Extreme sea levels at selected stations on the Baltic Sea coast*

The purpose of this article is to analyse and describe the extreme characteristics of the water levels and illustrate them as the topography of the sea surface along the whole Baltic Sea coast. The general pattern is to show the maxima and minima of Baltic Sea water levels and the extent of their variations in the period from 1960 to 2010. A probability analysis is carried out on the annual sea level maxima and minima for 31 water level gauges in order to define the probability of occurrence of theoretical sea levels once in a specific number of years. The spatial distribution of sea levels for hundred-year maximum and minimum water levels is illustrated. Then, the number of storm surges for the accepted criteria are presented: these numbers increased in the 50-year period analysed. The final part of the work analyses some extreme storm events and calculates the static value and dynamic deformation of the sea surface by mesoscale, deep low-pressure systems.