Abstract
The high-resolution reanalysis data-base BaltAn65+ covers the period of 1965–2005. Here, this dataset is used to derive essential climate parameters for the Baltic Sea region and Estonia. In particular, monthly mean temperature and total precipitation are calculated and a trend analysis is performed to analyze the temporal evolution of these climatological parameters during the reanalysis period. Monthly, seasonal, and annual maps of the climate characteristics, including trend maps, are created for the Baltic Sea region. Time series of monthly and annually averaged temperature and precipitation sum are presented over the Baltic Sea and Estonian domains together with fitted linear trends and trend significance analysis. Then, comparison with an observational database is performed to assess the quality of the reanalysis database. Additionally, the time series are compared with official climate normals for the period of 1971–2000, as calculated by the Estonian Environment Agency (EtEA). Findings of other publications in the scientific literature dealing with the climate of similar time period for Estonia and the Baltic Sea region are discussed. The quality of the BaltAn65+ reanalysis is found to be generally good for temperature but weak for precipitation.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by research grant No. 9140 and targeted financing grant SF0180038s08 of the Estonian Science Foundation and research project No. SLOOM12144T (EstKliima) under the Environmental Protection and Technology Programme KESTA of the Estonian Research Council. The BaltAn65+ database was created with the support of the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre. We acknowledge the provision of the E-OBS dataset by the EU-FP6 project ENSEMBLES http://ensembles-eu.metoffice.com and the data providers in the ECA&D project http://www.ecad.eu . We also thank the developers of the free and open-source software packages GrADS and R for their excellent work in providing these indispensable scientific tools.
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Männik, A., Zirk, M., Rõõm, R. et al. Climate parameters of Estonia and the Baltic Sea region derived from the high-resolution reanalysis database BaltAn65+. Theor Appl Climatol 122, 19–34 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1271-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1271-3