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The Baltic or the Baltic is a Mer intracontinentale of 432  800 km ² located in the north of the Europe, and connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the the North Sea. Two principal gulfs integrate this space: the Gulf of Bothnia in north and the Gulf of Finland in the east.

the countries which border the Baltic are:

It communicates to south-west with the the North Sea by the Kattegat and the Skagerrak.

Geography

In the past proglacial lake, and thus not attached to the world ocean of the time, the Baltic becomes a sea when the glaciers which oppressed the reliefs surrounding it withdrew and allowed the rise in the grounds around (by a phenomenon of isostasy, i.e. a long time oppressed grounds are concerned in a movement lever when nothing any more oppresses them). Then created for themselves both Belts (Large Belt and Petit Belt). The Baltic joined the world ocean, and became salted then. But all that is today under water it was not at the time, and remains today a glacial landscape simply covered with a rather thin water film, the Baltic not being a very deep sea. This phenomenon of isostasy causes also the appearance of “gardens of shelves” or Skjaargaard . In fact tiny small islands are organized in groups and which appear with time. One also attends the appearance of real islands. For example in 130 years, 130 new islands appeared at broad town of Vaasa (Finland). This increase of the grounds and its consequences in the Baltic pose problems of navigation. The Baltic is formed large basins (basin of the Mer of Bothnia, in the North of the islands of Åland in particular) connected to each other by thresholds of Haut-fond S, and islands (islands of the Denmark and Åland). Its maximum depth is of 459 m in the pit West-Gotland, off the island of Gotland and close to the Latvian coasts.

Its surface is of 450  000  km ², and this by counting the Kattegat.

Water

See also: Sea water

The tide weak (approximately 30 centimetres) or is masked by the climatic oscillations (hydrodynamic cuttlefish, waves of storms).

The Baltic is a little salted sea (10 per thousand compared with 35 per thousand in the remainder of the seas). Indeed, the fresh water contributions of the rivers are important and natural evaporation is only equal or a little higher than direct precipitations. The annual variation of the Salinité represents negative river modes. In other words, at the time of the low water level of the rivers, in February, the salinity of the sea is maximale  ; whereas it is minimal when the rivers have a strong flow, in May, with the snow melt. In a general way, water of the East and surface is more slightly salted (straits danois : 10  ‰, gulf of Botnie : 5  ‰).

The thermal amplitude of water is importante : in summer 16°C in the South, 12°C in the gulf of Botnie  ; in winter, the ice-barrier recovers the bottom of the Finland and Gulf of Bothnia, as well as many coasts, overall all that is in the north of the island of Gotland off Stockholm.

Marine dynamism

The currents largely undergo the effects of the wind. In a general way, they follow a sinistral movement, i.e. in the opposite direction of the movement of the needles of a watch. The current skirting the Scandinavian peninsula leaves the Baltic towards the North Sea. It is current of surface slightly salted. It reaches its maximum flow in spring. More salted water coming from the North Sea enters to the Baltic thanks to a deeper current which skirts the southernmost coasts.

The thresholds slow down the renewal of water and the rehandling of the funds. Indeed, it is necessary nearly thirty years to ensure the total renewal of water. The living beings (vegetable and animal, of which the Plankton) either do not communicate much with the other seas. These thresholds support, during most of the year, the deceleration of the current thermohalins. Impoverishment in fauna and flora of the sea can be explained by this stability but also by its rate of salinity (certain species do not support absolutely salt and cannot live there, while other species which do not live why out of salt water cannot live there either). One counts indeed less than one hundred species living in the Baltic (approximately 84) against more than 1500 in the remainder of world water. The absence of swell and currents facilitates the filling of the basins, indeed, below 10 to 20 m the fine particles are incorporated and accumulate in the muddy depressions.

History and environment

Prehistory

The Baltic is the youngest sea of planet. Its birth is associated with the cast iron of the Scandinavian Inlandsis, there is 15  000 with 8  000 years. Protected from the oceanic influences, it undergoes strong thermal variations. In winter, the gulfs of Bothnia and Riga are taken by the ice-barrier. In summer, the temperature of water turns around 15°C.

Before the 20th century

20th century

The Baltic is a closed sea, which explains why its environmental quality is very related to its history. It was an important battle field at the time of the First World War and at the time of the Second world war, which have both left environmental after-effects and serious histories. Not only of many ships ran there with their toxic loads of ammunition, but after these two wars, of the hundreds of thousands of tons of conventional shells and chemical gathered in Europe was there immersed.

They are then the coastal rivers of the Baltic States which bring a considerable Pollution, in particular of agricultural and industrial origin, including radioactive, before the cloud of Tchernobyl does not fly over and contaminates this zone. Many livers and kidneys of fish and marine mammals exceed the contents considered acceptable for several heavy metals, one finds many pollutants organic in their flesh. The Baltic contains a dead Zone among most important in the world, which was made in less than 10 years in the area of the Skagerrak.

Commission “HELCOM” manages the the Helsinki Convention, aiming at the protection of the Environnement for the zone of the Baltic, associating the Baltic States in this objective. Its mission is equivalent to that of the Commission OSPAR which treats, it, of the North-western Atlantic. These two commissions work to evaluate the extent of the problems arising from the not exploded ammunition immersed.

Bordering countries

detailed Article: Country of the Baltic

The bordering countries of the Baltic are (in the alphabetical order):

Coastal towns

The bordering population rises to 85 million inhabitants approximately.

Most important coastal towns, by many inhabitants:

Subdivisions

Islands

detailed Article: List of the islands of the Baltic

Tributary rivers

Among the rivers throwing itself in the Baltic, are (in the direction of the needles of a watch starting from Öresund):

Economy

The Baltic is not very full of fish, and in a general way of flora and fauna the poor. That is due to the phenomenon of Eutrophisation.

With the the Middle Ages, powerful the Hanseatic League was established around the Baltic.

With the fall of the the USSR, new sea routes opened. Today, the Baltic integrates European space into whole share. It is furrowed permanently by two thousand ships, that is to say 15% of the world ocean freight. The Golfe of Finland thus became a great loader-gate of Pétrole (20 million ton S in the years 1990, more than 100 million tons in 2005) because of the presence of Saint-Pétersbourg, large exporting Russian oil port.

See too

External bonds

  • Photographs in Chałupy a balneal port in the north of Polish Gdańsk

References

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