BACC – The Baltex Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea basin

BALTEX (the Baltic Sea Experiment) is a Regional Hydroclimate Project (RHP) of the Coordinated Energy and Water Cycle Observations Project (CEOP) within the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The study region of BALTEX is the Baltic Sea and its hydrological drainage basin, which constitutes a unique European water basin, creating specific demands on models and scientific concepts. BACC, the BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea basin, is a BALTEX project to assemble, integrate and assess available knowledge of past, current, and expected future climate change and its impacts on ecosystems in the Baltic Sea basin.

The purpose of the first BACC assessment, terminated with the publication of the BACC book (2008), 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.

BACC II (Second BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea basin) is the successor to BACC, with the aim to organize and publish an updated assessment (2015), building on and extending BACC.