Trends in the variation of the sea level in the lagoons of the Southeastern Baltic

This paper analyses the global tendency of the sea level rise (SLR) and its long term influence on the sea level upstream drainage cascade based on the example of the level’s variation in the Vistula Lagoon of the Baltic Sea compared to the other lagoons and coastal regions of the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea. A steady positive trend in the water level variations was revealed; its magnitude varies significantly depending on the time period. In general, during the 100–150 year period, the rate of the SLR in the lagoons and coastal areas of the Baltic Sea (1.7–1.8 mm per year) is close to the SLR rate in the World Ocean. In the second half of the 20th century, the increased rate of the SLR in the lagoons and marine areas became stronger (up to 3.6 mm per year in the Vistula Lagoon and in 1959–2006 in the sea and exceeded the rate of global ocean SLR). It dramatically increased at the end of the last century both in the lagoons and in the sea (up to 10.0–15.0 mm per year). This is the response not only to the global climate warming but it is likely that it is also a response to the changes of the climate driving forces that influence the regimes of the local wind and precipitation in the catchment.