Session themes for BSSC2023
The 14th Baltic Sea Science Conference will be organised in Helsinki on 21st -25th August 2023. The event will bring together hundreds of scientists working on issues to present their most recent research results. The special focus of the BSSC will be towards the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences (UNDOS) objectives related to the Baltic Sea research. Scientific sessions are guided by the overall theme of the UNDOS phrases as
“the science we need for the ocean we want”.
In addition to discussion on recent scientific results, the conference facilitates discussion on status, trends, and the future of the Baltic Sea and its catchment area. This forms a part of the global ocean studies, planning of joint research activities and interaction among science and society.
The conference sessions thus cover a wide range of topics according to the objectives of Decade of Ocean Science in the Baltic Sea:
1. A clean Baltic Sea
2. A healthy and resilient Baltic Sea
3. A productive Baltic Sea
4. A predictive Baltic Sea
5. A safe Baltic Sea
6. An accessible Baltic Sea
7. An inspiring and engaging Baltic Sea
The conference is multidisciplinary and it has common panels for policy and decision makers. We aim at a common conference memo “the science we need for the Baltic Sea we want”. This means knowledge exchange between marine scientists in order to contribute to informed society and policy decisions for sustainable management of the Baltic Sea today and future.
We also invite the sharing of research from other coastal seas that is of general relevance to the topic of the Congress. In particular, we encourage presentations focusing on coastal and marginal seas that contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
BSSC2023 focuses on seven sessions:
1. A clean Baltic
A clean Baltic Sea where sources of pollution are identified and reduced or removed.
Conveners: Kai Myrberg, Aarno Kotilainen, Kari Hyytiäinen, Inna Sokolova, Taavi Liblik
This session focuses on the Baltic Sea pollution with natural and manmade harmful substances, heat, and noise. We welcome studies related to monitoring, managing, and predicting existing pollution sources on land and sea as well as identifying potential future sources of pollution due to e.g. offshore wind energy production, dredging, shipping, aquaculture, or from other growing sectors. Observational and modeling studies on the circulation and transport of pollutants are highly encouraged. This is important for evaluating the patterns and movement of various substances in the sea. Studies on the environmental impacts of natural and anthropogenic pollutants on the Baltic Sea biota and the hazard and risk assessment of the emerging pollutants on the Baltic Sea ecosystems from organisms to populations and communities are of interest. Theoretical and numerical economic research including cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses on alternative environmental projects, mitigation measures or policy instruments is welcomed. Studies on modeling the land-coast-sea continuum are encouraged.
2. A healthy and resilient Baltic
A healthy and resilient Baltic where marine ecosystems are understood, protected, restored and managed.
Conveners: Alf Norkko, Astra Labuce, Karol Kulinski, Maren Voss, David N. Thomas, Jacob Carstensen
The Baltic Sea is at the forefront of global change where its sensitive ecosystems are struggling with a legacy of multiple anthropogenic pressures: Including marine biodiversity,the provision of ecosystem services, but also its resilience to additional change. Accelerating climate change highlights the urgent need to understand future ecosystem trajectories in order to better protect and restore the Baltic Sea. To address the societal concerns on the state of the Baltic Sea (including underlying physics and biogeochemistry), we welcome submissions emphasising biogeochemical cycles, biodiversity and food web dynamics. We encourage both experimental and modelling studies that address environmental drivers and their relationship to the structure and function of the ecosystem: From short- to long-term variability and spanning time scales from the paleo perspective through the recent past and into the future, which combined will help us understand the trajectories of change. Moreover, the evaluation of marine protected areas as well as the impact of climate change and other anthropogenic pressures on marine biodiversity and ecosystem services will be discussed. The implications for improved ecosystem-based management in a rapidly changing ecosystem will be highlighted.
3. A productive Baltic
A productive Baltic supporting sustainable food supply and a sustainable ocean economy.
Conveners: Arttu Polojärvi, Gregor Rehder, Meri Kallasvuo, Nina Tynkkynen
Increasing demand on using marine space for energy and food production, material sourcing and other marine activities cause additional pressures on the Baltic Sea ecosystem and cause conflicting interests. This session invites interdisciplinary studies related to natural resource management, coordination of conflicting interests as well as impacts of large scale energy and food production and marine livelihoods on the marine ecosystem and coastal society. Also papers on technological and circular economy solutions to minimise footprint of offshore activities on the ecosystem are encouraged.
4. A predictive Baltic
A predicted Baltic where society understands and can respond to changing ocean conditions.
Conveners: Markus Meier, Inga Dailidiene, Inna Sokolova
Impact of the climate change for the Baltic Sea conditions is already now manifested in shrinking ice cover, amplified marine heat waves and increasing eustatic sea level rise. Regional climate model projections indicate continuation of these changes but also emphasizes strong decadal scale natural variability. In this session, we invite contributions on assessing uncertainty of climate projections to Baltic Sea scale, in particular for salinity, estimations changes in marine extreme events and their impact on infrastructure, societies and human health.
5. A safe Baltic
A safe Baltic where life and livelihoods are protected from ocean-related hazards.
Conveners: Laura Tuomi, Arttu Polojärvi, Inga Koszalka, Vibeke Huess
Marine hazards in Baltic Sea are related but not limited to storms, storm surges and coastal flooding, extreme waves, icing, coastal erosion, harmful algal blooms, marine heat waves. This session calls for papers focusing on development of deterministic, probabilistic and statistical modelling and prediction systems. We also encourage studies related to improving coastal protection, safety of marine traffic, and recreational use of the Baltic Sea.
6. An accessible Baltic
An accessible Baltic with open and equitable access to data, information, technology and innovation.
Conveners: Jari Haapala, Laura Uusitalo, Joanna Staneva
During the last decade, remarkable progress has occurred in utilization of automatic real time instruments in the Baltic Sea monitoring, development in numerical modelling systems as well as digitalization in shipping and other marine industry sectors. Increasing number of the operators follow the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable data) but still much of the data is difficult to access.
A goal of this decade should be the development of the Digital Twin of the Baltic. This system should be a next generation decision making system for the Baltic Sea community. It should integrate all available data describing the state of the Baltic Sea as well as on human activities. It should be built on the basis of open source data and code as the other EU initiatives of Destination Earth. This session invites studies on developments of new sensors and automatic ocean monitoring systems, utilization of satellite data, integration and interoperability of data sources, numerical models, and machine learning techniques on determining the state of the Baltic Sea as well as the development of ocean models for exascale computing.
7. An inspiring and engaging Baltic
An inspiring and engaging Baltic where society understands and values the ocean in relation to human well-being and sustainable development.
Conveners: Paula Kankaanpää, Anda Ikauniece, Kai Myrberg
The objective is to discuss how to engage wide public, interest groups and educators on topics of ocean sustainability. It presents science based decision support tools, describes inclusive and holistic policy processes and discusses how to include market and non-market valuation of marine ecosystems and cultural perspectives into decision making. It presents novel research about the interface of marine science and policy and exchanges best practices. It aims at inspiring new innovations on ways, methods and resources of engagement and coproduction of knowledge, as well as formal and informal education on sea and marine sustainable development. The session contributes to the ocean literacy topic of the Decade of Ocean science: “the ocean influence of you, and your influence on the ocean”.