong increase in stratification at the bottom of the mixed layer in the northern Baltic Sea. In order to understand the causes of this increase, a sensitivity analysis is performed. We found that the increased vertical stratification is explained by a major change in re-stratification during spring solely caused by the increase of the mean temperature. As in present climate winter temperatures in the Baltic are often below the temperature of maximum density, warming causes thermal convection. Re-stratification during the beginning of spring is then triggered by the spreading of freshwater. This process is believed to be important for the onset of the spring bloom. In future climate, temperatures are expected to be usually higher than the temperature of maximum density and thermally induced stratification will start without prior thermal convection. Thus, freshwater controlled re-stratification during spring is not an important process anymore. We employed a simple box model and used sensitivity experiments with the 3D ocean model to delineate the processes involved and to quantify the impact of changing freshwater supply on the thermal stratification in the Baltic Sea. It is suggested that these stratification changes may have an important impact on vertical nutrient fluxes and the intensity of the spring bloom in future climate of the Baltic Sea.

Seascape analysis reveals regional gene flow patterns among populations of a marine planktonic diatom

We investigated the gene flow of the common marine diatom, Skeletonema marinoi, in Scandinavian waters and tested the null hypothesis of panmixia. Sediment samples were collected from the Danish Straits, Kattegat and Skagerrak. Individual strains were established from germinated resting stages. A total of 350 individuals were genotyped by eight microsatellite markers. Conventional F-statistics showed significant differentiation between the samples. We therefore investigated whether the genetic structure could be explained using genetic models based on isolation by distance (IBD) or by oceanographic connectivity. Patterns of oceanographic circulation are seasonally dependent and therefore we estimated how well local oceanographic connectivity explains gene flow month by month. We found no significant relationship between genetic differentiation and geographical distance. Instead, the genetic structure of this dominant marine primary producer is best explained by local oceanographic connectivity promoting gene flow in a primarily south to north direction throughout the year. Oceanographic data were consistent with the significant FST values between several pairs of samples. Because even a small amount of genetic exchange prevents the accumulation of genetic differences in F-statistics, we hypothesize that local retention at each sample site, possibly as resting stages, is an important component in explaining the observed genetic structure.

Influence of sea level rise on the dynamics of salt inflows in the Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a marginal sea, located in a highly industrialized region in Central Northern Europe. Saltwater inflows from the North Sea and associated ventilation of the deep exert crucial control on the entire Baltic Sea ecosystem. This study explores the impact of anticipated sea level changes on the dynamics of those inflows. We use a numerical oceanic general circulation model covering both the Baltic and the North Sea. The model successfully retraces the essential ventilation dynamics throughout the period 1961–2007. A suite of idealized experiments suggests that rising sea level is associated with intensified ventilation as saltwater inflows become stronger, longer, and more frequent. Expressed quantitatively as a salinity increase in the deep central Baltic Sea, we find that a sea level rise of 1 m triggers a saltening of more than 1 PSU. This substantial increase in ventilation is the consequence of the increasing cross section in the Danish Straits amplified by a reduction of vertical mixing

Tracing terrestrial DOC in the Baltic Sea ‐ a 3‐D model study

The fate of terrestrial organic matter brought to the coastal seas by rivers and its role in the global carbon cycle are still not very well known. Here the degradation rate of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOCter) is studied in the Baltic Sea, a subarctic semienclosed sea, by releasing it as a tracer in a 3-D circulation model and applying linear decay constants. A good agreement with available observational data is obtained by parameterizing the degradation in two rather different ways: one by applying a decay time on the order of 10years to the whole pool of DOCter and one by dividing the DOCter into onerefractory pool and one pool subject to a decay time on the order of 1year. The choice ofparameterization has asignificant effect on where in the Baltic Sea the removal takes place, which can be of importance whenmodeling the full carbon cycle and the CO2 exchange with the atmosphere. In both cases the biogeochemical decayoperates on time scales less than the water residence time. Therefore, only a minor fraction of the DOCter reaches the North Sea, whereas approximately 80% is removed by internal sinks within the Baltic Sea. This further implies that DOCter mineralization is an important link in land-sea-atmosphere cycling of carbon in coastal and shelf seas that are heavily influenced by riverine DOC.

Baltic Sea ecosystem response to various nutrient load scenarios in present and future climates

The Baltic Sea is a shallow, semi-enclosed brackish sea suffering like many other coastal seas from eutrophication caused by human impact. Hence, nutrient load abatement strategies are intensively discussed. With the help of a high-resolution, coupled physical-biogeochemical circulation model we investigate the combined impact of changing nutrient loads from land and changing climate during the 21st century as projected from a global climate model regionalized to the Baltic Sea region. Novel compared to previous studies are an extraordinary spin-up based upon historical reconstructions of atmospheric, nutrient load and runoff forcing, revised nutrient load scenarios and a comparison of nutrient load scenario simulations with and without changing climate. We found in almost all scenario simulations, with differing nutrient inputs, reduced eutrophication and improved ecological state compared to the reference period 1976–2005. This result is a long-lasting consequence of ongoing nutrient load reductions since the 1980s. Only in case of combined high-end nutrient load and climate scenarios, eutrophication is reinforced. Differences compared to earlier studies are explained by the experimental setup including nutrient loads during the historical period and by the projected nutrient loads. We found that the impact of warming climate may amplify the effects of eutrophication and primary production. However, effects of changing climate, within the range of considered greenhouse gas emission scenarios, are smaller than effects of considered nutrient load changes, in particular under low nutrient conditions. Hence, nutrient load reductions following the Baltic Sea Action Plan will lead to improved environmental conditions independently of future climate change.