6th Baltic Earth Conference 2026

1. Climate variability and teleconnections

The session examines how climate variability and teleconnections shape weather and climate across Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region. We invite contributions that for example link the North Atlantic to the Baltic - from jet stream dynamics and storm track variability to ocean-atmosphere coupling to the North Atlantic Oscillation and other features of the climate system. We particularly welcome studies that focus on how these drivers project onto the seasonally varying background state, separate multiple time scales and address how they influence extremes, regional climate variability and their predictability.Submissions may use reanalyses (including century-scale products), CMIP/RCM ensembles and downscaling, forecast systems, process-based diagnostics, causal/attribution frameworks, and storyline or event-based approaches. Case studies that integrate observations and modelling, assess model skill for the Baltic domain, or connect teleconnections to impacts and services are encouraged.

2. Bridging Scales: From Small-Scale Turbulence to Basin-Wide Circulation

Oceanic processes span a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, from large-scale circulation and mesoscale fronts and eddies to submesoscale phenomena, internal waves, and small-scale turbulent mixing. However, the transfer of energy across these scales and the interactions among them are still not well understood. Moreover, the impact of small-scale processes on basin-wide circulation and its internal variability has yet to be fully elucidated, which is crucial for improving the predictability of oceans and seas. In this session, we invite observational, modeling and theoretical studies that explore physical processes within the water column across various spatial and temporal scales in the Baltic Sea and other sea areas. We particularly welcome studies that address cross-scale interactions, energy cascades, and the role of small-scale dynamics in shaping large-scale ocean circulation and variability.

3. Natural hazards and their impacts

The Baltic Sea region is one of the most populated and industrialized in Europe, making it highly vulnerable to natural hazards. This session addresses the causes and impacts of extreme hydro-meteorological, marine, and geological events in the region. We welcome contributions on forecasting and early warning, attribution to climate change, compound impacts on society, coasts, and ecosystems, as well as strategies for risk reduction and resilience building.

4. Sea level and coastal change

Coastal change in the Baltic Sea results from variations in wind, air pressure, and sea level, as well as waves, land uplift or subsidence, and other coastal drivers that mobilize and transport sediments. It is most evident during storms, sometimes accompanied by coastal flooding, when the sea level rises — a combined result of higher water levels driven by the dynamics of the North Sea and processes influenced by regional and local weather conditions, all against the backdrop of mean sea level rise. Studies on sea level variability, waves, land uplift, and subsidence, as well as their effects on sediment transport and coastal changes, are welcome.

5. Biogeochemistry of the Baltic Sea – Linking observations and modelling

Investigations on the marine and terrestrial carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and pathways towards an understanding of primary production mechanisms and organic matter transformations in the Baltic Sea; biogeochemical causes and effects of eutrophication, oxygen limitations and trace gas production, including microbiological processes; and modelling approaches to explain observations and project future changes are welcome.

6. Baltic Optics: Advancing Ocean Colour Science and Applications in the Baltic Sea

Understanding the optical properties of the Baltic Sea plays a key role in advancing our knowledge of ecosystem dynamics, phytoplankton community composition, carbon cycling and primary production. Yet, the region’s optical complexity—driven by strong gradients in salinity, coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM), suspended matter, and phytoplankton diversity—poses persistent challenges for accurate observation and modelling of its optical state.
This session, Baltic Optics, invites contributions that address current and emerging questions around data needs, methodological gaps, and technological challenges in ocean colour research in the Baltic Sea. We welcome interdisciplinary work combining in situ observations, remote sensing, and numerical modelling, as well as developments in algorithm design, sensor calibration, and data assimilation.

Key Topics Include:

• • Ocean colour data needs, validation, and quality assurance in optically complex waters
  • Gaps and uncertainties in current observation networks and datasets
  • Challenges of satellite ocean colour retrievals for coastal and inland waters
  • Integrated observation approaches combining optical, biogeochemical, and physical measurement
  • New and emerging technologies (e.g., hyperspectral sensors, autonomous platforms, AI-assisted analytics)
  • Regional Baltic Sea case studies and applications for ecosystem management, water quality monitoring, and climate change assessments

7. Adaptive governance under multiple drivers of change in the Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea and its catchment area is influenced by multiple interacting physical and socioeconomic drivers, including climate change, nutrient loading, economic development, demographic change, and technological innovation, among many others. These overlapping pressures create high uncertainty, making it difficult for governance systems to anticipate future conditions or to design and implement effective, long-term solutions. Modelling frameworks can play a critical role in adaptive management: creating different scenarios, exploring system dynamics, and participatory modelling approaches allow stakeholders to explore uncertainty, test alternative mitigation and adaptation strategies, and update management responses as conditions evolve.These approaches are increasingly being recognized as essential for managing under uncertainty and complexity. Yet their application in the Baltic context has been uneven, and lessons remain scattered. This session will explore how adaptive and model-informed approaches can help address the cumulative and interacting nature of multiple drivers, and how governance systems can build resilience in the face of change and uncertainty.

8. Marginal Seas – Humans and Environment

The Baltic Sea is one of the best-studied regional seas, and the research community possesses extensive paleo-environmental, prehistoric, and historical data. As a semi-enclosed sea bordering the open ocean, the Baltic Sea, like other comparable seas, is increasingly threatened by changing natural and anthropogenic impacts. This global pressure on marginal seas, their coasts, and their catchment areas is caused in particular by climate change and the overexploitation of their resources. The corresponding call for generally applicable sustainable management strategies and concepts has led to the integration of special scientific sessions into the program of the biennial Baltic Earth Conferences since 2022, focusing on the global comparison of the Baltic Sea with other marginal seas. We are continuing this initiative and invite marine geoscientists, life scientists, economists, historians, and stakeholders from around the world to the 2026 conference in Heringsdorf to exchange experiences and concepts for the sustainable management of marginal seas and to discuss them jointly to approach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

9. Future projections of the Baltic Sea region

The Baltic Sea region is strongly impacted by anthropogenic climate change and ranks among the fastest warming seas globally. Continued warming is expected to lead to changes in temperature, salinity, and nutrient dynamics—affecting marine ecosystems and the services they provide to human society. Consequently, robust climate projections are essential for effective adaptation and planning. While global climate projections from the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) are available, their spatial resolution is too coarse to adequately capture the complex characteristics of the Baltic Sea region, including its orography, land-sea distribution, and key regional processes. Moreover, many models struggle to accurately represent observed natural climate variability. This session welcomes contributions focusing on future climate projections for the Baltic Sea region, addressing the aforementioned challenges and strategies to overcome them.

10. Philosophical aspects of Baltic Sea Earth system research

During this session, we will explore and discuss the big ideas behind Earth System Science on a regional scale, such as the Baltic Basin or other marginal seas. The Earth System Science analyzes how physical, chemical, biological, and human processes interact. Understanding the Earth System in the Baltic Basin has been shaped by several key ideas that have been developed over the years, including, e.g., land uplift and glaciation, estuarine circulation, climate change and variability, acidification, eutrophication, fishing success, and human impacts. We invite presentations that address the initiation of one or more of these ideas, their progress, and their significance for understanding Earth System Science.