ESTIMATION OF RIVERINE LOADS OF NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS TO THE BALTIC SEA, 1970-1993

摘要

This article presents the results of the first critical examination of time series of riverine nutrient-load data for the entire Baltic Sea drainage area. Water quality data collected by or for the different national enviornmental agencies were complied and analysed statistically to identify and remove inconsistent or obviously incorrect observations. Moreover, sampling tours were undertaken to acquire additional information about the present nutrient concentrations in the largest rivers in the study area. Gaps in the time series of approved data were then filled in by employing statistical interpolation and extrapolation methods.