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Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) include valuable ecosystems such as springs, wetlands, rivers, lakes and lagoons. The protection of these systems and services they provide is highlighted by international agreements, i.e. Ramsar convention on wetlands, and regional legislation, i.e. the European Water Framework Directive. Groundwater provides water, nutrients and a relatively stable temperature. However, the role of groundwater in surface ecosystems is not fully understood. The ecosystem can depend on groundwater directly or indirectly, and the reliance can be continuous, seasonal or occasional. This has implications for the vulnerability of ecosystems, as some may be easily affected by external pressure. Conceptual models and quantitative assessments of how groundwater interacts with the environment are needed. GDEs are also threatened by different land use activities and climate change. Hence, we need to understand how GDEs are affected by changes in

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14C-dated mollusk shells in raised beach sediments are used as a paleosalinity proxy in the brackish Baltic Sea, the precision (±5%) and accuracy (±0.7‰) of the method being judged from replicate analyses of modern shells. Paleosalinity data with an average time resolution of ~200 yr for the period 7130-2775 calibrated 14 C yr B.P. indicate maximum surface salinities of 10‰-11‰, 11‰-12‰, and 12‰-13‰ for the Bothnian Bay, Bothnian Sea, and Baltic Proper (the three major Baltic subbasins). The relative salinity differences between the basins were small (≤30%) compared to the as much as eightfold present-day relative salinity differences (Bothnian Bay 1‰-3‰; Bothnian Sea 4‰-5‰; Baltic Proper 6‰-8‰). Late Holocene freshening (ca. 3000 calibrated 14 C yr B.P. to present) is most pronounced in the northernmost subbasin, the Bothnian Bay, consistent with the absence of a permanent halocline, sequestering of phosphorus in well-oxygenated bottom sediments, and phosphorus limitation of primary production in the present-day Bothnian Bay. This study suggests that paleosalinity data may be crucial to improving our understanding of the possible effects of any future, climate-induced freshening of the Baltic Sea.