Soomere T., Zaitseva-Pärnaste I., Räämet A., Kurennoy D.
We analyse the main properties of wave fields in the Gulf of Finland and their spatial and long-term varia-tions based on visual wave observations performed since 1954 at two locations on the southern coast of the gulf and high-resolution simulations of wave fields for the entire Baltic Sea for 1970-2007. Shown is that both long-term average and maximum wave heights in the gulf are about a half for those in the Baltic Proper. The average wave heights have insignificantly changed in the gulf since the 1970s whereas the extreme wave heights have considerably increased in the northern and in the northeastern sections of the gulf. A probable reason for the changes is the enhancement of south-western winds over the last 40 years.
