 On 10 June 10 2013, at the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX on Öland, Sweden’s second largest island, a new research programme will be launched. The aim of the new research programme is to achieve an improved understanding of the Earth system for the Baltic Sea region.
The Conference Opening and the launch of the new research programme are honoured by the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden.
Media interested in interviews with key persons for the new research programme on the Baltic Sea region, please contact Dr. Marcus Reckermann, marcus.reckermann@hzg.de or +49 171 8204515, Head of the International BALTEX Secretariat at Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht.
Media interested in participating at the Conference Opening and the launch of the new research programme, please register name and media to Jessica Forsgard, jessica.forsgard@smhi.se or +46 11 495 84 69, no later than 7 June at 10:00 CEST.
The conference will take place in the Strand Hotell Borgholm on Öland, Sweden, 10-14 June 2013. For more information on BALTEX, please visit http://www.baltex-research.eu/.
PRESS RELEASE
A new research programme to achieve an improved understanding of the Earth system for the Baltic Sea region
On June 10th, 2013, at the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX, a new international and interdisciplinary research programme, Baltic Earth, was launched. The aim of Baltic Earth is to achieve an improved understanding of the Earth system for the Baltic Sea region, focusing on physical and biogeochemical processes which interact in the atmosphere, in the sea including sea ice, and on land. Human interactions with the environment are recognized as an important part of the regional Earth system.
The Conference Opening and the launch of the new research programme were honoured by the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden.
What determines the salinity dynamics in the Baltic Sea? What are the biogeochemical fluxes and feedbacks between the land and the sea? How can we predict extreme events like floods in the Baltic Sea region? What are the sea level dynamics in the Baltic Sea? What are the human impacts on the environment and how do they change the regional Earth system?
These are some core research questions, so called Grand Challenges, already identified for Baltic Earth. In order to tackle these questions, the new programme will combine an analysis of observations, multi-model systems and various outreach activities.
Knowledge about environmental processes in the Baltic Sea region is a prerequisite to understand and assess human impacts, and is crucial for the development of abatement strategies to meet the on-going and projected climate change.
Baltic Earth will play an active role towards involving decision makers, for instance in cooperation with HELCOM, the intergovernmental Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission and other stakeholders.
Baltic Earth will succeed the successful BALTEX programme which has been working towards an improved understanding of the water, energy, nutrient and carbon cycles in the light of climate change for the past 20 years. Like BALTEX, Baltic Earth will be a network of scientists and institutions in the Baltic Sea region, working together to tackle common research questions.
Outreach and education are important aspects of the new programme
Following BALTEX strategies, Baltic Earth will organize working group meetings, scientific workshops and study conferences with dedicated stakeholder involvements. Another important task will be the production of scientific assessments of important scientific questions, identifying knowledge gaps and supporting the definition of new Grand Challenges for research. For instance, the BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Basin (BACC) has been an important effort and service to society. Such activities will be continued in the new programme.
An interdisciplinary discussion across borders and communication with stakeholders and the public about scientific questions and results will be important outreach aspects. Summer schools shall be organized on a regular basis as a contribution to a comprehensive education in Earth system sciences in order to support a new generation of researchers for which interdisciplinary work is natural.
The research programme is led by an interim steering group chaired by Markus Meier, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. Researchers from all countries surrounding the Baltic Sea will be part of the network.
7th Study Conference on BALTEX
The BALTEX programme has served as a successful scientific network in the Baltic Sea region for 20 years. These years have seen great changes in terms of social and political developments. Throughout this time, BALTEX has remained a focal point for regional climate and environmental research.
Achievements of 20 years of BALTEX research comprise the implementation of international observational databases, the development of coupled atmosphere-ocean-biogeochemical models, the assimilation of observations into numerical models, and outreach activities across country and discipline borders.
The 7th Study Conference on BALTEX will summarize 20 years of interdisciplinary BALTEX research in the Baltic Sea region and will present perspectives for future research. The conference title is two-fold: “Changes in energy, water and matter cycles” summarizes the scope of BALTEX research in the last 20 years; “Building regional Earth System knowledge” stands for the scientific vision of the new programme, which will inherit and further develop the BALTEX research network and scientific legacy.
For more information on BALTEX, please visit http://www.baltex-research.eu/.
The launch of the Baltic Earth research programme
Markus Meier, SMHI and Baltic Earth Interims Steering Group chair (left), Marcus Reckermann, Head of the International BALTEX Secretariat at Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, and Anna Rutgersson, Uppsala University and co-chair of the Baltic Earth Interims Steering Group uncover the new Baltic Earth logo (Photo: Karl Nilsson).
Photo in high resolution
Launch of the new Baltic Earth programme in the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden. To the right of His Majesty is Colonel Per H. Nilsson, Lena Häll Eriksson, Director General Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, SMHI (Sweden), Stefan Carlsson, County Administrative Board Kalmar, Mikhail Durkin, HELCOM, and Markus Meier, SMHI and Baltic Earth Interims Steering Group chair; to the left are Anders Omstedt, University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and BALTEX Steering Group co-chair, Sirje Keevallik, Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia) and BALTEX Steering Group co-chair, Jan Erici, Chair of City Council Borgholm Municipality, Ian A. Nicholls, Linnaeus University Kalmar, and Hans von Storch, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (Germany) and BALTEX Steering Group co-chair (Photo: Karl Nilsson).
Photo in high resolution
Baltic Earth Logo (jpg)
Baltic Earth Logo (eps)
Download high resolution figure of Baltic Sea drainage basin (courtesy of SMHI)
Contact
Dr. Marcus Reckermann
International BALTEX Secretariat
at Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht
Max-Planck-Straße 1
D-21502 Geesthacht
Phone +49 (0)4152 871693
Mobile: +49 (0)171 8204515
Email: marcus.reckermann@hzg.de |
Conference Programme 
