Search

The sea surrounding Sweden is a part of the Northern Atlantic. It lies on the North West European continental shelf and is relatively small and shallow. Basic information such as drainage areas, the shape of the sea, area, depth, volume and contact points with neighbouring seas is needed to …

The Baltic Sea is the body of water that meets Sweden on the south and east coast. The annual river runoff into the Baltic is 440 km³/year, precipitation is 225 km³/year and evaporation is -185 km³/year. The net difference of 480 km³/year runs out through the Sound.

The mean annual sea level is calculated by regression of the annual mean value of the sea level over many years. It has a practical value, as it is used to decide the actual depth based on information in navigational charts.

Surface water temperature varies seasonally, from just below zero up to 25 degrees. The temperature of the deeper layers is fairly constant, 4-6 degrees all year round. Water temperature is regulated by sunshine, atmospheric radiation, heat transfer, and mixing.

Surface currents are currents in the top few metres down to the next layer which could either be a layer with a different temperature or a more permanent saltier layer.

When a wave approaches the coast and the depth becomes shallower than about half the wave length, it becomes steeper and slower until it breaks. In very shallow water, the wave is speed is governed purely by water depth and becomes the same as the group speed.

The total volume of water in the global oceans affects the sea level in our seas. The volume of the global ocean is determined partly by the ocean temperature and by how much water is stored on land in reservoirs and aquifers, and as ice in the form of glaciers, Antarctic ice and Greenland ice. The …

Watercourses that run into the Baltic add fresh water, thus reducing the salinity of the sea. The density of fresh water is lower than salt water, which affects the sea level in the Baltic.

Strong winds can cause a set-up in the Baltic Sea level, pushing the water up against the coast, so that there is a (gentle) slope in sea level from one side of the sea to the other. As the wind changes, it can no longer maintain this sea level slope, and the water is released starting an …

Coast and sea do not have any national boundaries so the environmental work in Sweden is governed by both national and international guidelines and marine conventions.