Remote Sensing Supported Sea Surface pCO(2) Estimation and Variable Analysis in the Baltic Sea

Marginal seas are a dynamic and still to large extent uncertain component of the global carbon cycle. The large temporal and spatial variations of sea-surface partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO(2)) in these areas are driven by multiple complex mechanisms. In this study, we analyzed the variable importance for the sea surface pCO(2) estimation in the Baltic Sea and derived monthly pCO(2) maps for the marginal sea during the period of July 2002-October 2011. We used variables obtained from remote sensing images and numerical models. The random forest algorithm was employed to construct regression models for pCO(2) estimation and produce the importance of different input variables. The study found that photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) was the most important variable for the pCO(2) estimation across the entire Baltic Sea, followed by sea surface temperature (SST), absorption of colored dissolved organic matter (a(CDOM)), and mixed layer depth (MLD). Interestingly, Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) and the diffuse attenuation coefficient for downwelling irradiance at 490 nm (Kd_490nm) showed relatively low importance for the pCO(2) estimation. This was mainly attributed to the high correlation of Chl-a and Kd_490nm to other pCO(2)-relevant variables (e.g., a(CDOM)), particularly in the summer months. In addition, the variables' importance for pCO(2) estimation varied between seasons and sub-basins. For example, the importance of a(CDOM) were large in the Gulf of Finland but marginal in other sub-basins. The model for pCO(2) estimate in the entire Baltic Sea explained 63% of the variation and had a root of mean squared error (RMSE) of 47.8 mu atm. The pCO(2) maps derived with this model displayed realistic seasonal variations and spatial features of sea surface pCO(2) in the Baltic Sea. The spatially and seasonally varying variables' importance for the pCO(2) estimation shed light on the heterogeneities in the biogeochemical and physical processes driving the carbon cycling in the Baltic Sea and can serve as an important basis for future pCO(2) estimation in marginal seas using remote sensing techniques. The pCO(2) maps derived in this study provided a robust benchmark for understanding the spatiotemporal patterns of CO2 air-sea exchange in the Baltic Sea

Аутсорсінгова модель реалізації корпоративної соціальної відповідальності

У статті обґрунтовано необхідність і визначено шляхи використання аутсорсінгу корпоративної соціальної відповідальності в соціальній політиці України. Основним аргументом на користь такого аутсорсінгу є надзвичайна складність (а відтак – і ресурсоємність) процесу управління програмами корпоративної соціальної відповідальності. Використання різних форм (насамперед, повної та часткової) аутсорсінгу корпоративної соціальної відповідальності має найбільшу перспективу на регіональному рівні здійснення соціальної політики – в структурі фондів розвитку громади.В статье обоснована необходимость и определены пути использования аутсорсинга корпоративной социальной ответственности в социальной политике Украины. Основным аргументом в пользу такого аутсорсинга служит чрезвычайная сложность (а значит – и ресурсоемкость) процесса управления программами корпоративной социальной ответственности. Использования разных форм (прежде всего, полной и частичной) аутсорсинга корпоративной социальной ответственности имеет наибольшую перспективу на региональном уровне осуществления социальной политики – в структуре фондов местного развития.The paper argues the necessity and defines means of application of outsourcing to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in social policy of Ukraine. As CSR (corporate charity) is a secondary (not-product-related) activity to any for-profit organization, the allocation of recourses (human, managerial, financial etc.) to this activity may decrease effectiveness of the major (productrelated) functions, lessening the competitive ability of an enterprise. Initiation of specialized CSR-departments within an organizational structure (in order to provide expenditure control, feedback control and social effect monitoring) is a luxury, which most businesses in Ukraine can not afford. CSR-ignoring practices contradict imperatives of conventional modern business rules (e.g. sustainable development doctrine), which have presented CSR as a “must” for prosperous firms and successful for-profits throughout the world. Ukraine is also involved in the deployment of those imperatives as a new market economy country. Taking the burden of CSR-caused extra costs off a firm, outcontracting of CSR may contribute to wide spreading of corporate philanthropy, thus providing social policy and social-oriented activities in Ukraine with potentially essential assets. The paper derives, that deployment of CSR-outsourcing will produce the best effect on the regional level of social policy of Ukraine – within community foundations as community-based non-profit organizations, usually established in an area to help solving local social problems through accumulation and distribution chiefly local resources, aimed for social projects and programs of different kind

Net precipitation over the Baltic Sea for one year using several methods

Precipitation and evaporation over the Baltic Sea are calculated for a one-year period from September 1998 to August 1999 by four different tools, the two atmospheric regional models HIRLAM and REMO, the oceanographic model PROBE-Baltic in combination with the SMHI (1 × 1)° database and Interpolated Fields, based essentially on ship measurements. The investigated period is slightly warmer and wetter than the climatological mean. Correlation coefficients of the differently calculated latent heat fluxes vary between 0.81 (HIRLAM and REMO) and 0.56 (SMHI/PROBE-Baltic and Interpolated Fields), while the correlation coefficients between model fluxes and measured fluxes range from 0.61 and 0.78. Deviations of simulated and interpolated monthly precipitation over the Baltic Sea are less than ±5 mm in the southern Baltic and up to 20 mm near the Finnish coast for the one-year period. The methods simulate the annual cycle of precipitation and evaporation of the Baltic Proper in a similar manner with a broad maximum of net precipitation in spring and early summer and a minimum in late summer. The annual averages of net precipitation of the Baltic Proper range from 57 mm (REMO) to 262 mm (HIRLAM) and for the Baltic Sea from 96 mm (SMHI/PROBE-Baltic) to 209 mm (HIRLAM). This range is considered to give the uncertainty of present-day determination of the net precipitation over the Baltic Sea

