Fresh oxygen for the Baltic Sea — An exceptional saline inflow after a decade of stagnation

Abstract

The ecological state of the Baltic Sea depends crucially on sufficiently frequent, strong deep water renewal on the periodic deep water renewal events by inflow of oxygen rich saline water from the North Sea. Due to the strong density stratification these inflows are the only source for deep water ventilation. Since the early eighties of the last century the frequency of inflow events has dropped drastically from 5 to 7 major inflows per decade to only one inflow per decade. Wide spread anoxic conditions became the usual state in the central Baltic. The rare major Baltic inflow (MBI) events in 1993 and 2003 could interrupt the anoxic bottom conditions only temporarily. After more than 10 years without a major Baltic inflow events, in December 2014 a strong MBI brought large amounts of saline and well oxygenated water into the Baltic Sea. Based on observations and numerical modeling, the inflow was classified as one of the rare very strong events. The inflow volume and the amount of salt transported into the Baltic were estimated to be with 198 km3 and 4 Gt, respectively. The strength of the MBI exceeded considerably the previous 2003 event. In the list of the MBIs since 1880, the 2014 inflow is the third strongest event together with the MBI in 1913. This inflow event will most probably turn the entire Baltic deep water from anoxic to oxic conditions, with substantial spread consequences for marine life and biogeochemical cycles.