The effect of the North Sea on oscillations of the mean monthly sea levels in the Baltic Sea

The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of the North Sea on the basin mean monthly level of the Baltic Sea, whereby the action of meteorological fields on both basins is taken into account. The computations were performed using stochastic methods with a dynamic system of four correlated inputs. The meteorological and oceanographic data used in the computations cover the period 1928-1970. According to the results, it is the zonal circulation of the wind field and the basin mean level of the North Sea that are principally responsible for changes in the basin mean level of the Baltic. Within the range of fields covered by the computations, atmospheric pressure exerted no significant static effect on Baltic sea levels. The occurrence of the annual and semi-annual solar tides in the two seas were compared and their forcing analysed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.