New report consolidates knowledge on climate change in the Baltic Sea region

The Second Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin (BACC II), a recently published report, serves as a revision and expansion of the 2008 edition of the BACC book.

“The current publication for the Baltic Sea area is a regional variant on the global report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),” says Prof. Hans von Storch, Director of the Institute of Coastal Research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht and initiator of the report.

The comprehensive scientific survey includes work from 141 scientists from twelve countries. The project team was coordinated by the International Baltic Earth Secretariat at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht and consists of meteorologists, hydrologists, oceanographers and biologists.

About BACC II

BACC II (Second BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea basin) is the successor to BACC, which was terminated with the publication of the BACC book. The purpose of the first BACC assessment (BACC) was to provide the scientific community with an assessment of ongoing climate variations in the Baltic Basin. An important element was the comparison with the historical past. Also, changes in relevant environmental systems, due to climate variations, were assessed – such as hydrological, ocean and ecosystem changes. The work has generated a large activity around the Baltic Sea with more than 80 authors writing the assessment and a close cooperation with HELCOM. The BACC book was published by Springer in January 2008.

The aim of BACC II is to organize and publish an updated assessment by 2014, building on and extending BACC.

http://www.baltic-earth.eu/BACC2/index.html