Department of Geography, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland.
Mar Environ Res. 2010 May;69(4):216-26. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2009.10.009. Epub 2009 Nov 11.
The highly fragmented Archipelago Sea in the northern Baltic Sea forms part of a sill area between two large sea basins. In addition to the water exchange between the basins, its waters are influenced by runoff, and thus the sea area has both sill and estuarine characteristics. We studied surface layer salinity gradients and their applicability in defining water exchange patterns through and within the region. A broad scale salinity pattern was detected during two sequential years. The spreading of fresh water in the spring was succeeded by a gradual increase in salinity during the summer. Long term data revealed a non-seasonal salinity fluctuation and diminished salinity stratification in the central and northern parts of the study area. We concluded that temporally unrepresentative mean values of salinity alone are inadequate for the purposes of coastal management in this region. In addition, both the range of variation and persistence of the conditions define the character of the transitional and coastal waters.
波罗的海北部高度破碎的群岛海是两个大海盆之间的一个浅滩区域的一部分。除了盆地之间的水交换外，其水域还受到径流的影响，因此该海域具有浅滩和河口的特征。我们研究了表层盐度梯度及其在该区域内外定义水交换模式的适用性。在连续两年中检测到广泛的盐度模式。春季淡水的扩散随后是夏季盐度的逐渐增加。长期数据显示，研究区域中部和北部的盐度没有季节性波动，盐度分层减弱。我们的结论是，仅代表时间的平均盐度值不足以满足该地区沿海管理的目的。此外，条件的变化范围和持久性定义了过渡水域和沿海水域的特征。
