Chapter 6
The Gulf of Finland, Its Hydrography
and Circulation Dynamics
Kai Myrberg and Tarmo Soomere
Abstract The basic physical and dynamical features of the Gulf of Finland, a shallow elongated estuary-like water body in the north-eastern extremity of the Baltic
Sea, are introduced. The hydrography of this water body is characterized by a large
spatio-temporal variability in salinity and temperature, both in vertical and horizontal directions. The gulf receives a large amount of fresh water due to the River
Neva and experiences intense water exchange through an open connection with the
main Baltic basin. The circulation dynamics has been shown to be very complex in
the gulf. Pronounced variations in forcing functions contribute to this complexity
together with rapidly changing hydrography and the complex bottom topography.
The small internal Rossby radius makes the gulf particularly challenging for numerical modelling exercises—high resolution models are needed to adequately describe
its circulation patterns where mesoscale eddies, fronts, specific mixing conditions
and optional ice cover are the most important players.
6.1 Introduction
Chapters 2, 4 and 5 have shown that the complexity of the dynamics of the Baltic
Sea extends far beyond the typical features of water bodies of comparable size. ProK. Myrberg (B)
Finnish Environment Institute, Marine Research Centre, Mechelininkatu 34 a, P.O. Box 140,
00251 Helsinki, Finland
e-mail: kai.myrberg@ymparisto.fi
K. Myrberg
Department of Geophysics, Klaip˙ eda University, Herkaus Manto Str. 84, Klaip˙ eda, Lithuania
T. Soomere
Wave Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Cybernetics at Tallinn University of Technology,
Akadeemia tee 21, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia
e-mail: soomere@cs.ioc.ee
T. Soomere
Estonian Academy of Sciences, Kohtu 6, 10130 Tallinn, Estonia
T. Soomere, E. Quak (eds.), Preventive Methods for Coastal Protection,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-00440-2_6,
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013
181
The Gulf of Finland, Its Hydrography
and Circulation Dynamics
Kai Myrberg and Tarmo Soomere
Abstract The basic physical and dynamical features of the Gulf of Finland, a shallow elongated estuary-like water body in the north-eastern extremity of the Baltic
Sea, are introduced. The hydrography of this water body is characterized by a large
spatio-temporal variability in salinity and temperature, both in vertical and horizontal directions. The gulf receives a large amount of fresh water due to the River
Neva and experiences intense water exchange through an open connection with the
main Baltic basin. The circulation dynamics has been shown to be very complex in
the gulf. Pronounced variations in forcing functions contribute to this complexity
together with rapidly changing hydrography and the complex bottom topography.
The small internal Rossby radius makes the gulf particularly challenging for numerical modelling exercises—high resolution models are needed to adequately describe
its circulation patterns where mesoscale eddies, fronts, specific mixing conditions
and optional ice cover are the most important players.
6.1 Introduction
Chapters 2, 4 and 5 have shown that the complexity of the dynamics of the Baltic
Sea extends far beyond the typical features of water bodies of comparable size. ProK. Myrberg (B)
Finnish Environment Institute, Marine Research Centre, Mechelininkatu 34 a, P.O. Box 140,
00251 Helsinki, Finland
e-mail: kai.myrberg@ymparisto.fi
K. Myrberg
Department of Geophysics, Klaip˙ eda University, Herkaus Manto Str. 84, Klaip˙ eda, Lithuania
T. Soomere
Wave Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Cybernetics at Tallinn University of Technology,
Akadeemia tee 21, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia
e-mail: soomere@cs.ioc.ee
T. Soomere
Estonian Academy of Sciences, Kohtu 6, 10130 Tallinn, Estonia
T. Soomere, E. Quak (eds.), Preventive Methods for Coastal Protection,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-00440-2_6,
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013
181