About the project

 
 Climlink

"Climate forcing factors for marine environmental change during the mid and late Holocene - a link between the eastern Atlantic and the Baltic Sea" aims to reconstruct mid to late Holocene climate induced ecosystem changes in the eastern Nordic Seas, Skagerrak, Kattegat and Baltic Sea. Linkages and common forcing factors that drive climate changes and their effects will be identified. The following hypotheses will be addressed: 1) The state of the Nordic Seas inflow determines the inflow of saline water in the Baltic Sea, 2) minor changes in the Atlantic can cause major changes in the Baltic sector, and 3) the oceanic conditions of the eastern Nordic Seas and Baltic Sea are driven by common forcing factors. These hypotheses will be addressed based on highresolution micropaleontological and geochemical reconstructions to be performed on a transect of sediment cores strategically located in the Norwegian Trench, Skagerrak, Kattegat, Arkona Basin, Bornholm Basin and Gdansk Bay. Furthermore, there will be a strong emphasis on optimal chronological control to secure a sound basis for placing these reconstructions in a stratigraphic context, and hence, establish an integrated mid to late Holocene climate change history of the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea. The integrated reconstruction of regional climate change will be used in combination with regional downscaled model simulations to identify internal and external forcing factors, climatic and environmental effects.

Project objectives

The main objective of the project is to monitor past climate induced ecosystem changes in the eastern Nordic Seas, Skagerrak, Kattegat and in the Baltic Sea, and to detect and identify climatic linkages and common forcing factors driving climate change in these regions.

Specific objectives are given for each work package.

The hypothesis to be tested is: 1) The state of the Nordic Seas inflow determines the inflow to the Baltic Sea, 2) minor changes in the Atlantic sector can cause major changes in the Baltic sector, and 3) the oceanic conditions of the eastern Nordic Seas and Baltic Sea are driven by common forcing factors.

Work Pakeges

WP1 – Reconstructing and monitoring past climate changes in the brackish Gdansk Bay, Bornholm Basin and Arkona Basin. (WP leader: Dr M. Bąk)

Task 1.1. Selection of key-sites.

Task 1.2. Input for the diatom training set.

Task 1.3. Reconstruction of past surface water conditions.

Task 1.4. Tracing influence of Atlantic water inflows on bottom water conditions.

Task 1.5. Geochemical analysis (TOC, TIC, N, S).

Task 1.6. Establishing an integrated climate change history of the last 6000 years in the Gdansk Bay, Bornholm Basin and Arkona Basin.

WP2 – Reconstructing and monitoring past climate changes in marine Kattegat, Skagerrak and the Norwegian Trench. (WP leader: Dr B. Risebrobakken)

Task 2.1. Cruise with R/V “Elisabeth Mann Borgese” 18-31 May 2013.

Task 2.2. Selection of key-sites.

Task 2.3. Development of diatom transfer function.

Task 2.4. Reconstruction of past surface water conditions.

Task 2.5. Reconstruction of Atlantic water layer conditions.

Task 2.6. Geochemical analyses (TOC, TIC, N, S).

Task 2.7. Establishing an integrated climate change history of the last 6 years in Skagerrak, Kattegat and the Norwegian Trench.

WP3 – Core chronology. (WP leader: Prof. R. Borówka)

Task 3.1. Site quality check.

Task 3.2. Age control for the last 120 years.

Task 3.3. Age control for the last 6000 years (incl. identification of volcanic ash layers).

WP4 – Linking Baltic and North Atlantic climate changes. (WP leader: Prof. E. Jansen)

Task 4.1. Establishing an integrated climate change history of the last 6000 years for the Baltic Seas and the North Atlantic.

Task 4.2. Time series analysis.

Task 4.3. Identification of internal and external forcing factors and climatic and environ-mental effects of these.

WP5 – Training, capacity building, outreach and dissemination. (WP leader: M. Wroniecki, MSc)

Task 5.1. Training and capacity building – new methods, advanced courses and exposure to interdisciplinary research 

environment.

Task 5.2. Outreach and dissemination.

WP6 – Project Coordination & Administration. (WP leader: Dr. M. Bak)

Task 6.1. Coordination of steering and management team.

Task 6.2. Data management, storage and exchange, including website.

Task 6.3. Organization of project meeting/workshops.

Task 6.4. Reporting.

Task 6.5. Financial management.