| Summary: | We present an analysis of the inter-annual variability of hydrography—temperature and salinity – and ice conditions at the coastal site of Tvärminne, Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea during the period 1927–2012. The aim is to analyze the natural variability and trends of the hydrographic characteristics, freezing and breakup dates, ice thickness, and the heat content during the last century. The study also includes the inter-connections between the ice season and the surface temperature and salinity in the open water season. The results showed a significant decrease of the ice season length, by almost 30 days. The maximum annual ice thickness decreased by 8 cm in the last 40 years. The surface water temperature increased by almost 1 °C and there was also an increasing trend in the heat content. The thermal memory of the system was 2–2.5 months. The surface salinity increased by 0.5 psu in the last 85 years. The results are discussed and compared to related studies. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
|
|---|