Kotilainen, A. T.
Holocene saline water inflow changes into the Baltic Sea,
ecosystem responses and future scenarios
The Holocene saline water inflow changes into the Baltic Sea
(INFLOW) was one of the BONUS Research Programme projects (2009–2011) that
generate new knowledge in support of decision-making in the Baltic Sea region.
The INFLOW project integrated sediment multi-proxy studies and modelling aiming
to reconstruct past changes in the Baltic Sea ecosystem; to identify the
forcing mechanisms of those environmental changes; and to provide scenarios of
the impact of climate change on the Baltic Sea ecosystem at the end of the 21st
century. The main efforts have been directed towards studies of the saline
water inflow strength, salinity, temperature, redox, and benthic fauna activity
over the past 6000 years, concentrating on the time period that covers two
natural climate extremes, the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly.