The Baltic Sea Region in Transition

The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed sea in Northern Europe, draining about 20% of Europe in its catchment area. The region and the Baltic Sea itself have been subject of interdisciplinary Earth system research for many decades, and especially so since the barriers between the eastern and western researchers fell in the early 1990. Baltic Earth, and its precursor programme BALTEX have fostered the collaboration of Earth system research across the countries and scientific disciplines for 25 years now.

Baltic Earth strives to achieve an improved Earth system understanding of the Baltic Sea region as the basis for science-based management in the face of climatic, environmental and human impact in the region. Baltic Earth targets the atmosphere, land and marine environment of the Baltic Sea, its drainage basin and nearby areas with relevance for the Baltic Sea region.

This Research Topic in Frontiers is grounded in the 2nd Baltic Earth Conference in Helsingør, 11-15 June 2018, and will cover the themes of Baltic Earth, in particular highlighting the Baltic Earth Grand Challenges as defined by the Baltic Earth Science Plan. The grand topic of the conference „The Baltic Sea region in transition“ refers both to transition processes in the transition area between the North and Baltic Seas, and to temporal transition processes in the environment and regional climate and socio-economic system of the Baltic Sea and its catchment basin.

We welcome manuscripts from interdisciplinary Earth system research in the Baltic Sea region and its catchment basin, related

1. to processes and spatial fluxes of volume, energy, momentum and matter in the transition area between the Baltic the North Sea regions, e.g. oceanographic in- and outflow events and associated consequences for Baltic Sea biogeochemistry, ecology and human uses, specific conditions of the Belts and Sounds area including human pressures like eutrophication and shipping, regional sea level rise as well as particularities in regional climate change, and

2. to the Baltic Earth Grand Challenges and research topics:

a. Salinity dynamics
b. Land-Sea-Atmosphere biogeochemical feedbacks
c. Natural hazards and high impact events
d. Sea level dynamics, coastal morphology and erosion
e. Regional variability of water and energy exchanges
f. Multiple drivers of regional Earth system changes
g. Regional climate system modelling
h. Other regional seas

For more information please visit the conference homepage: https://www.baltic-earth.eu/helsingor2018/index.html