On the wind driven and thermohaline circulation of the Baltic Sea

The wind driven and thermohaline circulation of the Baltic Sea and the exchange with the North Sea are investigated by using a coupled sea ice-ocean model of the Baltic Sea. Four consecutive years, namely 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 including the latest major Baltic inflow in January 1993 have been simulated. Atmospheric forcing and river runoff was prescribed from SMHI data bases. Data assimilation was utilized by merging hydrographic field measurements with model data. From 6 hourly analysis data 4-year averages of the 3-dimensional current and mass field have been calculated. Some aspects regarding the mean circulation, its stability and the thermohaline circulation especially where the turnover is happening are discussed from model results analysis. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.