Abstract
The trophic status of the eastern Gulf of Finland, where the largest Baltic metropolis St. Petersburg sits at the mouth of the largest Baltic river Neva, is elevated but existing recommendations on water protection measures are controversial. In this study, the effects of nutrient load reductions on this ecosystem were estimated with the aid of a three-dimensional coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model. As a reference, the contemporary seasonal dynamics were simulated with nutrient inputs corresponding to the recent estimates of point and riverine sources. In order to eliminate the effects of natural inter-annual variations, the computations were run under recurrent annual forcing for 3 years, until quasi steady-state seasonal dynamics were reached. Reasonable comparability of simulated concentrations and biogeochemical fluxes to available field estimates provides credibility to scenario simulations. These simulations show that substantial reductions of nutrient point sources in St. Petersburg would affect only the Neva Bay as the immediate receptor of treated sewage waters, where primary production could decrease by up to 20%. Eutrophication in the other parts of the Neva Estuary and in the entire eastern Gulf of Finland would change insignificantly owing to increased nutrient import from the offshore waters. Therefore, more significant changes can occur only via a reduction in nutrient pools in the open Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Proper, which would require a longer time.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alenius, P., K. Myrberg & A. Nekrasov, 1998. The physical oceanography of the Gulf of Finland: a review. Boreal Environment Research 3: 97–125.
Andrejev, O., K. Myrberg & P. A. Lundberg, 2004. Age and renewal time of water masses in a semi-enclosed basin — application to the Gulf of Finland. Tellus 56A: 548–558.
Bartnicki, J., A. Gusiev, K. Barret & D. A. Simpson, 2005. Atmospheric supply of nitrogen, lead, cadmium, mercury and lindane to the Baltic Sea over the period 1996–2000. Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings 2005: 101.
Bashmachnikov, I. L., O. M. Johannessen, L. H. Pettersson, G. Evensen, I. A. Neelov, O. P. Savchuk, A. V. Leonov, S. Kaitala, T. Stipa, H. Kuosa & N. N. Filatov, 2005. Numerical simulations of the White Sea hydrodynamics and marine ecosystem. In Filatov, N. N., D. V. Pozdnyakov, et al. (eds), White Sea: Its Marine Environment and Ecosystem Dynamics Influenced by Global Change. Springer Praxis Books, Berlin: 337–438.
BED — The Baltic Environmental Database. http://nest.su.se/bed.
Conley, D. J., 2000. Biogeochemical nutrient cycles and nutrient management strategies. Hydrobiologia 410: 87–96.
Conley, D. J., C. Humborg, L. Rahm, O. P. Savchuk & F. Wulff, 2002. Hypoxia in the Baltic Sea and basin-scale changes in phosphorus biogeochemistry. Environmental Science & Technology 36: 5315–5320.
Davidan, I. N. & O. P. Savchuk (eds), 1997. “Baltica’ Project. Problems of Research and Modelling of the Baltic Sea Ecosystem. Issue 5. Ecosystem Models. Assessment of the Modern State of the Gulf of Finland Ecosystem. Hydrometeoizdat, St. Petersburg (in Russian).
Golubkov, M. S., S. M. Golubkov & L. P. Umnova, 2005. Primary production and chlorophyll ‘a’ concentration as indexes of eutrophication of the Neva Estuary (Eastern Gulf of Finland). Abstracts of 5th Baltic Sea Science Congress — The Baltic Sea Changing Ecosystem, June 2005, Poland: 121–122.
Gran, V. & H. Pitkänen, 1999. Denitrification in estuarine sediments in the eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea. Hydrobiologia 393: 107–115.
HELCOM, 2004. The fourth Baltic Sea pollution load compilation (PLC-4). Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings 93.
Howarth, R. W. & R. Marino, 2006. Nitrogen as the limiting nutrient for eutrophication in coastal marine systems: evolving views over three decades. Limnology and Oceanography 51: 364–376.
Kähler, P., 1991. Eutrophication and sediment denitrification in coastal marine waters, the example of Kiel Bight. Kieler Meeresforschungen. Sonderhefte 8: 112–116.
