Seiche oscillations in Lake Baikal

The variations in the free surface of Lake Baikal at three stations (Bol’shie Koty, Listvyanka, and Baikal’sk) are measured. A modern recording method and an advanced technique of record processing are used. Based on 1-year-long observation data, the amplitudes of seiche oscillations and their seasonal changes are analyzed. It is found, in particular, that 67-min seiches are manifested in different seasons. Numerical calculations of seiches in Lake Baikal are made with the use of up-to-date bathymetric data on one-dimensional, plan, and spherical models. Spatial structures of oscillations with periods of 277, 152, 84, 67, and 59 min, corresponding to the well-expressed peaks of power spectral density, are studied. It is shown that the first four periods correspond to uninodal, binodal, trinodal, and quadrinodal longitudinal seiche modes of Lake Baikal. The periods of three solutions can correspond to the value of 59 min. The first of them is the seiche of the lake’s South Basin, and two others are characterized by significant amplitude growth in the Small Sea and Chivyrkui Bay.     

Optical characteristics of Lake Baikal waters and their cross-correlations

Correlations between the optical characteristics of Lake Baikal waters and relations of optical characteristics with the content of suspended matter and chlorophyll in waters of the lake have been found. The formulas obtained for Lake Baikal waters have been compared with similar formulas of relations in other water basins.     

Variations in the elemental composition of ferromanganese structures from Lake Baikal

The elemental composition of ferromanganese sedimentary structures from the bottom of Lake Baikal represented by nodules and crusts, as well as the enclosing sediments, have been studied by the atomic absorption, chemical, and ICP-MS methods. It is established that the contents of the rock-forming and accompanying elements in them are highly variable. In this connection, the examined samples are divided in two groups differing by their Mn/Fe values. In most of the samples, they range from 0.01 to 0.1, although some of the ferromanganese structures or their parts are substantially enriched in manganese. The contents of most of the rare and dispersed elements in the ferromanganese structures are usually at the background level, although the samples maximally enriched in iron or manganese are characterized by relatively high copper, nickel, cobalt, vanadium, zinc, and molybdenum concentrations.     

Estimation of methane fluxes from bottom sediments of Lake Baikal

Methane bubble fluxes in gas flares from bottom sediments in Lake Baikal were estimated for the first time using hydroacoustic methods. Earlier work has demonstrated the occurrence of gas seeps both inside and outside of areas where bottom simulating reflectors were identified in seismic profiles. Fluxes ranged from 14 to 216 tons per year, with the flux for the entire area of the central and southern basins ranging from 1,400 to 2,800 tons per year. Comparison with other water bodies showed that fluxes from the most intensive Baikal flares were similar to those in the Norwegian and Okhotsk seas. Gas hydrates decompose at the lower boundary of the gas hydrate stability zone due to sedimentation. Calculation of the amount of methane produced due to sedimentation gave a total of between 2,600 and 14,000 tons per year for the central and southern basins of the lake. Based on rough estimation, the total flux from shallow- and deep-water gas seeps is similar to the amount of methane produced due to sedimentation. This suggests that gas hydrates possibly occupy much more than 10?% of the pore volume near the base of the gas hydrate stability zone, or that there are other reasons for gas hydrate dissociation and bubble flux from these bottom sediments.     

Modes of iron-manganese mineralization on the bottom of Lake Baikal

The investigation of the bottom of Lake Baikal carried out during the 2008 summer season by means of Mir manned deep-submergence vehicles resulted in the recovery of a series of sediments, ferruginous crusts, and peculiar mineralized tubes several centimeters high and up to 2–6 cm in diameter. According to the scanning electron investigation, these formations consist mainly of the enclosing sediment particles and biogcnie silica cemented by iron and minor manganese hydroxides. The chemical composition of the tubes is similar to both that of the enclosing sediments and slightly ferruginous crusts and nodules, but the tubes and crusts are somewhat richer relative to the sediments in some microelements, namely, arsenic, cadmium, and uranium. In general, the structure and composition of these tubes reminds one of the worm tubes common in the sediments of a number of seas. The investigation of the rare earth elements in some samples or ferruginous formations and sediments revealed a positive europium anomaly, which might be related to either the composition of the surrounding continental magmatic rocks or to the influence of hypothetical hydrothermal solutions.     

