At the end of April 2025, the prestigious journal Earth-Science Reviews published an article resulting from international and interdisciplinary research collaboration funded by the National Science Centre. The paper, entitled ‘A review of storms and marine coastal flooding in the Baltic Sea – Insights from instrumental, historical and sedimentary record’, presents an analysis of over 7,000 years of storm and marine flooding history in the Baltic Sea.

The publication was co-authored by Grzegorz Uścinowicz (PhD), an employee of the Marine Geology Branch of PGI-NRI in Gdańsk, who participates in research on changes occurring in the coastal zone, including those caused by storm phenomena on the southern Baltic coast. His contribution is an important element of the interdisciplinary analysis of environmental threats that are significant from the point of view of climate change and coastal protection.

The paper presents a comprehensive approach to paleoclimate research, combining instrumental data, historical sources, and geological records from marine and coastal sediment sequences. It shows, among other things, that the most valuable information about past storms comes from urban and port areas, where long-term observations are carried out and historical written sources are stored. In turn, data from peat bogs and dunes allow us to trace the history of extreme events over a longer time horizon.

The results of the study indicate that the southern and south-western coasts of the Baltic Sea are particularly vulnerable to the effects of storms, both in the past and in the future. This is an important premise for planning adaptation measures in response to climate change.

The article is available at: Earth-Science Reviews – full text >>