Examining the impact of water quality and meteorological drivers on primary productivity in the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea highly susceptible to the proliferation of Phytoplankton blooms. Present work examines the long-term trend and spatio-temporal variability of satellite derived chlorophyll concentration (Chl a) in the Baltic Sea during the period 2004–2021. Furthermore, the influence of water quality and meteorological parameters on Baltic Sea primary productivity has been analyzed using robust Generalized Additive Models (GAM) and Granger Causality statistical test. Statistically significant increasing trend in chlorophyll a concentration is observed in the Baltic Sea at the 95 % confidence interval. GAM model reveals that the most significant controlling factor is sea surface temperature (p < 0.0001), followed by nitrate and phosphate. Both GAM and Granger Causality tests confirm that water quality parameters are the major drivers in limiting the growth of Phytoplankton blooms in the Baltic Sea. Summer bloom shows in-phase relationship with Sea surface temperature and out of phase relationship with the phosphate nutrient. • Increasing trend of Chlorophyll a concentration in the Baltic Sea results from increased nutrients loads and warmer temperature. • Sea surface temperature acts as most significant predictor that limits the growth of phytoplankton blooms. • Water quality parameters are the potential causal drivers that promotes the growth of phytoplankton blooms in the Baltic Sea. • Summer bloom shows in-phase relationship with Sea surface temperature and out of phase relationship with the phosphate nutrient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]