Molecular and isotopic characteristics of gas hydrate-bound hydrocarbons in southern and central Lake Baikal

We investigated the molecular composition (methane, ethane, and propane) and stable isotope composition (methane and ethane) of hydrate-bound gas in sediments of Lake Baikal. Hydrate-bearing sediment cores were retrieved from eight gas seep sites, located in the southern and central Baikal basins. Empirical classification of the methane stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δD) for all the seep sites indicated the dominant microbial origin of methane via methyl-type fermentation; however, a mixture of thermogenic and microbial gases resulted in relatively high methane δ¹³C signatures at two sites where ethane δ¹³C indicated a typical thermogenic origin. At one of the sites in the southern Baikal basin, we found gas hydrates of enclathrated microbial ethane in which ¹³C and deuterium were both highly depleted (mean δ¹³C and δD of –61.6‰ V-PDB and –285.4‰ V-SMOW, respectively). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of C₂ δ¹³C–δD classification for hydrate-bound gas in either freshwater or marine environments.     

Seismic evidence of small-scale lacustrine drifts in Lake Baikal (Russia)

High resolution, single-channel seismic sparker profiles across the Akademichesky Ridge, an intra-basin structural high in Lake Baikal (Russia), reveal the presence of small sediment mounds and intervening moats in the upper part of the sedimentary cover. Such features interrupt the generally uniform and even acoustic facies and are not consistent with the hemipelagic sedimentation, which is expected on such an isolated high and which would produce a uniform sediment drape over bottom irregularities. The influence of turbidity currents is excluded since the ridge is an isolated high elevated more than 600-1000 m above adjacent basins. The mounded seismic facies, including migrating sediment waves and non-depositional/erosional incisions, strongly suggest that sediment accumulation was controlled by bottom-current activity. We interpret the mounds as small-scale (< few tens of km² in area) lacustrine drifts. Four basic types of geometry are identified: 1) slope-plastered patch sheets; 2) patch drifts; 3) confined drifts; 4) fault-controlled drifts. The general asymmetry in the sedimentary cover of the ridge, showing thicker deposits on the NW flank, and the common location of patch drifts on the northeast side of small basement knolls indicate that deposition took preferentially place at the lee sides of obstacles in a current flowing northward or sub-parallel to the main contours. Deep-water circulation in the ridge area is not known in detail, but there are indications that relatively cold saline water masses are presently flowing out of the Central Basin and plunging into the deep parts of the North Basin across the ridge, a process that appears to be driven mainly by small differences in salinity. We infer that the process responsible for the observed bottom-current-controlled sedimentary features has to be sought in these large-scale water-mass movements and their past equivalents. The age of the onset of the bottom-current-controlled sedimentation, based on an average sedimentation rate of 4.0 cm/ky, is roughly estimated to be as least as old as 3.5 Ma, which is generally regarded as the age of the onset of the last major tectonic pulse of rift basin development in the Baikal region.     

Multi-frequency seismic study of gas hydrate-bearing sediments in Lake Baikal,Siberia

In this paper we present and discuss the frequency-dependent behaviour of the acoustic characteristics of methane hydrate-bearing sediments in Lake Baikal, Siberia. Five different types of seismic sources (airgun-array, two types of single airguns, watergun and sparker) are used, encompassing a frequency bandwidth from 10 up to 1000 Hz. On low-frequency airgun-array data, the base of the hydrate stability zone (HSZ) is observed as a high-amplitude bottom-simulating reflection (BSR) with reversed polarity. The amplitude and continuity of the BSR decrease or even disappear on medium- to high-frequency data, a feature explained in terms of vertical and horizontal resolution. The increasing reflection amplitude of the BSR with increasing offset, the calculated reflection coefficient of the BSR and the occurrence of enhanced reflections below the BSR suggest the presence of free gas below the HSZ. The observation of some enhanced reflections extending above the BSR may be interpreted as an indication for free gas co-existing with hydrates within the HSZ. Amplitude blanking above the BSR is highly variable while the BSR itself appears to act as a low-pass frequency filter for medium- to high-frequency data.New single-channel airgun profiles provide the first seismic information across the Baikal Drilling Project (BDP-97) deep drilling site, at which hydrate-bearing sediments were retrieved at about 200 m above the base of the local HSZ. At the drilling site there are no seismic characteristics indicative of the presence of hydrates. Combination of the drilling and seismic information has allowed us to make a rough estimation of the volume of hydrates and carbon stored in the sediments of Lake Baikal, which lead us to conclude that the Lake Baikal gas hydrate reservoirs do not form a prospective energy resource.     

