Influence of large scale changes in wind climate on sea level, wave conditions and turbidity in the coastal waters of Estonia, Baltic Sea

Above Northern Europe, recent climate change manifests as shifts in wind climatology and storminess, which, in turn, influence hydrodynamic and underwater light regimes of the sea. The study is based on measurement of waves and currents obtained over the period of about 750 days, meteorological and sea level data from the Estonian weather and tide gauge stations, as well as on spatially calibrated wave hindcasts for the period 1966-2011. An analysis of hydrodynamic changes in the Estonian coastal waters and their influences on resuspension and turbidity regime are presented. In the practically tideless Baltic Sea, significant increases in winter-time sea level and high sea level events have occurred. As a result of northward shifts in cyclone trajectories, high waves have increased along the West Estonian coasts, but decreased along the northern coast.