Abstract
A precipitation monitoring station in Listvyanka was set up to determine the potential impact of the coastal area on the state of the adjacent air environment above Lake Baikal on its southwest coast. This article presents the results of studying the chemical composition of atmospheric deposition (aerosols and precipitation) at this station in 2020, and of their comparison with the data from previous years (from 2000 to 2019). In 2020, the ionic composition of atmospheric aerosols and precipitation had changed compared to previous years. In the modern period, the total amount of ions in aerosols, accounting for 0.46 ± 0.40 μg∙m−3, was lower by an order of magnitude than between 2000 and 2004. The average annual total amount of ions in precipitation in Listvyanka was almost unchanged from the average values in 2000–2010 and was 10% lower than that from 2011 to 2019 (7.3 mg/L). The ratio of major ions of sulphates and ammonium changed in the aerosol composition: compared to the period from 2000 to 2004, in 2020, the contribution of ammonium ions had decreased significantly, from 32% to 24%; the contribution of sulphates had increased to 43%, and the contribution of calcium had increased from 8 to 13%. Since 2010, the contribution of K+ ions has increased to 8–10%, indicating the effect of smoke aerosols from wildfires. In precipitation, despite the dominance of sulphates (26%) and calcium (18%) throughout the year, the contribution of nitrates increases to 19% during the cold season (from October to March), while the contribution of ammonium ions and hydrogen ions increases to 13% and 17%, respectively, in the warm season (from April to September). In 2020, as in previous research years, the acidity of precipitation at the Listvyanka station was elevated (pH 5.1 ± 0.5); 50% of precipitation in 2020 had pH ˂ 5. We quantified ions in atmospheric aerosols and precipitation on the underlying surface of the coastal southwestern part of Lake Baikal. Ion fluxes with precipitation were the highest in the warm season, which corresponds to the annual maximum precipitation. Unlike previous years (from 2000 to 2010 and from 2011 to 2019), wet deposition of most ions—especially calcium, ammonium and nitrates—had decreased in 2020. There was a 35-fold decrease in nitrogen fluxes and a 5-fold decrease in sulphur fluxes in aerosols, as well as 1.6-fold and 1.3-fold decreases, respectively, in precipitation.
Highlights
The environmental protection of Lake Baikal—a World Heritage Site located in the centre of the Asian part of Russia—is receiving more and more attention
This study aims to trace the current state of the coastal atmosphere at the Listvyanka station based on the chemical composition of various types of atmospheric deposition, and to assess the quantitative input of substances to the underlying surface of the southwestern part of Lake Baikal in 2020 compared to long-term data
Based on the 2020 data compared to the data from previous years, we studied the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols and precipitation at the Listvyanka station situated on the southwest coast of Lake Baikal
Summary
The environmental protection of Lake Baikal—a World Heritage Site located in the centre of the Asian part of Russia—is receiving more and more attention. The atmosphere is an important component of the lake’s natural environment. Atmospheric aerosols have a significant effect on the atmospheric spectral transparency and the processes of radiation interactions [1,2]. Particles can scatter and absorb sunlight owing to their optical properties which, in turn, depend on the size, shape, and nature of the particles [3,4,5,6]. The origin of the aerosols and the chain of various transformations during air transport determine their chemical composition, size, shape, and other parameters. Anthropogenic aerosols have the most negative impact on the environment
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