Gas hydrate accumulation in the subsurface sediments of Lake Baikal (Eastern Siberia)

Gas hydrate (GH) accumulation in subsurface sediments was discovered at shallow depth within the Malenkiy vent structure in the southern basin of Lake Baikal. The hydrated gas consists mainly of methane. Interstitial water chemistry indicates that water discharged within the study area is enriched with salts, especially Ca, Cl, and SO₄ ions. The ascending water delivering gas into the GH stability zone is thought to be the main GH-forming fluid. Geochemical data together with noble gas isotopic ratios suggest that the GH in the subsurface sediments of Lake Baikal originated from a deep source of water with anomalous composition assumed to be derived from buried paleolakes. As a whole, the GH accumulation corresponds to the area of the Malenkiy structure and is represented by several small-scale GH occurrences coincident with local fluid discharge manifestations. It is filtrational in origin, related to fluid flow features and controlled by tectonic setting.     

Spatial distribution, diversity and composition of bacterial communities in sub-seafloor fluids at a deep-sea hydrothermal field of the Suiyo Seamount

Spatial distribution, diversity, and composition of bacterial communities within the shallow sub-seafloor at the deep-sea hydrothermal field of the Suiyo Seamount, Izu-Bonin Arc, Western Pacific Ocean, were investigated. Fluids were sampled from four boreholes in this area. Each borehole was located near or away from active vents, the distance ranging 2–40 m from active vents. In addition, fluids discharging from a natural vent and ambient seawater were sampled in this area. We extracted DNA from each sample, amplified bacterial 16S rRNA genes by PCR, cloned the PCR products and sequenced. The total number of clones analyzed was 348. Most of the detected phylotypes were affiliated with the phylum Proteobacteria, of which the detection frequency in each clone library ranged from 84.6% to 100%. The bacterial community diversity and composition were different between hydrothermal fluids and seawater, between fluids from the boreholes and the vent, and even among fluids from each borehole. The relative abundances of the phylotypes related to Thiomicrospira, Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas were significantly different among fluids from each borehole. The phylotypes related to Thiomicrospira and Alcanivorax were detected in all of the boreholes and vent samples. Our findings provide insights into bacterial communities in the shallow sub-seafloor environments at active deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields.     

Distribution and morphology of mud volcanoes and other fluid flow-related lake-bed structures in Lake Baikal, Russia

New high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data recorded in 2009 in the deepest lake in the World, Lake Baikal, Siberia, enabled a better understanding of the morphology of ten known lake-bed structures—the Bolshoy, Malenki, Malyutka and Stari mud volcanoes in the South Baikal Basin, the K1–4 structures in the Selenga delta, and the Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg structures in the Central Baikal Basin—and also the discovery of 29 new lake-bed structures. These new structures are the S1, Tolstiy, mTSG and S2 in the South Baikal Basin, the P1–P4, P6–P19 and K5–K8 in the Selenga delta accommodation zone, and the C1, C3 and C4 edifices in the Central Baikal Basin. In all, 39 positive relief structures were identified and their large-scale distribution mapped. Based on their typical shape, the observation of high-reflectivity areas on side-scan sonar data records, and evidence of feeder channels on subsurface data, these structures can be classified as mud volcanoes. This has already been confirmed in other publications for the Bolshoy, Malenki and K2 structures, by the recovery of mud breccias in sediment cores. Most structures occur on or near faults and have orientations parallel with the major faults and main stress orientations in the basins, suggesting a strong structural control on the formation of the mud volcanoes. Their slopes are generally steeper than 5°, consistent with interpretation as mud cones formed by high-viscosity, stiff mud plugs. Only few structures appear to be characterised by a crater, in which case this apparent crater seems to be formed by the coalescence of several single cones, leaving a depression in the centre. Some structures have a moat, which has probably an erosional origin. Furthermore, three depressions have been found, named P5, P20 and C2, which are suggested to be pockmarks.     

贝加尔湖KUKUY地区两种结构气体水合物的形成过程

贝尔加湖首次发现气体水合物是1997年贝加尔钻探计划（BDP）在盆地南部海底深度121m和161m处,气体成分主要是甲烷,8δC值范围为-68．2‰～-57．6‰,表明这些气体水合物是微生物成因的。最近,在盆地南部的Malenky泥火山和盆地中部的Kukuy K-2地区海底发现气体水合物,这些站点位于抬升地形带上,并且具有流体溢出口特征。     

Seasonal variability in carbon demand and flux by mesozooplankton communities at subarctic and subtropical sites in the western North Pacific Ocean

We investigated seasonal changes in carbon demand and flux by mesozooplankton communities at subtropical (S1) and subarctic sites (K2) in the western North Pacific Ocean to compare the impact of mesozooplankton communities on the carbon budget in surface and mesopelagic layers. Fecal pellet fluxes were one order higher at K2 than at S1, and seemed to be enhanced by copepod and euphausiid egestion under high chlorophyll a concentrations. The decrease in pellet volume and the lack of any substantial change in shape composition during sink suggest a decline in fecal pellet flux due to coprorhexy and coprophagy. While respiratory and excretory carbon by diel migrants at depth (i.e., active carbon flux) was similar between the two sites, the actively transported carbon exceeded sinking fecal pellets at S1. Mesozooplankton carbon demand in surface and mesopelagic layers was higher at K2 than S1, and an excess of demand to primary production and sinking POC flux was found during some seasons at K2. We propose that this demand was met by supplementary carbon sources such as feeding on protozoans and fecal pellets at the surface and carnivory of migrants at mesopelagic depths.     

