Author(s): Matti Lepparanta
Linked Author(s): Matti Leppäranta
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: In the Baltic Sea ice season, the near-shore zone is covered by landfast ice. Under exceptional forcing, landfast ice experiences horizontal displacements, which act as a major erosive factor in the shore areas of the lowlands in the Bay of Bothnia. Ice may ride up or pile up onto land causing surface erosion. In very shallow areas the water may freeze to the bottom, and after sea level rise the ice may drift away and remove bottom sediment. Nature in the region has adapted to the ice-driven coastal erosion, and its future is dependent on the continuity of this erosion. The present work gives an overview on observed and potential influences of the ice season on the coastal environment in the northern Baltic Sea. Coastal region at Hailuoto island in the Bay of Bothnia is taken for a case study. Semi-analytical tools are presented to examine the evolution of coastal ice conditions and predict the occurrence of horizontal erosive events. This evolution is primarily determined by the depth of the sea, air temperature, wind, and fetches over coastal subbasins.
Year: 2012