8 
1.3 Western and central parts of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea 
The purpose of this monograph is a description of the most dangerous storm surges 
observed in the western and central parts of the southern Baltic Sea (Fig. 1.1.). The area 
covering the central and eastern parts of the German Baltic coast is represented here by the 
water gauges at Wismar, Warnemünde and Sassnitz, and the western part of the Polish 
coast is represented by the water gauges at Swinoujscie and Kotobrzeg. 
Fig. 1.1. Western and central parts of the southern Baltic Sea coast 
The German Baltic Sea coast, located at the western edge of the Baltic length axis, is 
threatened by relatively high storm surges, especially during northeasterly storms (Stigge, 
1994), due to the shallow basin depths and a highly differentiated coastline. 
The western coastal waters of Poland are shallow along the entire coastline. Especially in 
Zatoka Pomorska (Pomeranian Bight), a large shoal area with depths below 20 m extends 
far seaward in northerly direction. Shallow waters are also encountered farther to the west. 
Sea level oscillations of a remarkable range occur frequently at the coasts of such shallow 
waters.