Articles | Volume 18, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2653-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2653-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
A 28-year-long (1997–2024) hydrographic dataset from the southern Baltic Sea
Daniel Rak
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Anna Izabela Bulczak
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Waldemar Walczowski
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Piotr Wieczorek
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Małgorzata Merchel
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Robert Osiński
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Ilona Goszczko
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Agnieszka Strzelewicz
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
Małgorzata Kitowska
Physical Oceanography Department, Observational Oceanography Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology PAN, Sopot, Poland
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Cited articles
Bulczak, A. I. and Rak, D.: Propagation and mixing of the 2023/24 inflow: impacts on stratification and deep-water ventilation in the Southern Baltic Sea, Front. Mar. Sci., 13, 1629491, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1629491, 2026.
Bulczak, A. I., Nowak, K., Jakacki, J., Muzyka, M., Rak, D., and Walczowski, W.: Seasonal variability and long-term winter shoaling of the upper mixed layer in the southern Baltic Sea, Cont. Shelf Res., 276, 105232, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2024.105232, 2024.
Burchard, H., Lass, H.-U., Mohrholz, V., Umlauf, L., Sellschopp, J., Fiekas, V., Bolding, K., and Arneborg, L.: Dynamics of medium-intensity dense water plumes in the Arkona Basin, Western Baltic Sea, Ocean Dynam., 55, 391–402, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-005-0025-2, 2005.
Feistel, R., Nausch, G., and Wasmund, N. (Eds.): State and Evolution of the Baltic Sea, 1952–2005: A detailed 50-year survey of meteorology and climate, physics, chemistry, biology, and marine environment, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, USA, https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470283134, 2008.
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Leppäranta, M. and Myrberg, K.: Physical Oceanography of the Baltic Sea, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79703-6, 2009.
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Mohrholz, V.: Major Baltic inflow statistics – Revised, Front. Mar. Sci., 5, 384, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00384, 2018.
Mohrholz, V., Naumann, M., Nausch, G., Krüger, S., and Gräwe, U.: Fresh oxygen for the Baltic Sea – An exceptional saline inflow after a decade of stagnation, J. Mar. Syst., 148, 152–166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2015.03.005, 2015.
Omstedt, A., Elken, J., Lehmann, A., Leppäranta, M., Meier, H. E. M., Myrberg, K., and Rutgersson, A.: Progress in physical oceanography of the Baltic Sea during the 2003–2014 period, Prog. Oceanogr., 128, 139–171, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2014.08.010, 2014.
Rak, D.: The inflow in the Baltic Proper as recorded in January–February 2015, Oceanologia, 58, 241–247, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2016.04.001, 2016.
Rak, D.: IOPAN Baltic CTD processing and CF-1.8 NetCDF export (MATLAB) (Version 1.0.0), Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17814769, 2025a.
Rak, D.: Southern Baltic Sea hydrographic CTD profiles along the Arkona–Bornholm–Słupsk–Gdańsk transect (1997–2024), IOPAN GeoNetwork [data set], https://doi.org/10.48457/IOPAN.2025.531, 2025b.
Rak, D. and Wieczorek, P.: Variability of temperature and salinity over the last decade in selected regions of the southern Baltic Sea, Oceanologia, 54, 339–354, https://doi.org/10.5697/oc.54-3.339, 2012.
Rak, D., Walczowski, W., Dzierzbicka-Głowacka, L., and Shchuka, S.: Dissolved oxygen variability in the southern Baltic Sea in 2013–2018, Oceanologia, 62, 525–537, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2020.08.005, 2020.
Rak, D., Przyborska, A., Bulczak, A. I., and Dzierzbicka-Głowacka, L.: Energy fluxes and vertical heat transfer in the Southern Baltic Sea, Front. Mar. Sci., 11, 1365759, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1365759, 2024.
Reissmann, J. H., Burchard, H., Feistel, R., Hagen, E., Lass, H.-U., Mohrholz, V., Nausch, G., Umlauf, L., and Wieczorek, G.: Vertical mixing in the Baltic Sea and consequences for eutrophication – A review, Prog. Oceanogr., 82, 47–80, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2007.10.004, 2009.
Stigebrandt, A. and Gustafsson, B.: The response of the Baltic Sea to climate change – Theory and observations, J. Sea Res., 49, 243–256, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1385-1101(03)00021-2, 2003.
Walczowski, W., Merchel, M., Rak, D., Wieczorek, P., and Goszczko, I.: Argo floats in the southern Baltic Sea, Oceanologia, 62, 478–488, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2020.07.001, 2020.
Short summary
This 28-year study collects vital oceanographic data from the southern Baltic. We used specialized instruments on a vessel to measure water temperature and saltiness along a repeated route, covering four major sea basins. This unique, long-term record is now publicly available and crucial for improving sea models and monitoring the health and dynamics of this important European Sea.
This 28-year study collects vital oceanographic data from the southern Baltic. We used...
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