11th Baltic Sea Science Congress 2017, Rostock
At the BSSC I presented the first results of my master thesis, dealing with the impact of sea ice on salt water inflows into the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea and North Sea are connected via the Danish Straits. The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed sea with high river runoff. This results in a mean salinity of approximately 8.5 g/kg, compared to a salinity of 33 g/kg in the open ocean. Therefore, the water exchange between the Baltic Sea and North Sea is very import for the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea as a whole. Under the right weather conditions, saline water from the North Sea is pushed into the Baltic Sea. Due to the higher salinity the water is more dense and flowing along the bottom channels of the Baltic Sea. This water also contains a lot of oxygen and plays a key role in the ventilation of the Baltic Sea. Summarizing, it is very important to understand the dynamics, that influence these saltwater inflows, to understand the state of the ecosystem Baltic Sea.