Abstract
Lake Baikal is one of the most unique natural environments in Siberia, and it affects to a large extent the natural state in this region. Processes of gas exchange in the air-water system have been studied in Lake Baikal since 2002. Measurements have been carried out in the littoral area on the western shore of Southern Baikal (51°51'N, 105°04'E). The method of accumulative chambers was prioritized for measuring carbon dioxide fluxes in the air-water system. Chemical analysis of the water samples collected every three hours at the chamber locations was carried out in the on-land laboratory. We measured pH, content of dissolved oxygen, bicarbonate, nitrate and phosphate. The CO2 content in the water was measured from pH values and the bicarbonate concentration. The total sink of CO2 on the water surface is increasing in the littoral area of Lake Baikal from 20 mg·CO2·m-2·day-1 in June to 110 mg·CO2·m-2·day-1 in August. The decrease in the flux rate usually begins in September from 95 mg·CO2·m-2·day-1 to the zero balance in late October - early November. The maximal rate of mean diurnal CO2 emissions is recorded in December in the pre-ice period (110 mg·CO2·m-2·day-1). Based on the long-term measurements during all seasons, the sink of atmospheric CO2 in the littoral zones of Lake Baikal was estimated to be 3 - 5 g·CO2·m-2.
Highlights
One of the most debated problems in the study of climate change is the cause of the carbon dioxide concentration increase in the atmosphere and its effect on global warming
Lake Baikal is one of the most unique natural environments in Siberia, and it affects to a large extent the natural state in this region [5]
Long-term studies of the chemical composition of Baikal water have shown that real fluctuations in concentrations of major ions are within 5%, and Baikal water may be regarded as a natural standard of pure water that has a constant chemical composition, which will not change in the few decades [5]
Summary
One of the most debated problems in the study of climate change is the cause of the carbon dioxide concentration increase in the atmosphere and its effect on global warming. The choice of Lake Baikal allows the study of this natural object at the regional level and at a wider scope because the lake, to our knowledge, is the only natural laboratory in which the majority of processes occurring in the lake can be studied separately. It is practically impossible to choose any standard among natural objects that would preserve their intrinsic properties for a long time, as all of them experience elevated anthropogenic loads and climatic changes. In this respect, the water of Lake Baikal is likely to be an exception. It is possible to properly separate physical, chemical and biological constituents in the complex process of gas exchange in the air-water system
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