Research surrounded by mighty waves – Utö reveals connections between the sea and the climate
Picture: Lauri LaaksoUtö is a special place. It is one of the outermost islands of the Archipelago Sea: to the south, the open Baltic Sea continues all the way to Gotland and beyond, and the Åland Archipelago is located to the west.
For researchers, the vast open sea that opens from the shores of Utö is a fascinating opportunity. At the same time, the open sea is a ruthless environment.
Inventiveness and patience are always needed when conducting research. In addition, marine research requires enormous amounts of planning, construction, repair, maintenance and improvements. Lauri Laakso, Head of Group, Marine Observatories and Measurement Techniques at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, is aware of this.
Working together
Lauri Laakso is a marine researcher who has been responsible for the research conducted by the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Utö since 2011. When Laakso began his work in Utö, the aim was to build modern and high-quality facilities. Laakso started working on the task shortly after returning from a professorship in South Africa.
The Finnish Environment Institute SYKE became a research partner at the Utö station. The Finnish Defence Forces, on the other hand, had been operating on the island for decades.
‘Cooperation is going well with SYKE. I think it doesn’t matter which organisation we work under, but we are working together for the benefit of the state and taxpayers,’ Lauri Laakso says.
Of course, there is some division of labour, even if we are working together. The Finnish Meteorological Institute’s research is based more on physics while SYKE’s is based more on biology, but they both aim to understand the phenomena in the Baltic Sea and the atmosphere. The Archipelago Research Institute of the University of Turku, as well as numerous other universities and research projects, use Utö’s observations in their work.
Research involves international cooperation, and this is also the case in Utö.
Observations underwater
The Finnish Meteorological Institute is not only interested in the atmosphere, but it also conducts marine research as part of the Finnish Marine Research Infrastructure FINMARI and the European Research Infrastructure Network for Coastal Observatories JERICO. A large part of the measurements at the Utö station are made by means of pipes under the surface and floating measuring devices attached to cables.
Particular attention is paid to the interaction between the atmosphere and the sea. For example, the sea’s CO2 leakage is measured from the very vicinity of the surface – that is, when the sea absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and when it releases it back. This is an important issue, because the seas have so far absorbed a large proportion of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by human beings. Researchers want to understand the phenomenon better. In this case, it is important to monitor, by means of measurements, how this development will continue and whether the seas may become a carbon source rather than a sink in the future.
‘It took about five years to get these measurements to work properly. Moisture and salt are a difficult combination,’ Lauri Laakso recalls.
Even in difficult conditions, all sorts of measurements are done from the sea. A pipe securely attached to the bottom, two hundred metres from the shore, carries 50 litres of water per minute for measurements to find out the carbon dioxide content of the sea water and the factors affecting it. Various atmospheric pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, are measured from the atmosphere.
In addition to climate effects, the state of the sensitive Baltic Sea is monitored. Pipes and buoys measure waves and currents, oxygen, algae and the distribution of species, particularly cyanobacteria also known as blue-green algae, as well as salinity and temperature. A buoy that runs between the bottom and the surface with the help of a winch monitors the state of the sea through the entire water column. Measurements are extremely important for the Baltic Sea, the climate and research, but they are a lot of work.
‘Even acid-resistant steel is corroded by sea water over time, and the equipment is damaged by the constantly moving sea. We have had to learn a lot about how to keep the measurements running. A lot of maintenance work is needed,’ says Lauri Laakso.
Utö’s research entity that combines the marine and atmospheric ecosystems is unique at the scale of the Baltic Sea and even globally. At the moment, there are a lot of research articles under preparation, based on long time series of data. They have been able to determine, among other things, the exchange of carbon dioxide between the sea and the atmosphere and the reasons for this.
Weather and climate
Utö’s measurement history is long. Weather observations have been recorded since 1881. The salinity and temperature of the sea have been measured since the beginning of the 20th century, although the First and Second World Wars caused minor interruptions. In 2017, Utö received a recognition from the World Meteorological Organization WMO for its long measurement history.
