Baltic Sea Issues

Baltic Sea Issues Area: 415,000 sq km Average depth: 52m maximum depth: 459m Major gulfs: Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Riga Average annual catch: 700,000 to 900,000 metric tons Sweden Finland Skagerrack Estonia strait Baltic Sea Latvia Latvia o- Kattegat strait Russia 3% Denmark Lithuania Finland 35% Russia Denmark 10%- Germany Poland Germany 12% Poland Polluting countries (top four according to World Wildlife Fund) Sweden 15% · 17% Commercial fish: herring, cod, salmon, flounder Of all pollutants, o 25% contain nitrogen compound o 37%, phosphorus compounds Baltic Sea Issues - Man-made and development influence o 1/10th of global sea shipping votdme passes through the Batie Sea - : 300 vessels move through the Baltic gulfs annually Slow water exchange with ocean narrow and shallow Skagerrack and Kattegat straits o complete cycle for water renewal: 30 to 50 years max depth- 459 m average depth- 52 m Oil pollution up to 600,000t of oil finds its way into the sea with wastewater Hypoxic (low-oxygen) zones (oceans: 10, Baltic Sea: 7) o excessive contamination by nitrogen and phosphorus (agricultural fertilizers from runoff, utilities effluents and industrial waste) o Oxygen deficiency at sea bottom o accumulation of hydrogen sulfide (the hypoxic zones of the Bornholm, Gotland and Gdansk sea depressions) o blooms of cyanide-releasing blue-green toxic algae o accumulation of heavy metals (annual amounts: copper, 4,000t; lead, 3,000t; cadmium, about 50t; mercury, 33t Arms and ammunition buried o 267,000t of bombs, artillery and mortar shells sunk after World War II o more than 50,000t of toxic war gases O Safety measures: o reduce nitrogen content in the water by 65% o and phosphorus by 80% O Rate of casing corrosion in aviation bombs: 13-80 years; in artillery and mortar shells: 22-150 years (expert estimates) RIANOVOSTI © 2010