New map of bottom sediments in the Kaliningrad Bay of the Baltic Sea

The Kaliningrad Bay occupies the northeastern half of the Vistula Lagoon, the largest shallow lagoon-type basin located in the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea. This is a transboundary water body with a large anthropogenic load. Bottom sediments serve as a natural state indicator of aquatic ecosystems and the level of anthropogenic influence. The surface layer of bottom sediments, its dynamics, and the spatial distribution of granulometric types are of the greatest interest for understanding modern sedimentation processes. The paper presents a detailed map of modern bottom sediments, where the following lithological types are identified: boulder-pebble, sand, silty sand, sandy silt, silt, and clayey silt. Relict deposits in the form of small areas with boulders, clusters of pebbles, and gravel are of limited distribution. Sands are distributed in shallow depths along the shores. The largest areas of the bottom are covered with medium and fine sands, large and very fine sands are not widely distributed. In the central most deeper parts of the bay sediments consisting of the finest particles – silt and clayey silt are developed. Clayey silt has a very limited distribution; it covers small areas of the bottom of the southwestern part of the Kaliningrad Bay at depths of 3.8–4.6 m. A significant part of the bottom is covered by shells – thanatocenosis with a predominance of freshwater mollusks Dreissena polymorha, gastropods Bithynia tentaculata, Potamoryrgus jenkinsi, and ostracods. The main factors influencing the distribution of bottom sediments in the bay are the peculiarities of hydrodynamic activity and the diversity of the material composition of sediments coming from the main feeding sources (river runoff, coastal abrasion, and atmospheric deposition). 

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