Overview of the Water Bodies in the Baltic Sea Countries

Abstract

The chapter takes a look at the Baltic Sea from various aspects to develop a synthesis of the existing knowledge and add a new perspective on the water bodies in the Baltic Countries Sea using RS. The Baltic Sea, with a composition that is neither sea nor fresh water, is one of the largest brackish water bodies in the world. The Baltic Sea Drainage Basin (BSDB) is a large heterogeneous region. The drainage basin is occupied by 14 countries and covers an area of 1,739,000 km2 and home to about 84 million. There are 14 larger international river basins within the BSDB, with an approximate area of 1,050,000 km2. Such river basins vary in size, many basin sharing countries, witnessed environmental issues, and how they are handled. Over 200 rivers discharge into the Baltic Sea, creating an area of about 1,700,000 km2 of catchment and drainage that is about four times larger than the sea itself. This catchment area is considered to be part of the Large Marine Ecosystem of the Baltic Sea (BSLME). As a result of global warming, the future rise in sea level will affect the coastal regions of the world. Although the speed of sea-level rise is not clear, it will have serious and global implications. So how could one judge whether the land went up or the water went down? Well, a solution might be to calculate the occurrence frequency for a long time over a larger area, in this case, across the entire Baltic Sea. One of the solutions to cope with the rapidly changing environment is renewable energy. Wind and wave turbines are becoming increasingly common, although ensuring that they do as little harm as possible to the environment is crucial.