"The Times They Are A Changin’ ", wrote Bob Dylan a song once, a long time ago. But it is very true still today, when the current coronavirus situation is changing the world and our societal behaviour. Also, the environment is changing, partly due to our own activities, partly by natural forces. SEAmBOTH project started … Continue reading The Times They Are A Changin’ – and the landscape too
Most of the existing populations of the threatened species of macrophytes in the Baltic Sea can be found in the SEAmBOTH area. There are a lot of populations from before 1995 in the southern Finland, Sweden, and south of the Baltic Sea which have now vanished. Whether this is due to lack of recent knowledge … Continue reading Endangered species
The SEAmBOTH project is coming to an end, and it is time to look back and see what we have accomplished in the field of Earth Observation (EO). In a previous blog, the basics of aquatic Earth Observation were already explained. Here, we can concentrate on what were our main results and take-home messages. EO … Continue reading Earth Observation for monitoring our aquatic environment
Several species of mussel live in the Baltic Sea. They all have a flat body covered by two calcium carbonate shells, which are attached together by a hinge. Mussel’s gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialized organs which they use for feeding and breathing. They also have a leg, which they use for moving. Duck mussel … Continue reading Duck mussel Anodonta anatina
Liminka Bay, or Liminganlahti in Finnish, is one of the most important bird wetland areas in Europe. That’s why it has also been designated as a RAMSAR site. RAMSAR sites, which can be found all around the world, are designated wetland and water areas, which are especially important to birds, but also to other biodiversity … Continue reading Liminganlahti Bay wetland area
We gathered data on 14 different human activities and via expert opinion and discussion assessed the extent and strength of the pressures caused by said activities. Though eutrophication and climate change have a strong impact on the Bothnian bay, when analyzing human pressures in SEAmBOTH we chose to focus on local human pressures as they … Continue reading Human pressures
June 6th 2019 was the date when a fisherman north of Oulu, Finland, brought a strange fish to the Metsähallitus SEAmBOTH team. The fish was identified as a round goby, Neogobius melanostomus. It was the northernmost finding of this alien species in Finland, probably even in the world. The species has started to spread from … Continue reading Round goby
By first thought, one might think that the Grand Canyon in the United States and the Bothnian Bay have nothing in common. But – surprise, surprise!- also at the bottom of the Bothnian Bay, there are canyons or canyon-like seabed features. The Grand Canyon, not to mention the deepest canyon on earth, which stretches to … Continue reading Canyons – fast food available
Large shallow inlets and bays is a Natura 2000 habitat that can be found all around the Baltic Sea. There are several large shallow bays in the SEAmBOTH area as well, for example the Liminganlahti Bay in Finland and Råneå Bay in Sweden. A very shallow coast in Halosenlahti Bay, Haukipudas, Finland. Photo by Ashley … Continue reading Large shallow bays
I have dived in six continents and about 1030 dives. One of the best ones ever was a dive I did in August 2014 when we first found the clay labyrinth from Simo with my colleagues from Metsähallitus. It was a late afternoon or early evening on an extremely beautiful summer day, calm and warm, … Continue reading Clay canyons
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