A short review: Limnological and paleolimnological researches in Mongolia carried out by Joint Russian-Mongolian expeditions

Abstract

Mongolia-extensive inside-continental country, with an area of more than 1,500,000 km2. There are some mountain areas – Hangai and Hantai in the North, and Mongolian Altai in the West, and Gobi Altai – in the Center of the country. Altitude of the territory grow up to 1580 m above sea level in average. Therefore environment in this country may by consider as mountainous. Despite climate aridity, in the territory of Mongolia there are more than 3500 lakes with the area of a surface more than 0.1 km2. The largest lakes are: Ubsu-nuur-3350 km2, Huvsgul-2760 km2, Hyrgisnuur- 1407 km2, Buir-nuur-615 km2, Achit-nuur-297 km2. The special study of lakes in Mongolia began from 1921, when the Committee of Science of MPR was created, and after this, in the Academy of Sciences of the USSR the Mongolian Commission was formed. From that time on joint efforts of the Russian and Mongolian experts complex forwarding geological, palaeontological and geographical researches in territory of Mongolia began to be carried out.