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Climate warming influences highly on snow cover regime in the midlatitudes. Snow cover conditions, in turn, affect human activity very much. The aim of this study was (a) to analyse spatial and temporal variability of snow cover duration, (b) to analyse spatial and temporal variability of the start and end dates of the period with the permanent snow cover, (c) to describe spatial, temporal and seasonal variability of median and maximum snow depth in Estonia and (d) to determine the presence of long-term changes and trends in these parameters during the period 1950/51–2015/16. Time series of daily snow depth at 22 stations for that period were processed in order to obtain reliable estimates of changes in the snow regime. Snow cover data are non-normally distributed, therefore, median and quartile range were used to describe the mean state and variability of snow cover. Only these dates were included into the analysis when snow cover was observed at least on 50% of days in the time series. Trend analysis was made using the Mann-Kendall test and trend values were found using the Theil-Sen's method. A large spatio-temporal variability of snow cover duration was found. The median number of days with snow cover at the 22 stations was 112, varying between 61 and 130 days. In the coastal regions of Estonia and especially on the western coast of Saaremaa Island snow cover duration has been much lower than in the continental part. The longest snow cover period is observed on uplands in south-eastern and north-eastern Estonia. It was found that, in the average, the period with the permanent snow cover in the continental Estonia begins on 19 December and ends on 18 March. There was a negative trend in snow cover duration due to the earlier snow melting in spring at the majority of stations. The end date of the permanent snow cover has shifted earlier by 10–30 days in 66 years and its duration has decreased accordingly. The maximum snow depth has been recorded on uplands of south-eastern Estonia with the median value 38 cm. There was a decreasing multiannual trend in snow depth from January to the end of March. Changes in snow depth were largest in the end of February and in March when the trend was statistically significant. In the average, snow depth has decreased by 0.5–1.5 cm per decade, i.e. by 2–9 cm throughout the whole study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have shown that the stream water quality in agricultural catchments could vary according to the changes in land use, production intensities and implemented agri-environmental measures. In present study we investigated the nitrogen content and temporal dynamics in concentration and loss in small streams and catchments in Estonia for the period 1992–2011. The studied catchments represent various agricultural production areas, management practices, soil types, geology and size. A statistical analysis using the Mann Kendall (MK) test was undertaken to discern monotone trends in time series of total nitrogen (TN) and nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 –N) concentrations for 8 sampling sites and TN loss for five sites, for which at least a data set of 10 years was available. Additionally the partial Mann–Kendall (PMK) test has been adapted to account for the influence of water discharge to the temporal trends in TN loss in five catchments. The MK trend test revealed one statistically significant ( p < 0.05; two-sided test) upward trend in TN concentrations and two upward trends in NO 3 –N concentrations. Less significant ( p < 0.08) upward trend in TN content was also noted in two streams. Overall, the TN concentrations were rather high and it ranged with 90% probability from 2.3 to 8.9 mg l −1 in the studied streams. The MK test revealed the statistically significant upward trend in TN loss only at the Räpu ( p < 0.001) and Jänijõgi ( p < 0.05) catchments (one-sided test). After conditioning on trends in water discharge there was only one (Räpu) statistically significant temporal upward trend in TN loss. Elevated nitrogen concentrations in three other catchments (Rägina, Vodja, Porijõgi) explain only part of the upward trend in nitrogen losses and increasing tendencies in losses could mainly be associated with upward tendency in discharge. The direct (not flow-normalised) unit-area loss of nitrogen from agricultural land reached to 63.1 and 82.5 kg N ha −1 yr −1 in the Räpu and Jänijõgi catchments, respectively, which is higher than seen at the Rägina basin (25 kg ha −1 yr −1 ) and the River Vodja catchment (21.9 kg ha −1 yr −1 ). Elevated losses are typical for recent years, particularly after 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensification of coastal erosion caused by windstorms is an important problem in the coastal regions of Estonia. The objective of this study was to analyse relationships between storms observed at Vilsandi, the westernmost station in Estonia, and large-scale atmospheric circulation. Statistical analyses reveal close correlation between parameters of atmospheric circulation and the number of storms. Windstorms are related to intense zonal circulation, i.e. westerlies, while reduced storminess is associated with meridional circulation. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) index has the highest correlation (0.68) with the frequency of storms during the winter season (December to February). Even the correlation coefficients for the local zonal circulation index for Estonia do not exceed this value. These results show that large-scale circulation patterns determine circulation on the local scale. Results of the conditional Mann-Kendall test confirm that the increasing trend in winter storminess is induced by a positive trend in the intensity of westerlies, as seen in time series of the AO index and in the frequency of the circulation form W of Vangengeim and Girs. These changes were most substantial in February. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]