Research on oceanographic processes

Small-scale physical and biogeochemical processes in the ocean are of great importance for the ocean's large-scale circulation and state, but are often parameterized or approximately represented in ocean models. The research group increases SMHI's possibilities to produce relevant knowledge about future changes in the marine environment, by investigating oceanographic processes and improving their representation in ocean models.

The research group mainly works with research and analysis of small-scale processes that regulate transports and flows of water and substances in the marine system, as well as large-scale effects of human activities, for example offshore wind power, aquaculture and shipping. This is done with a combination of models, observations and theoretical and statistical analysis methods.

The work will increase the understanding of the most important natural and anthropogenic processes in the sea and the sensitivity of the marine system to changes caused by climate change and other effects caused by human activity. The group improves existing modeling tools, promotes the use of higher resolution modeling tools, and supports the development and use of new measurement techniques. In addition, the work aims to improve the connection between observations and models, as well as the flow and analyzes of data.

Examples of focus areas and questions of interest are:

  • Effects of offshore wind power on the large-scale environment in the Baltic Sea, Kattegat, and Skagerrak
  • Models' representation of inflows to the Baltic Sea to improve knowledge of future changes in the Baltic Sea's salinity and oxygen conditions
  • Leakage of phosphorus from oxygenated and deoxygenated sediments
  • Processes that modify and mix water masses