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K. Myrberg and T. Soomere
nounced salinity gradients and rich mesoscale dynamics distinguish this basin from
large lakes and create a similarity of its basic processes with those occurring in the
open ocean (Feistel et al. 2008). The regular presence of sea ice and remarkably
anisotropic marine meteorological conditions play a considerable role in its functioning.
The Gulf of Finland, an elongated sub-basin with a mean depth of only 37 m in
the north-eastern extremity of the Baltic Sea, probably hosts the most interesting
dynamical features among the parts of the Baltic Sea. Understanding of its basic
physics is of vital importance for many purposes, not only for the development
of different kinds of models of hydrodynamic and ecological processes but also,
perhaps even more importantly, for a number of tasks seemingly remote from the
viewpoint of physics, such as the assessment of the ecosystem health, the status
of the marine environment, or perspectives of biodiversity. Physics is particularly
needed for the investigation of the circulation, spreading, and mixing of its water
masses. Not unexpectedly, the basic physics and dynamics form the core of many
practical applications, like those connected to pollution control, marine safety or
search-and-rescue issues.
The gulf has been a part of the dawn of physical oceanography more than a century ago. Like many other basins of the Baltic Sea, it has been shared between several countries and basin-wide studies have required not only an interdisciplinary approach but also international cooperation. The first comprehensive research project
in the gulf after the fall of the ‘iron curtain’ (that separated scientists at its opposite sides for more than a half-century) was the Estonian–Finnish–Russian Year of
the Gulf of Finland 1996. Intense studies were carried out during this thematic year
including an extensive analysis of historical and recently collected data sets, numerical modelling exercises and the introduction of new theoretical concepts (Alenius
et al. 1998). Their output eventually contributed to another milestone—the designation of the Baltic Sea as a particularly sensitive sea area by the International Maritime Organization at the end of 2005. The recent advances in the knowledge of the
physics and dynamics of the gulf for the decade 1997–2007 (Soomere et al. 2008)
following the Gulf of Finland Year 1996 have been reported in more than 200 peerreviewed publications. The next wide-ranging step is the upcoming Gulf of Finland
Year 2014.
Although the physics, hydrography and dynamics of water masses in all parts of
the World Ocean are ruled by the same principles and driven by almost the same set
of forcing factors, no two domains are perfectly identical. Even seemingly similar
areas may host completely different dynamics (and thus may require radically different solutions for their modelling) as has been vividly demonstrated in Chap. 5.
This peculiarity is particularly evident in the dynamics of the Baltic Sea where the
impact of different forcing factors (and the response of both the water masses and
the entire ecosystem) is hugely different, for example, for the south-western part of
the Northern Gotland Basin 1 and for the Gulf of Bothnia in the far North.
1 From now on we follow the nomenclature recommended in Leppäranta and Myrberg (2009) and
use the Northern Gotland Basin (see Fig. 2.1 in Chap. 2) to denote the northern part of the Baltic
Proper.
K. Myrberg and T. Soomere
nounced salinity gradients and rich mesoscale dynamics distinguish this basin from
large lakes and create a similarity of its basic processes with those occurring in the
open ocean (Feistel et al. 2008). The regular presence of sea ice and remarkably
anisotropic marine meteorological conditions play a considerable role in its functioning.
The Gulf of Finland, an elongated sub-basin with a mean depth of only 37 m in
the north-eastern extremity of the Baltic Sea, probably hosts the most interesting
dynamical features among the parts of the Baltic Sea. Understanding of its basic
physics is of vital importance for many purposes, not only for the development
of different kinds of models of hydrodynamic and ecological processes but also,
perhaps even more importantly, for a number of tasks seemingly remote from the
viewpoint of physics, such as the assessment of the ecosystem health, the status
of the marine environment, or perspectives of biodiversity. Physics is particularly
needed for the investigation of the circulation, spreading, and mixing of its water
masses. Not unexpectedly, the basic physics and dynamics form the core of many
practical applications, like those connected to pollution control, marine safety or
search-and-rescue issues.
The gulf has been a part of the dawn of physical oceanography more than a century ago. Like many other basins of the Baltic Sea, it has been shared between several countries and basin-wide studies have required not only an interdisciplinary approach but also international cooperation. The first comprehensive research project
in the gulf after the fall of the ‘iron curtain’ (that separated scientists at its opposite sides for more than a half-century) was the Estonian–Finnish–Russian Year of
the Gulf of Finland 1996. Intense studies were carried out during this thematic year
including an extensive analysis of historical and recently collected data sets, numerical modelling exercises and the introduction of new theoretical concepts (Alenius
et al. 1998). Their output eventually contributed to another milestone—the designation of the Baltic Sea as a particularly sensitive sea area by the International Maritime Organization at the end of 2005. The recent advances in the knowledge of the
physics and dynamics of the gulf for the decade 1997–2007 (Soomere et al. 2008)
following the Gulf of Finland Year 1996 have been reported in more than 200 peerreviewed publications. The next wide-ranging step is the upcoming Gulf of Finland
Year 2014.
Although the physics, hydrography and dynamics of water masses in all parts of
the World Ocean are ruled by the same principles and driven by almost the same set
of forcing factors, no two domains are perfectly identical. Even seemingly similar
areas may host completely different dynamics (and thus may require radically different solutions for their modelling) as has been vividly demonstrated in Chap. 5.
This peculiarity is particularly evident in the dynamics of the Baltic Sea where the
impact of different forcing factors (and the response of both the water masses and
the entire ecosystem) is hugely different, for example, for the south-western part of
the Northern Gotland Basin 1 and for the Gulf of Bothnia in the far North.
1 From now on we follow the nomenclature recommended in Leppäranta and Myrberg (2009) and
use the Northern Gotland Basin (see Fig. 2.1 in Chap. 2) to denote the northern part of the Baltic
Proper.