Marine ecology and modelling

Finnish Environment Institute (Syke)studies the impact of human pressure on the state of the sea using marine ecosystem models. Our research focuses on the Baltic Sea, and our range of models include both statistical and mechanical models that describe the operation of an ecosystem.

We analyse monitoring and research data and conduct field measurements and experiments to apply the models in practice. We develop our models constantly to improve their reliability, for instance when modelling currents and the processes of ecosystems. In addition to the Baltic Sea, we study the consequences of the global climate change in cold seas, including the polar seas, by combining biogeochemical and climate modelling.

Our team lends its expertise to numerous environmental assessments. It is important to assess the impact of both the nutrient load from land and the marine sources, such as fish farming, on the state of the sea. In addition, we assess the impact of invasive species and other changes in species and the measures to protect the waters in our coastal waters.

We also examine solutions to reduce the human pressure as part of blue bioeconomy and circular economy. We participate in international research projects that cover the entire Baltic Sea and serve as an expert in the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME).

© Photo: Julia Nyström

Key projects

Development of Archipelago Sea nutrient load model assembly and its implementation

• Development of Archipelago Sea nutrient load model assembly and its implementation to coastal Gulf of Finland and Bothnian Sea (RM Bothnian Sea, model description)
• Aquaculture Innovation Programme (INNOVESI)
• Planning and research of fish farming in the sea areas of Metsähallitus (Kalavaltio)
• Impact assessment of new projects in relation to the goals of water and marine management – current status and development needs for assessment tools (VESIMALLIT)

Development of blue bioeconomy in the Baltic Sea

• Growing algae sustainably in the Baltic Sea (GRASS)
• Sustainable cultivation of seaweed (SUSCULT)

Other projects

• Climate Relevant interactions and feedbacks: the key role of Sea Ice and Snow in the polar and global climate system (CRiceS)
• Climate change in the Arctic sea area (PAME Factsheet)
• Targeting the eutrophying phosphorus from agriculture (Shared Waters)

Publications

• Integrated governance for managing multidimensional problems: Potentials, challenges, and arrangements
• European regulations on macroalgae products
• Diffuse sources dominate the sulfate load into Finnish surface waters
• Benthic-pelagic coupling and trophic relationships in northern Baltic Sea food webs
• The future of Arctic sea-ice biogeochemistry and ice-associated ecosystems
• Water exchange between the inner and outer archipelago areas of the Finnish Archipelago Sea in the Baltic Sea
• What evidence exists for the impact of Baltic Sea ecosystems on human health and well-being?
• Fuzzy cognitive mapping of Baltic Archipelago Sea food webs reveals no cliqued views of the system structure between stakeholder groups
• Knowledge to decision in dynamic seas: Methods to incorporate non-indigenous species into cumulative impact assessments for maritime spatial planning
• A taste for aliens: contribution of a novel prey item to native fishes’ diet
• Changing Plankton Communities: Causes, Effects and Consequences
• Sea-ice algal phenology in a warmer Arctic
• Viability of pico- and nanophytoplankton in the Baltic Sea during spring
• Evaluating hydrography, circulation and transports in a coastal archipelago using a high-resolution 3d hydrodynamic model