BALTSEM-POP is an expansion of the BALTSEM model that includes organic contaminant environmental transport and fate.

Organic contaminants are emitted within the Baltic Sea catchment, or transported to this region via air masses from far distances. Fate, which means where the contaminants end up in the ecosystem, is influenced by a wide range of environmental factors, which are all included in the BALTSEM-POP model.

The model allows for short- and long-term variation in important factors such as carbon cycling, water flows, wind speed, water and air temperature.

Validation

The researchers at Stockholm University Baltic Sea Center have evaluated the accuracy of the BALTSEM-POP model by comparing simulated concentrations of the environmental toxins polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in water, suspended particulate organic matter and sediment with values from actual field observations.

In the comparison the BALTSEM-POP model was found to perform with high accuracy for concentrations of the majority of these organic contaminants in water and sediment, while it was found to be more difficult to predict the contaminant concentrations in particulate organic matter.

More information

Read more about BALTSEM-POP in the following articles:

A novel modeling tool with multi-stressor functionality for organic contaminant transport and fate in the Baltic Sea (2014)

Application of a novel modeling tool with multistressor functionality to support management of organic contaminants in the Baltic Sea (2015)

For more information contact Baltic Sea Center researcher Emma Undeman.