1st Leibniz MMS Days - Abstract

Gräwe, Ulf

Analysing one of the largest saltwater inflows into the Baltic Sea using a multi-nested setup

In late November/ early December 2014 an exceptional inflow event into the Baltic Sea was observed. These inflow events are important for the deep water ventilation in the Baltic Sea and occur every 3-10 years. Based on first observational data sets, this inflow is ranked as the third largest since 100 years. With the help of a multi-nested modeling system, reaching from the North Atlantic (8 km resolution) to the Danish Straits (600 m resolution), we reproduced this event in detail. The model gave a slightly lower salt transport of 3.8 Gt. By using a passive tracer to mark the inflowing water, but also an age tracer, we were able to track the inflowing water masses and follow there paths and timing through the different basins. The model indicate that the inflow has the potential to oxygenate large part of the Gotland Basin and thus reduce the area suffering from hypoxia.