Relief and Bottom Sediments of the Southern Slope of the Eastern Gotland Basin (Baltic Sea)

New high-resolution geophysical material and bottom sampling results are discussed, essentially complementing to the previously published data on the seafloor morphology and the characteristics of the upper sedimentary section. On the sea bottom a system of relict grooves of iceberg ploughing (ploughmarks) formed in a periglacial basin about 15–11.7 thousand years ago and deposits of mixed composition indicative for an intense mechanical impact of iceberg keels on the seafloor were mapped. The elongation of the ploughmarks from west to east corresponds to the general drift of icebergs in the central part of the Baltic Sea basin. New data and a more detailed model of Pleistocene degradation of the Baltic Ice Sheet will improve understanding of a behavior of modern ice sheets under changing climate conditions.