To make maps of the marine environment, the plants, and connected nature values, one of the basic pieces of information you need is marine biological data. Not only can this data be used for making models and maps, it also tells us a lot about the underwater landscape and provides knowledge about the existence of … Continue reading Marine vegetation inventories
SEAmBOTH project is nearing its end, and with it comes also final results. One of the main tasks of SEAmBOTH has been the identification of most valuable areas. In order to protect nature, we first need to know where valuable features are. The analysis flow how nature values can be defined, can look something like … Continue reading Nature values
One of the great things about working in the field during the summer is that you get to see many interesting places that you wouldn’t generally get the chance to. At Töre harbour next to the yellow buoy marking the northern most point of the Baltic Sea (Photo by Linnea Bergdahl, County Administrative Board of … Continue reading Törefjärden
Stoneworts, or Charales in scientific terms, is an order of green algae that is commonly found in the northern Bothnian Bay. They may look like ordinary vascular plants with stems and branches but are in fact algae. They can be found in freshwater, such as lakes, ponds, and rivers, as well as in brackish waters … Continue reading Stoneworts of the northern Bothnian Bay
One of the things we do in the SEAmBOTH project is to produce maps which can help us identify valuble areas in the sea. Becuase we know that valuable areas are those that we should not destroy, those we should take extra care of to ensure the sea remains healthy and in good status. Therefore … Continue reading What is valuable nature?
The today's and future status of the northern Bothnian Bay is to a large extent decided by the laws regulating activities in and around it and the regulations stating what quality of environment we want and don't want. The sea is the same but the legal framework looks different in Sweden and Finland. One thing … Continue reading One Bothnian Bay, and a sea of laws regulating it…
Hi, I’m Petra. I’m an adventurer and nature lover. I’m also a Finnish marine biologist working in Sweden. How did I end up in Sweden? We can start with where I came from. 8 years I worked for Metsähallitus, most of that time in the eastern Gulf of Finland. I was a field worker and … Continue reading People behind the scenes: marine biologist Petra Pohjola
S/V Ocean Surveyor with crew arrived at the old industry port at Seskarö, an island not far from Haparanda, in the beginning of August. New for this year’s field work is that the launch vessel Ugglan have been equipped with a multibeam echosounder, the EM2040C. After some initial testing and calibration the echosounder proved to … Continue reading S/V Ocean Surveyor Reporting From the Bothnian Bay
The mysterious aquatic leaf beetle Macroplea pubipennis has become quite familiar to us these last two summers. Not a lot is known about these beetles. Two years ago, we didn’t even know they existed in Sweden and they were known to occur only in Finland and China (of all places). As observation sites in the … Continue reading Searching for Macroplea pubipennis
In our last week's blog you could read about flads; how they are formed, why they are so valuable and a bit about the challenges that concern conserving these important habitats. Now we want to introduce you to a specific flad that we have discovered in our underwater nature inventories and discuss its future. Although … Continue reading Flads of Salmisudden
SEAmBOTH 