Environmental monitoring of Lake Baikal

Pollution of bottom sediments of Lake Baikal

The map contains data characterising the bottom sediments pollution at the testing sites of Roshydromet (Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of Russia) on Lake Baikal in the area of influence of urban municipal wastewater of Baikalsk town, in the shallow waters of the Selenga River and in the zone of influence of the Baikal–Amur Mainline.
The map contains icons in the shape of upper and lower halves of circle in the area of testing sites. The colour of the top half of circle corresponds to the degree of bottom sediments pollution by benzo(a)pyrene (BP), while the lower half corresponds to accumulated polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
There are 4 categories of the pollution degree baseline (green), low polluted (blue), moderately polluted (yellow), highly polluted (red).
When you hover over an icon, a window will appear with quantitative characteristics of bottom sediment pollution.


The chart shows the values of the area of the bottom sediments pollution zone in 2012 – 2017, calculated according to the consolidated index as an excess of the average contents of the standard control components of bottom sediments and water in a two-centimetre layer of bottom sediments.


Geochemical changes (growth) of the primary qualitative characteristics of bottom sediments and groundwater in the area of former industrial facility are generally associated with intrawater (hydrobiological) processes, namely with growth of labile organic matter in the lake water mass represented by phytoplankton and its subsequent sedimentation into bottom lake sediments.



Source:
1.Review of the status and pollution of environment in Russian Federation in 2017
2. Publications of the Hydrochemical Institute in 2017