Przegląd Geograficzny (2016) vol. 88, iss. 1
Contrasting bioclimatic conditions within the Polish Baltic coastal zone in the warm half-year
Przegląd Geograficzny (2016) vol. 88, iss. 1, pp. 109-120 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.1.6
Abstract
The work described here examined contrasts in biothermal conditions relating to location within the Polish Baltic coastal zone. For the purposes of this study it was assumed that tourists at different towns might relocate from west to east in the following ways: Świnoujście–Ustka (Ś–U), Świnoujście–Gdańsk (Ś–G), Świnoujście–Hel (Ś–H), Ustka–Gdańsk (U–G), Ustka–Hel (U–H), Gdańsk–Hel (G–H). The basic data used to make comparisons were then hourly values for meteorological elements obtained from the relevant stations in the warm (April-September) half-years of the 2001-2010 period. Also for the purposes of this study, the variability characterising bioclimatic conditions was calculated by means of the bioclimatic contrast index – BCI, which offers an assessment of the adaptation stress in the circumstances of a sudden change in weather conditions or change of location. Such changes in external conditions induce stress in an organism and entail the activation of adaptation processes. The BCI index combines various bioclimatic indices, i.e. UTCI, SW, Iclp and PST, with values then being represented by the classes of contrast described as very small, small, moderate, high, very high and extremely high. Values assumed by the index are positive where warmer bioclimatic conditions characterise the home location in comparison with the chosen destination, or else negative where colder conditions are present at the home location than at the destination. The contrast to be noted between the stations studied was mostly (in 83% of cases) found to be very small. On average, the contrasts termed small were present in 14.4% of comparisons, with moderate on 2.4%, and high occasionally only. Contrasts capable of being defined as very high and extremely high were not found between the stations under analysis during the study period. However, it was demonstrated that relocations from Świnoujście to: Ustka, Gdańsk or Hel, or else from Gdańsk to Hel would tend to involved colder weather conditions, while relocations from Ustka to Gdańsk or further to Hel – would prevalently be associated with warming weather conditions. Over the 24-hour period, the most marked bioclimatic contrasts between the aforementioned pairs of stations were those noted at 12 noon and 3 p.m. The most limited contrasts in turn characterised night-time – from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. The marked predominance of very small bioclimatic contrasts and the complete lack of very high and extremely high classes in the findings can be attributed to the confi nement of the area under analysis to a single (coastal) region.
Keywords: bioklimat, wybrzeże, wskaźnik BCI, zmienność, stres bioklimatyczny
[agnieszka.makosza@zut.edu.pl]
, West Pomeranian University of Technology Department of Meteorology and Climatology Papieża Pawła VI 3A, 71-459 Szczecin: Poland
Citation
APA: Mąkosza, A., & Nidzgorska-Lencewicz, J. (2016). Kontrastowość warunków bioklimatycznych w strefie polskiego wybrzeża Bałtyku w ciepłej połowie roku. Przegląd Geograficzny, 88(1), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.1.6
MLA: Mąkosza, Agnieszka and Nidzgorska-Lencewicz, Jadwiga. "Kontrastowość warunków bioklimatycznych w strefie polskiego wybrzeża Bałtyku w ciepłej połowie roku". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 1, 2016, pp. 109-120. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.1.6
Chicago: Mąkosza, Agnieszka and Nidzgorska-Lencewicz, Jadwiga. "Kontrastowość warunków bioklimatycznych w strefie polskiego wybrzeża Bałtyku w ciepłej połowie roku". Przegląd Geograficzny 88, no. 1 (2016): 109-120. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.1.6
Harvard: Mąkosza, A., & Nidzgorska-Lencewicz, J. 2016. "Kontrastowość warunków bioklimatycznych w strefie polskiego wybrzeża Bałtyku w ciepłej połowie roku". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 109-120. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.1.6