1. Introduction 7 
1.1. Background 7 
1.2. Brief review of scientific contributions 7 
1.3. Geographic and hydrodynamic background 8 
2. Data and definition 11 
2.1. Data 11 
2.2. Definition and general characteristics of negative surges 12 
3. Seasonal and long term variation 16 
3.1. Interannual variation 16 
3.2. Seasonal distribution 19 
3.3. Long-term statistics 22 
4. Meteorological factors contributing to negative surges 25 
4.1. Strong offshore wind on the coast 25 
4.2. Offshore storm surges in the wind field of a moving depression 26 
4.3. High pressure system as low sea level generator 26 
4.4. Co-occurrence of atmospheric situations over Europe and negative surges at the 
southern coast of the Baltic Sea 27 
5. Most severe negative surges on the southern Baltic Sea coast 30 
5.1. November 1956 30 
5.2. January 1960 31 
5.3. January 1961 33 
5.4. February 1962 34 
5.5. December 1965 36 
5.6. October 1967 37 
5.7. March 1969 39 
5.8. January 1979 40 
5.9. November 1979 42 
5.10. November 1981 43 
5.11. November 1985 45 
5.12. January 1990 46 
5.13. February 1990 48 
5.14. January 1993 50 
5.15. February 1996 51 
5.16. December 1999 53 
5.17. November 2001 56 
5.18. December 2001 58 
5.19. January 2005 59 
References 61 
Figure Index 63 
Table Index 66 
Acronyms 67 
Authors 68