Productive surface waters (Chl-a) - satellite based (Baltic sea)

Springtime Chl-a concentration is here used as a proxy for productive surface waters. In the Baltic Sea Impact Index (BSII), areas with high springtime phytoplankton production will be given higher importance, as they are considered important areas for the Baltic Sea food web. In the current map, mean of springtime maximum weekly values (weeks 12-22, years 2003-2011) Chl-a concentration of the surface waters has been used, derived from satellite data (MERIS). Years 2003-2011 have been used, as there is no MERIS data available for years 2012-2016. The data for eastern Baltic Sea is provided by the Finnish Environment Institute (~300m resolution). Outside this high resolution data, MERIS-data downloaded from JRC-database has been used (~4 km resolution, to calculate average of maximum monthly values for April or May for 2003-2011). Both datasets were converted to 1 km x 1 km grid cells.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Original title Productive surface waters (Chl-a)
Original abstract
Topic category
  • biological_characteristics
Sub category
Resource language English
Domain area
  • baltic_sea
Owner HELCOM
Provider HELCOM
Data portal helcom
Presentation form Map (map represented in raster or vector form)
Spatial representation Raster (grid)
Coordinate reference system epsg:3035 - ETRS89 / LAEA Europe
Web services
    Derives from
    Derived datasets
    Successor of
    Predecessor of
    Temporal extent 2022-11-01
    2025-10-31
    Spatial extent
    Data accessibility
    Validation level Official data
    Additional information
    Metadata completeness Complete
    Notes

    Additional info - MSP - Environment

    Species, habitats, ecosystems, pressures

    Field Value
    MSFD Classes Ecosystems, including food webs - Biological characteristics
    MSFD Descriptors/Criteria
    • D4 Food webs/D1 Biodiversity - ecosystems
    • D5 Eutrophication
    Non MSFD Classes
      WFD

        Additional info - MSP - Oceanographic and CC

        Physics, biochemistry, EOV, ECV

        Field Value
        Variables Biochemistry - Chlorophyll-a

        Additional info - MSP - Conservation

        Protected areas, OECM, IBA, EBSA, CCH, IMMA, ...

        Field Value
        Types
          Zonation

          Additional info - MSP - Maritime activities

          Aquaculture, fishing, transport, energy, ...

          Field Value
          Activity types

            Additional info - MSP - Coastal & Land use and planning

            Land use, land cover, planning (strategic, coordination, operational)

            Field Value
            Types

              Additional info - MSP - Socio-economic

              Living and non-living resources, shipping, tourism, energy, ...

              Field Value
              Activity types
                Value types
                  Categories

                    Additional info - MSP - Ecosystem Services

                    Provisioning, regulation & maintenance, cultural

                    Field Value
                    CICES classes

                      Additional info - MSP - Legal, Governance & Planning

                      Strategic, legislation, planning, administrative, enforcement

                      Field Value
                      Themes Environment (e.g. pollution and biodiversity)
                      Functions
                        Who is in charge?

                        Additional info - MSP - Relevance

                        Relevance of the dataset / resource in supporting the MSP process at different spatial scales and temporal frames

                        Field Value
                        Relevance (spatial and temporal)