Kahru, M., J.-M. Leppänen, O. Rud & O. P. Savchuk, 2000. Cyanobacteria blooms in the Gulf of Finland triggered by saltwater inflow into the Baltic Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 207: 13–18.
Kiirikki, M. & H. Pitkänen, 2007. Testing the calculation of nutrient fluxes between the Baltic Proper and the Gulf of Finland with the 3D ecosystem model. In Pitkänen, H. & P. Tallberg (eds), Searching Efficient Protection Strategies for the Eutrophied Gulf of Finland: The Integrated Use of Experimental and Modelling Tools (SEGUE). Finnish Environment, Finland 15: 61–63.
Kiirikki, M., P. Rantanen, R. Varjopuro, A. Leppänen, M. Hiltunen, H. Pitkänen, P. Ekholm, E. Moukhametshina, A. Inkala, H. Kuosa & J. Sarkkula, 2003. Cost Effective Water Protection in the Gulf of Finland — Focus on St. Petersburg. The Finnish Environment, Finland: 632.
Kiirikki, M., J. Lehtoranta, A. Inkala, H. Pitkänen, S. Hietanen, P. Hall, A. Tengberg, J. Koponen & J. Sarkkula, 2006. A simple sediment process description suitable for 3D-ecosystem modeling — development and testing in the Gulf of Finland. Journal of Marine Systems 61: 55–66.
Lehtoranta, J., 1998. Net sedimentation and sediment-water nutrient fluxes in the eastern Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea). Vie Milieu 48: 341–352.
Lehtoranta, J., A.-S. Heiskanen & H. Pitkänen, 2004. Particulate N and P characterizing the fate of nutrients along the estuarine gradient of the River Neva (Baltic Sea). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 61: 275–287.
Leppänen, J.-M., H. Pitkänen, O. Savchuk, S. Basova, V. Drabkova, V. Gran, A.-S. Heiskanen, J. Koponen, I. Spaer & N. Silina, 1997. Eutrophication and its effects in the Gulf of Finland. In Sarkkula, J. (ed.), Proceedings of the Final Seminar of the Gulf of Finland Year 1996: 31–49.
Meeuwig, J. J., P. Kaupilla & H. Pitkänen, 2000. Predicting coastal eutrophication in the Baltic: a limnological approach. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57: 844–855.
Nedwell, D. B., T. D. Jickells, M. Trimmer & R. Sanders, 1999. Nutrients in estuaries. Advances in Ecological Research 29: 43–92.
Neelov, I. A., T. A. Eremina, A. V. Isaev, V. A. Ryabchenko, O. P. Savchuk & R. E. Vankevich, 2003. A simulation of the Gulf of Finland ecosystem with 3-D model. Proceedings Estonian Academy of Science, Biology, Ecology 52: 347–359.
Nixon, S. W., 1995. Coastal marine eutrophication: a definition, social causes, and future concerns. Ophelia 41: 199–219.
Perttilä, M. & O. Savchuk (eds), 1996. The Gulf of Finland. Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings 64B: 47–59.
Perttilä, M., L. Niemistö & K. Mäkelä, 1995. Distribution, development and total amounts of nutrients in the Gulf of Finland. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 41: 345–360.
Pitkänen, H., 1991. Nutrient dynamics and trophic conditions in the Eastern Gulf of Finland: the regulatory role of the Neva Estuary. Aqua Fennica 21: 105–115.
Pitkänen, H. & T. Tamminen, 1995. Nitrogen and phosphorus as production limiting factors in the estuarine waters of the Eastern Gulf of Finland. Marine Ecology Progress Series 129: 283–294.
Pitkänen, H., T. Tamminen, P. Kangas, T. Huttula, K. Kivi, H. Kuosa, J. Sarkkula, K. Eloheimo, P. Kauppila & B. Skakalsky, 1993. Late summer trophic conditions in the north-east Gulf of Finland and the Neva River Estuary, Baltic Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 37: 453–474.
Pitkänen, H., J. Lehtoranta & A. Räike, 2001. Internal nutrient fluxes counteract decreases in external load: the case of estuarial eastern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea. Ambio 30: 195–201.
