Transport of the river load from the Błądzikowski stream to the puck lagoon (southern Baltic Sea, Poland)

The main aim of this study was to determine the size of the load carried by the Błądzikowski Stream and discharged into the Puck Lagoon, and the role of the river load in the formation of the sea bed deposits at the stream mouth. The Błądzikowski Stream, with the length of only 10 km, discharges about 610 tons of sediment into the Puck Lagoon per year, including 89.8% (548 tons) of the bed load and 10.2% (62 tons) of the suspended load. The amount is 4.9% of the river load discharged into the Puck Lagoon. Mineral particles are more common in the composition of the river load and account for 94.6% of the suspended load and 98.7% of the bed load. It is mainly the bed load deposited in the estuarine area that creates a contemporary underwater accumulation form in the Puck Lagoon, which is corroborated by the granulometric composition of the channel and surface sediments; the suspended load is carried further into the Lagoon.