Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

Traditionally, upwelling-related studies in the Baltic Sea have been limited to the period from May to September. Based on wintertime in situ measurements at two nearshore locations in the Gulf of Finland, clear evidence of winter “warm” upwelling events was detected and analysed. The process was ve...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ülo Suursaar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-07-01
Series:Oceanologia
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0078323421000361
_version_ 1818884111176040448
author Ülo Suursaar
author_facet Ülo Suursaar
author_sort Ülo Suursaar
collection DOAJ
description Traditionally, upwelling-related studies in the Baltic Sea have been limited to the period from May to September. Based on wintertime in situ measurements at two nearshore locations in the Gulf of Finland, clear evidence of winter “warm” upwelling events was detected and analysed. The process was very common. At a 10 m deep location, upwelling caused water temperature (T) to switch from 0–1 to 4–5°C and salinity (S) to switch from 4.5 to 6 PSU; at 20 m depth it caused a switch in T between 1 and 2–4°C and in S between 5.5 and 6.8 PSU. Differently from summer upwelling, T and S variations were positively correlated to each other. Salinity variations remained roughly the same throughout the winter, whereas T differences were higher in winter onset, then decreased to ca. 1°C, and increased again after the process reversed to summer-type upwelling in April–May. Based on analysis of SatBaltyk (January to March) sea surface temperature and salinity product imagery, winter upwelling occurrence along the North Estonian coast was 21–28% over 2010–2021, and slightly less along the Finnish coast. Regarding S variations, winter upwelling occurred with roughly similar frequencies and impacts in the northern and southern parts of the gulf. However, the impacts on T and sea ice conditions were highly asymmetrical. Upwelling kept the Estonian coast ice-free longer and water temperatures slightly higher than at the Finnish coast. Winter upwelling as a phenomenon has long been ignored and therefore probably underestimated.
first_indexed 2024-12-19T15:44:21Z
format Article
id doaj.art-7a8d3e808438483cbb82486babf7b5c1
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0078-3234
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-19T15:44:21Z
publishDate 2021-07-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Oceanologia
spelling doaj.art-7a8d3e808438483cbb82486babf7b5c12022-12-21T20:15:23ZengElsevierOceanologia0078-32342021-07-01633356369Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic SeaÜlo Suursaar0Corresponding author at: University of Tartu, Estonian Marine Institute, Mäealuse 14, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia.; University of Tartu, Estonian Marine Institute, Tallinn, EstoniaTraditionally, upwelling-related studies in the Baltic Sea have been limited to the period from May to September. Based on wintertime in situ measurements at two nearshore locations in the Gulf of Finland, clear evidence of winter “warm” upwelling events was detected and analysed. The process was very common. At a 10 m deep location, upwelling caused water temperature (T) to switch from 0–1 to 4–5°C and salinity (S) to switch from 4.5 to 6 PSU; at 20 m depth it caused a switch in T between 1 and 2–4°C and in S between 5.5 and 6.8 PSU. Differently from summer upwelling, T and S variations were positively correlated to each other. Salinity variations remained roughly the same throughout the winter, whereas T differences were higher in winter onset, then decreased to ca. 1°C, and increased again after the process reversed to summer-type upwelling in April–May. Based on analysis of SatBaltyk (January to March) sea surface temperature and salinity product imagery, winter upwelling occurrence along the North Estonian coast was 21–28% over 2010–2021, and slightly less along the Finnish coast. Regarding S variations, winter upwelling occurred with roughly similar frequencies and impacts in the northern and southern parts of the gulf. However, the impacts on T and sea ice conditions were highly asymmetrical. Upwelling kept the Estonian coast ice-free longer and water temperatures slightly higher than at the Finnish coast. Winter upwelling as a phenomenon has long been ignored and therefore probably underestimated.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0078323421000361Warm upwellingStratificationVertical fluxWater temperatureSea ice
spellingShingle Ülo Suursaar
Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea
Oceanologia
Warm upwelling
Stratification
Vertical flux
Water temperature
Sea ice
title Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea
title_full Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea
title_fullStr Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea
title_full_unstemmed Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea
title_short Winter upwelling in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea
title_sort winter upwelling in the gulf of finland baltic sea
topic Warm upwelling
Stratification
Vertical flux
Water temperature
Sea ice
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0078323421000361
work_keys_str_mv AT ulosuursaar winterupwellinginthegulfoffinlandbalticsea