Cyanobacteria net community production in the Baltic Sea as inferred from profiling pCO(2) measurements

Organic matter production by cyanobacteria blooms is a major environmental concern for the Baltic Sea, as it promotes the spread of anoxic zones. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO(2)) measurements carried out on Ships of Opportunity (SOOP) since 2003 have proven to be a powerful tool to resolve the carbon dynamics of the blooms in space and time. However, SOOP measurements lack the possibility to directly constrain depth-integrated net community production (NCP) in moles of carbon per surface area due to their restriction to the sea surface. This study tackles the knowledge gap through (1) providing an NCP best guess for an individual cyanobacteria bloom based on repeated profiling measurements of pCO(2) and (2) establishing an algorithm to accurately reconstruct depth-integrated NCP from surface pCO(2) observations in combination with modelled temperature profiles.Goal (1) was achieved by deploying state-of-the-art sensor technology from a small-scale sailing vessel. The low-cost and flexible platform enabled observations covering an entire bloom event that occurred in July-August 2018 in the Eastern Gotland Sea. For the biogeochemical interpretation, recorded pCO(2) profiles were converted to C-T*, which is the dissolved inorganic carbon concentration normalised to alkalinity. We found that the investigated bloom event was dominated by Nodularia and had many biogeochemical characteristics in common with blooms in previous years. In particular, it lasted for about 3 weeks, caused a C-T* drawdown of 90 mu mol kg(-1), and was accompanied by a sea surface temperature increase of 10 degrees C. The novel finding of this study is the vertical extension of the C-T* drawdown up to the compensation depth located at around 12 m. Integration of the C-T* drawdown across this depth and correction for vertical fluxes leads to an NCP best guess of similar to 1:2 mol m(-2) over the productive period.Addressing goal (2), we combined modelled hydrographical profiles with surface pCO(2) observations recorded by SOOP Finnmaid within the study area. Introducing the temperature penetration depth (TPD) as a new parameter to integrate SOOP observations across depth, we achieve an NCP reconstruction that agrees to the best guess within 10 %, which is considerably better than the reconstruction based on a classical mixed-layer depth constraint.Applying the TPD approach to almost 2 decades of surface pCO(2) observations available for the Baltic Sea bears the potential to provide new insights into the control and long-term trends of cyanobacteria NCP. This understanding is key for an effective design and monitoring of conservation measures aiming at a Good Environmental Status of the Baltic Sea

Precipitation estimate over the Baltic Sea: Present state of the art

Precipitation is one of the main components in the water balance, and probably the component determined with the greatest uncertainties. In the present paper we focus on precipitation (mainly rain) over the Baltic Sea as a part of the BALTEX project to examine the present state of the art concerning different precipitation estimates over that area. Several methods are used, with the focus on 1) interpolation of available synoptic stations; 2) a mesoscale analysis system including synoptic, automatic, and climate stations, as well as weather radar and an atmospheric model; and 3) measurements performed on ships. The investigated time scales are monthly and yearly and also some long-term considerations are discussed. The comparison shows that the differences between most of the estimates, when averaged over an extended period and a larger area, are in the order of 10-20%, which is in the same range as the correction of the synoptic gauge measurements due to wind and evaporation losses. In all data sets using gauge data it is important to include corrections for high winds. To improve the structure of precipitation over sea more focus is to be put on the use of radar data and combinations of radar data and other data. Interpolation methods that do not consider orographic effects must treat areas with large horizontal precipitation gradients with care. Due to the large variability in precipitation in time and space, it is important to use long time periods for climate estimates of precipitation Ship measurements are a valuable contribution to precipitation information over sea, especially for seasonal and annual time scales

Wave effects on coastal upwelling and water level

Traditional atmosphere, ocean and wave models are run independently of each other. This means that the energy and momentum fluxes do not fully account for the impact of the oceanic wave field at the air-sea interface. In this study, the Stokes drift impact on mass and tracer advection, the Stokes-Coriolis forcing, and the sea-state-dependent momentum and energy fluxes are introduced into an ocean circulation model and tested for a domain covering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Sensitivity experiments are designed to investigate the influence on the simulation of storms and Baltic Sea upwelling. Inclusion of wave effects improves the model performance compared with the stand-alone circulation model in terms of sea level height, temperature and circulation. The direct sea-state-dependent momentum and turbulent kinetic energy fluxes prove to be of higher importance than the Stokes drift related effects investigated in this study (i.e., Stokes-Coriolis forcing and Stokes drift advection on tracers and on mass). The latter affects the mass and tracer advection but largely balances the influence of the Stokes-Coriolis forcing. The upwelling frequency changes by >10% along the Swedish coast when wave effects are included. In general, the strong (weak) upwelling probability is reduced (increased) when adding the wave effects. From the results, we conclude that inclusion of wave effects can be important for regional, high-resolution ocean models even on short time scales, suggesting that they should be introduced in operational ocean circulation models. However, care should be taken when introducing the Stokes-Coriolis forcing as it should be balanced by the Stokes drift in mass and tracer advection