Long term water level and surface temperature changes in the lagoons of the southern and eastern Baltic

Abstract

The paper studies variations in the water level and surface temperature of coastal lagoons along the southern and south-eastern shores of the Baltic Sea: the Curonian Lagoon, Vistula Lagoon, and Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain. Linear regressions for annual mean water level variations showed a positive trend in water level, but at different rates. The highest rate during the period between 1961–2008 was recorded for the Curonian and Vistula lagoons (~ 4 mm year−1), the lowest for the DarssZingst Bodden Chain (approximately ~ 1 mm year−1). The warming trend of the mean surface water temperature in the lagoons was 0.03°C year−1 in the period 1961–2008. Moreover, the variability in annual water temperature and sea level as well as their extreme values have increased most dramatically since the 1980s.