A study of episodic events in the Baltic Sea - combined in situ and satellite observations

A project was developed concerning the operational system of surveillanceand the recording of episodic events in the Baltic Sea.In situ information was to be combined with multi-sensory satelliteimagery to determine the extent of algal blooms, to track their evolutionand that of rapid environmental events like hydrological fronts. The mainelement of the system was an autonomous Ferry Box module on a ferry operatingbetween Gdynia and Karlskrona, automatically measuring temperature,salinity and chlorophyll a fluorescence. At pre-selected locations,discrete water samples were collected, which were subsequently analysedfor their phytoplankton content, and algal hepato- and neurotoxins;they were also used in toxicity tests with Artemia franciscana}.