This article is the first of two papers on the remote sensing methods of monitoring the Baltic ecosystem, developed by a Polish team. The main aim of the five- year SatBałtyk (2010–2014) research project (Satellite Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Environment) is to prepare the technical infrastructure and set in motion operational procedures for the satellite monitoring of the Baltic environment. This system is to characterize on a routine basis the structural and functional properties of this sea on the basis of data supplied by the relevant satellites. The characterization and large-scale dissemination of the following properties of the Baltic is anticipated: the solar radiation influx to the sea’s waters in various spectral intervals, energy balances of the short- and long-wave radiation at the Baltic Sea surface and in the upper layers of the atmosphere over the Baltic, sea surface temperature distribution, dynamic states of the water surface, concentrations of chlorophyll a and other phytoplankton pigments in the Baltic water, distributions of algal blooms, the occurrence of upwelling events, and the characteristics of primary organic matter production and photosynthetically released oxygen in the water. It is also intended to develop and, where feasible, to implement satellite techniques for detecting slicks of petroleum derivatives and other compounds, evaluating the state of the sea’s ice cover, and forecasting the hazards from current and future storms and providing evidence of their effects in the Baltic coastal zone. The ultimate objective of the project is to implement an operational system for the routine determination and dissemination on the Internet of the above-mentioned features of the Baltic in the form of distribution maps as well as plots, tables and descriptions characterizing the state of the various elements of the Baltic environment. The main sources of input data for this system will be the results of systematic recording by environmental satellites and also special-purpose ones such as TIROS N/NOAA, MSG (currently Meteosat 9), EOS/AQUA and ENVISAT. The final effects of the SatBałtyk project are to be achieved by the end of 2014, i.e. during a period of 60 months. These two papers present the results obtained during the first 15 months of the project. Part 1 of this series of articles contains the assumptions, objectives and a description of the most important stages in the history of our research, which constitute the foundation of the current project. It also discusses the way in which SatBałtyk functions and the scheme of its overall operations system. The second article (Part 2), will discuss some aspects of its practical applicability in the satellite monitoring of the Baltic ecosystem (see Woźniak et al. (2011) in this issue)

This paper is the second part of the description of the first stage of the SatBałtyk project’s implementation. Part 1 (Woźniak et al. 2011, in this issue) presents the assumptions and objectives of SatBałtyk and describes the most important stages in the history of our research, which is the foundation of this project. It also discusses the operation and general structure of the SatBałtyk system. Part 2 addresses various aspects of the practical applicability of the SatBałtyk Operational System to Baltic ecosystem monitoring. Examples are given of the Baltic’s characteristics estimated using the preliminary versions of the algorithms in this Operational System. At the current stage of research, these algorithms apply mainly to the characteristics of the solar energy influx and the distribution of this energy among the various processes taking place in the atmosphere-sea system, and also to the radiation balance of the sea surface, the irradiance conditions for photosynthesis and the condition of plant communities in the water, sea surface temperature distributions and some other marine phenomena correlated with this temperature. Monitoring results obtained with these preliminary algorithms are exemplified in the form of distribution maps of selected abiotic parameters of the Baltic, as well as structural and functional characteristics of this ecosystem governed by these parameters in the Baltic’s many basins. The maps cover practically the whole area of the Baltic Sea. Also given are results of preliminary inspections of the accuracy of the magnitudes shown on the maps. In actual fact, the errors of these estimates are relatively small. The further practical application of this set of algorithms (to be gradually made more specific) is therefore entirely justified as the basis of the SatBałtyk system for the effective operational monitoring of the state and functioning of Baltic ecosystems. This article also outlines the plans for extending SatBałtyk to include the recording of the effects and hazards caused by current and expected storm events in the Polish coastal zone

Coastal upwelling involves an upward movement of deeper, usually colder, water to the surface. Satellite sea surface temperature (SST) observations and simulations with a hydrodynamic model show, however, that the coastal upwelling in the Baltic Sea in winter can bring warmer water to the surface. In this study, the satellite SST data collected by the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) and the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), as well as simulations with the Parallel Model 3D (PM3D) were used to identify upwelling events in the southern Baltic Sea during the 2010–2017 winter seasons. The PM3D is a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the Baltic Sea developed at the Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdańsk, Poland, in which parallel calculations enable high-resolution modelling. A validation of the model results with in situ observations and satellite-derived SST data showed the PM3D to adequately represent thermal conditions in upwelling areas in winter (91.5% agreement). Analysis of the frequency of warm upwellings in 12 areas of the southern Baltic Sea showed a high variability in January and February. In those months, the upwelling was most frequent, both in satellite imagery and in model results, off the Hel Peninsula (38% and 43% frequency, respectively). Upwelling was also frequent off the Vistula Spit, west of the Island of Rügen, and off the eastern coast of Skåne, where the upwelling frequency estimated from satellite images exceeded 26%. As determined by the PM3D, the upwelling frequency off VS and R was at least 25%, while off the eastern coast of Skåne, it reached 17%. The faithful simulation of SST variability in the winters of 2010–2017 by the high-resolution model used was shown to be a reliable tool with which to identify warm upwellings in the southern Baltic Sea.