Chapter 9
Atmospheric Contribution
to Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea
Jerzy Bartnicki
Abstract Nitrogen and phosphorus are two main nutrients responsible for eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. Almost all phosphorus is entering the sea via rivers, whereas
20–30% of nitrogen is deposited from the air. Therefore, there is a need for monitoring atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea. Time series of annual nitrogen
depositions to the Baltic Sea have been calculated for the period 1995–2015 with
the same version of the EMEP MSC-W model. They show significant inter annual
fluctuations due to changes in meteorological conditions from one year to another.
To reduce the influence of meteorological conditions on the results the so called
“normalized” depositions have been also calculated. They indicate a clear decline
of annual depositions of oxidized nitrogen to the Baltic Sea and only minor decline
of reduced nitrogen depositions in the considered period. Emissions from Germany
and Poland are the main sources contributing to deposition of oxidized nitrogen to
the Baltic Sea basin followed by the ship traffic on the Baltic Sea and on the North
Sea. Transportation and combustion are the main emission sectors contributing to
oxidised nitro-gen deposition, whereas, agriculture is the dominating emission sector
contributing to reduced nitrogen deposition.
9.1 Introduction
Eutrophication is one of the major environmental problems for the European Seas.
It is especially a threat to the shallow seas, such as the Baltic Sea with the average
depth of 54 m. Excessive amounts of nutrients entering the Baltic Sea water can
cause the growth of algae and other aquatic plants, leading to negative effects such as
oxygen depletion in the sea. Two nutrients are mainly responsible for eutrophication
of the Baltic Sea: phosphorus and nitrogen. Almost all phosphorus is entering the
sea via rivers, whereas 20–30% of nitrogen is deposited to the Baltic Sea from the
air [1]. Therefore, there is a need for monitoring of nitrogen deposition to the Baltic
J. Bartnicki (B)
Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Henrik Mohns Plass 1, 0313 Oslo, Norway
e-mail: jerzy.bartnicki@met.no
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
C. Mensink et al. (eds.), Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XXVI,
Springer Proceedings in Complexity,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22055-6_9
53
Atmospheric Contribution
to Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea
Jerzy Bartnicki
Abstract Nitrogen and phosphorus are two main nutrients responsible for eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. Almost all phosphorus is entering the sea via rivers, whereas
20–30% of nitrogen is deposited from the air. Therefore, there is a need for monitoring atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea. Time series of annual nitrogen
depositions to the Baltic Sea have been calculated for the period 1995–2015 with
the same version of the EMEP MSC-W model. They show significant inter annual
fluctuations due to changes in meteorological conditions from one year to another.
To reduce the influence of meteorological conditions on the results the so called
“normalized” depositions have been also calculated. They indicate a clear decline
of annual depositions of oxidized nitrogen to the Baltic Sea and only minor decline
of reduced nitrogen depositions in the considered period. Emissions from Germany
and Poland are the main sources contributing to deposition of oxidized nitrogen to
the Baltic Sea basin followed by the ship traffic on the Baltic Sea and on the North
Sea. Transportation and combustion are the main emission sectors contributing to
oxidised nitro-gen deposition, whereas, agriculture is the dominating emission sector
contributing to reduced nitrogen deposition.
9.1 Introduction
Eutrophication is one of the major environmental problems for the European Seas.
It is especially a threat to the shallow seas, such as the Baltic Sea with the average
depth of 54 m. Excessive amounts of nutrients entering the Baltic Sea water can
cause the growth of algae and other aquatic plants, leading to negative effects such as
oxygen depletion in the sea. Two nutrients are mainly responsible for eutrophication
of the Baltic Sea: phosphorus and nitrogen. Almost all phosphorus is entering the
sea via rivers, whereas 20–30% of nitrogen is deposited to the Baltic Sea from the
air [1]. Therefore, there is a need for monitoring of nitrogen deposition to the Baltic
J. Bartnicki (B)
Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Henrik Mohns Plass 1, 0313 Oslo, Norway
e-mail: jerzy.bartnicki@met.no
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
C. Mensink et al. (eds.), Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XXVI,
Springer Proceedings in Complexity,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22055-6_9
53