In today’s rapidly warming climate, temperature measurements alone are not enough to meet the needs of climate research. Continuous and accurate atmospheric measurements have been carried out in Utö since 2012, when the joint European ICOS network for standardised greenhouse gas measurements was established on the island. Today’s research also targets fine particles, or aerosols, whose effect on cloudiness and climate is a major issue for climate science – the pan-European ACTRIS network is also taking part in these measurements.
The marine environment causes problems here, too, despite the fact that the atmospheric meters are not placed under the waves.
‘The annual meters are in a mast 10 metres high, but in the storm, waves wash over them. As the meters should take in 10 litres of air per minute, there is a problem if salt water is constantly released into the sensors,’ says Senior Researcher, Group Leader Hermanni Aaltonen.
With ingenuity, it has been possible to protect the sensors so that these measurements can now be taken for the most part without disruptions.
At the forefront of climate change
In addition to research on marine meteorology and air quality, the main task of the atmospheric measurements in Utö is to collect long and reliable series of data on greenhouse gas concentrations and changes therein, as well as exchanges between the atmosphere and the sea level.
Utö’s location is excellent for atmospheric measurements. The island is located so far away from any factories or heavy traffic that the direct impact of human emissions on measurements is limited. It is possible to investigate what is happening in the atmosphere.
A shipping route passes Utö, and emissions from ships must always be cleared from the atmospheric measurements. As there are few other sources of emissions, ship emissions stand out against the fairly even background.
When the undesirable material is cleaned from the observation data, emissions from the passing ships is simultaneously measured fairly accurately. Laboratory Engineer Timo Mäkelä looked at the ship data and realised that some of the vessels passing Utö released significant amounts of methane in addition to carbon dioxide.
‘It was noted that certain types engines running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) leak methane,’ says Annalea Lohila, Head of Unit for Climate System Research.
This discovery was important because LNG is marketed as a green alternative in terms of emissions. Its carbon dioxide emissions are smaller than those of ships running on diesel, but methane is such a powerfully warming greenhouse gas that the overall climate effect of engines leaking methane becomes harmful.
‘This is an important side observation that can help shipping companies improve their engine technology,’ says Lohila.
Another important, and somewhat fortunate, observation was made in Utö alongside the actual study.
When the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline exploded, the methane cloud passed over Utö, and a clear peak in methane concentrations was measured at the station.
‘Luckily, the gas cloud travelled up north, and the ICOS stations in Utö, Sweden and Norway detected the methane spikes. It is very likely that the methane could have travelled across the Baltics to Russia and no results would have been obtained,’ says researcher Tuula Aalto.
Now Aalto and her team are working with international research groups and using inversion methods to calculate the amount of methane leakage caused by the Nord Stream explosion. Although much is said about greenhouse gas emissions and their magnitude, accurate measurements and careful research are needed to obtain actual readings.
Special Utö
Utö is an exceptionally good place for a research station. It is located along good transport connections, but in a remote setting and on the edge of the outer archipelago, so that measurements can be made as if from the open sea.
Utö is not a peripheral islet either. Approximately 30 people live on the island permanently, but the Utö community is vibrant. It has a hotel, shop, electricity, water supply, line transport and a fast connection through fibre optic cables.
‘When research is carried out over a long period of time, it becomes difficult if there are no proper connections or even a bathroom. Utö has good facilities,’ says Lauri Laakso.
A good internet connection in Utö dates back to the days of the Finnish Defence Forces: part of the island is still a military area, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute also cooperates with the Finnish Defence Forces.
There are no researchers living permanently in Utö. Twenty researchers from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and around ten researchers from Syke regularly work with measurements in Utö. The research work is mainly carried out on the continent, which works well, thanks to fast data connections. The site is visited for maintenance work or during larger measurement campaigns.
‘One Utö resident is responsible for the daily maintenance of the measurements, and they carry out regular activities, such as the maintenance of equipment. This has been an excellent arrangement,’ says Laakso.
Utö research station
Weather observations since 1881
Finnish Meteorological Institute’s research station since 2012
Utö observations listed: https://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/uto-observations
Real-time research data from Utö online: http://swell.fmi.fi/Uto/latest.html