WP C-Cluster: Spatial river basin – coast – sea interaction
Nutrient loads from river basins control the quality of our coastal ecosystems and the status of the Baltic Sea. This knowledge is reflected e.g. in Helcom documents or the European WFD and integrated River basin – coast – sea management approaches shall be implemented. In detail our knowledge is incomplete and our approaches remain general. We do not know how climate change will affect the different Baltic river basins, the riverine nutrient loads and what the consequence for the quality of coastal waters and the Baltic Sea will be. Estuaries and lagoons play an important role. Our approach covers the entire Baltic and is supplemented by detailed regional studies. We have chosen case studies where important rivers basins are linked to large lagoons (Oder/Odra and Curonian lagoon). These systems belong to the quantitatively most important sinks and transformers for loads towards the Baltic Sea.
| WP | Title and Aim | Responsible PI | Partners |
| C.1 |
Spatial data of Baltic river basins Provision of spatial data in the river basins |
Markus Venohr (IGB) |
IGB, IOW, ITZ, CORPI |
| C.2 |
Future scenarios considering climate change and change in land use Scenario analyses on impacts of climate change and changes in land usage patterns on nutrient land sea fluxes from the Baltic Sea catchment |
Christoph Humborg (ITM) | ITM, IOW, CORPI, IGB, ARI |
| C.3 |
Detailed river basin scenario studies Application of three future nutrient-load scenarios for the Oder/Odra river basins regarding a) climate change, b) a good status in all rivers according to the WFD and c) increasing nitrogen loads due to EU agricultural policy and the demand for bio-energy |
Markus Venohr (IGB) |
IGB, IOW, CORPI, ITM |
| C.4 |
River basin induced functional changes in lagoon waters
1) Analysis of the changing structure and function of the coastal lagoons 2) Analysis of future effects due to climate change 3) Analysis of the consequences of changes on spatial and temporal nutrient availability and nutrient limitation in summer on bio-geochemical processes (denitrification, benthic exchange and internal eutrophication) and on the likelihood of (potentially toxic) cyanobacteria blooms? |
Arturas Razinkovas (CORPI) |
CORPI, IGB, IOW, ITM |
| C.5 |
Functional changes between coastal waters and the sea
Analysis how the changing structure and function of the coastal lagoons will affect the coastal Baltic Sea and assessment of the consequences for coastal algae blooms and the availability of potentially limiting nutrients. |
Gerald Schernewski (IOW) | IOW, IGB, CORPI, ITM, UH |
| C.6 |
Biogeochemical fluxes between coastal regions and the open sea Calculations of horizontal transports in present and future climates |
Markus Meier (SMHI) | SMHI, ITM, CORPI, IGB, IOW |