Pitkänen, H., M. Kiirikki, O. P. Savchuk, A. Räike, P. Korpinen & F. Wulff, 2007. Searching efficient protection strategies for the eutrophied Gulf of Finland: the combined use of 1D and 3D modeling in assessing long-term state scenarios with high spatial resolution. Ambio 36: 272–279.
Prastka, K., R. Sanders & T. Jickells, 1998. Has the role of estuaries as sources or sinks of dissolved inorganic phosphorus changed over time? Results of a Kd study. Marine Pollution Bulletin 36: 718–728.
Savchuk, O. P., 2000. Studies of the assimilation capacity and effects of nutrient load reductions in the eastern Gulf of Finland with a biogeochemical model. Boreal Environment Research 5: 147–163.
Savchuk, O. P., 2002. Nutrient biogeochemical cycles in the Gulf of Riga: scaling up field studies with a mathematical model. Journal of Marine Systems 32: 253–280.
Savchuk, O. P., 2005. Resolving the Baltic Sea into 7 subbasins: N and P budgets for 1991–1999. Journal of Marine Systems 56: 1–15.
Savchuk, O. & F. Wulff, 1996. Biogeochemical transformations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the marine environment — Coupling hydrodynamic and biogeochemical processes in models for the Baltic Proper. Systems Ecology Contributions, 2, Stockholm University: 79 pp.
Savchuk, O. & F. Wulff, 1999. Modelling regional and largescale responses of Baltic Sea ecosystems to nutrient reductions. Hydrobiologia 393: 35–43.
Savchuk, O. & F. Wulff, 2001. A model of the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Baltic. In Wulff, F., L. Rahm & P. Larsson (eds), A Systems Analysis of the Baltic Sea. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg: 373–415.
Savchuk, O. P. & F. Wulff, 2007. Modeling the Baltic Sea Eutrophication in a decision support system. Ambio 36: 141–148.
Savchuk, O. P. & F. Wulff, this issue. Long-term modelling of large-scale nutrient cycles in the entire Baltic Sea. Hydrobiologia.
Seitzinger, S. P., R. W. Sanders & R. Styles, 2002. Bioavailability of DON from natural and anthropogenic sources to estuarine plankton. Limnology and Oceanography 47: 353–366.
Sokolov, A. V., O. A. Andrejev, F. Wulff & M. Rodriguez-Medina, 1997. The Data Assimilation System for data analysis in the Baltic Sea. Systems Ecology Contributions, 3, Stockholm University: 66 pp
Stepanauskas, R., N. O. G. Jorgensen, O. R. Eigaard, A. Zvikas, L. J. Tranvik & L. Leonardson, 2002. Summer inputs of riverine nutrients to the Baltic Sea: bioavailability and eutrophication relevance. Ecological Monographs 72: 579–597.
Telesh, I. V., A. F. Alimov, S. M. Golubkov, V. N. Nikulina & V. E. Panov, 1999. Response of aquatic communities to anthropogenic stress: a comparative study of Neva Bay and the eastern Gulf of Finland. Hydrobiologia 393: 95–105.
Tuominen, L., A. Heinänen, J. Kuparinen & L. P. Nielsen, 1998. Spatial and temporal variability of denitrification in the sediments of the northern Baltic Proper. Marine Ecology Progress Series 172: 13–24.
Wasmund, N., M. Voss & K. Lochte, 2001. Evidence of nitrogen fixation by non-heterocystous cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea and re-calculation of a budget of nitrogen fixation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 214: 1–14.
Witek, Z., C. Humborg, O. Savchuk, A. Grelowski & E. Łysiak-Pastuszak, 2003. Nitrogen and phosphorus budgets of the Gulf of Gdańsk (Baltic Sea). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57: 239–248.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Savchuk, O.P., Eremina, T.R., Isaev, A.V., Neelov, I.A. (2009). Response of eutrophication in the eastern Gulf of Finland to nutrient load reduction scenarios. In: Andersen, J.H., Conley, D.J. (eds) Eutrophication in Coastal Ecosystems. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 207. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3385-7_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3385-7_19
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3384-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3385-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)