Articles | Volume 16, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1617-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1617-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Aug 2020
Research article |
| 27 Aug 2020
| 27 Aug 2020
Investigating interdecadal salinity changes in the Baltic Sea in a 1850–2008 hindcast simulation
Hagen Radtke
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, Germany
Sandra-Esther Brunnabend
Department of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, Germany
present address: Department of Research and Development, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Norrköping, Sweden
Ulf Gräwe
Department of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, Germany
H. E. Markus Meier
Department of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, Germany
Department of Research and Development, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Norrköping, Sweden
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- Understanding past and future sea surface temperature trends in the Baltic Sea C. Dutheil et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-06084-1
- Characteristics of Marine Heatwaves of the Baltic Sea for 1993−2022 and Their Driving Factors V. Travkin et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-024-03504-1
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- Warm saltwater inflows strengthen oxygen depletion in the western Baltic Sea L. Barghorn et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-024-07501-x
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- Giant saltwater inflow in AD 1951 triggered Baltic Sea hypoxia M. Moros et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12643
24 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Deterioration study of sea‐dumped munitions in the eastern Scheldt J. den Otter et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/prep.202300302
- PFAS hotspots in Swedish offshore sediments: Regional patterns and sorption dynamics G. Niarchos et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2026.119807
- Water exchange in the Baltic Sea: a historical view of research approaches from basin scales to submesoscale J. Elken & A. Omstedt https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1598983
- Model uncertainties of a storm and their influence on microplastics and sediment transport in the Baltic Sea R. Osinski et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-1491-2020
- Coupled regional Earth system modeling in the Baltic Sea region M. Gröger et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-939-2021
- Salinity dynamics of the Baltic Sea A. Lehmann et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-373-2022
- Changes in Seasonality of Saltwater Inflows Caused Exceptional Warming Trends in the Western Baltic Sea L. Barghorn et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103853
- Baltic Sea freshwater content U. Raudsepp et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-1-osr7-7-2023
- A new conceptual framework for assessing the physical state of the Baltic Sea U. Raudsepp et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-6-2025
- Investigating the influence of sub-mesoscale current structures on Baltic Sea connectivity through a Lagrangian analysis S. Hariri et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1340291
- Understanding past and future sea surface temperature trends in the Baltic Sea C. Dutheil et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-06084-1
- Characteristics of Marine Heatwaves of the Baltic Sea for 1993−2022 and Their Driving Factors V. Travkin et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-024-03504-1
- Dynamics of Upwelling and Downwelling in a Channel Basin of the Baltic Sea M. Masini et al. https://doi.org/10.16993/tellusa.4070
- Large-scale atmospheric circulation and its impact on the Baltic Sea region: controls, predictability and consequences F. Börgel et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-415-2026
- Variations of temperature, salinity and oxygen of the Baltic Sea for the period 1950 to 2020 V. Stockmayer & A. Lehmann https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2023.02.002
- Biogeochemical functioning of the Baltic Sea K. Kuliński et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-633-2022
- Recent stagnation period and unprecedented deoxygenation in the Baltic Sea: causes and consequences T. Liblik et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1638978
- Mesoscale Eddies of the Baltic Sea according to the Physical Reanalysis V. Travkin et al. https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373924090048
- Warm saltwater inflows strengthen oxygen depletion in the western Baltic Sea L. Barghorn et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-024-07501-x
- Response of a semi-enclosed sea to perturbed freshwater and open ocean salinity forcing L. Arneborg et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-761-2026
- Holocene relative sea level changes in the Västervik‐Gamlebyviken region on the southeast coast of Sweden, southern Baltic Sea C. Katrantsiotis et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12605
- Warming of Baltic Sea water masses since 1850 C. Dutheil et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-022-06628-z
- Submesoscale processes in the surface layer of the central Baltic Sea: A high-resolution modelling study G. Väli et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2023.11.002
- Giant saltwater inflow in AD 1951 triggered Baltic Sea hypoxia M. Moros et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12643
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 28 Jul 2026
Short summary
During the last century, salinity in the Baltic Sea showed a multidecadal oscillation with a period of 30 years. Using a numerical circulation model and wavelet coherence analysis, we demonstrate that this variation has at least two possible causes. One driver is river runoff which shows a 30-year variation. The second one is a variation in the frequency of strong inflows of saline water across Darss Sill which also contains a pronounced 30-year period.
During the last century, salinity in the Baltic Sea showed a multidecadal oscillation with a...