Estimating the Water Turbidity in the Selenga River and Adjacent Waters of Lake Baikal Using Remote Sensing Data

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The relationship between the DN/reflectance values of Landsat 5 TM, Landsat 8 OLI, and U-K‑DMC2 SLIM-6-22 imagery and the concentration of total...     

Freshening of near-bottom waters in Lake Baikal triggered by the Mw6.2 Kultuk earthquake of August 2008

In September 2008, freshening of near-bottom water and an increase in concentration of suspended particles were observed in the western part of southern Lake Baikal. The reduction in the content of total dissolved solids was about 0.4–0.7?mg/kg (0.7?%), and average suspended particle concentration increased strongly to 6–9?mg/l, the background value being 0.2?mg/l. The spatial distribution of these waters was virtually identical to the focal area of the M_w6.2 Kultuk earthquake that occurred on 27 August 2008. It is suggested that there was a causal relationship between these two phenomena. Freshening of a significant amount (about 20?km³) of near-bottom waters was plausibly caused by an input of poorly mineralized pore waters from bottom sediments as a result of dissociation of methane gas hydrates suspected to occur in the area. The energy radiated by the earthquake source was four orders of magnitude smaller than that needed to explain the observed freshening of near-bottom waters. This points to other mechanisms leading to seismic-induced sediment failure and possible subsequent hydrate dissociation in the case of the Kultuk earthquake.     

Heat and mass transfer effects during displacement of deepwater methane hydrate to the surface of Lake Baikal

The present paper focuses on heat and mass exchange processes in methane hydrate fragments during in situ displacement from the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) to the water surface of Lake Baikal. After being extracted from the methane hydrate deposit at the lakebed, hydrate fragments were placed into a container with transparent walls and a bottom grid. There were no changes in the hydrate fragments during ascent within the GHSZ. The water temperature in the container remained the same as that of the ambient water (~3.5 °С). However, as soon as the container crossed the upper border of the GHSZ, first signs of hydrate decomposition and transformation into free methane gas were observed. The gas filled the container and displaced water from it. At 300 m depth, the upper and lower thermometers in the container simultaneously recorded noticeable decreases of temperature. The temperature in the upper part of the container decreased to –0.25 °С at about 200 m depth, after which the temperature remained constant until the water surface was reached. The temperature at the bottom of the container reached –0.25 °С at about 100 m depth, after which it did not vary during further ascent. These observed effects could be explained by the formation of a gas phase in the container and an ice layer on the hydrate surface caused by heat consumption during hydrate decomposition (self-preservation effect). However, steady-state simulations suggest that the forming ice layer is too thin to sustain the hydrate internal pressure required to protect the hydrate from decomposition. Thus, the mechanism of self-preservation remains unclear.     

Toxicity and mutagenicity of waste waters from Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill: Evaluation of pollutant contamination in Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal has no agricultural and only little municipal pollution. Instead a potential source of pollution is the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM). All waste waters of the mill are mechanically, biologically and chemically purified and there are sedimentation and aeration ponds at the final stage. In this study the efficiency of the waste water purification was detected by testing toxicity and mutagenicity. Waters and sediments were collected along the cellulose bleaching process and waste water treatment. Free and bound polychlorinated phenols, guaiacols, catechols, anisoles and veratroles were analysed. Cytotoxicity of diethylether-extracted waste waters was screened by measuring total protein content in a fish hepatoma cell line (PLHC-1). The mutagenicity of the water, sediment and tissue extracts of selected aquatic species was determined by a modified Ames test. Diethylether fractions of the effluents from BPPM were cytotoxicfor the PLHC-1 cells when concentrated. Biological purification of the waste waters did not affect the cytotoxicity (ED₅₀ ˜2.2 and ˜2.0 μml⁻¹ before and after). The cytotoxicity was decreased after chemical purification (ED₅₀ ˜3.7μml⁻¹) and even more after the aeration pond (ED₅₀ ˜4.2 μml⁻¹). Mutagens were found in nearly all water samples released after the pulp chlorination. However, the mutagenic activity was effectively decreased during both biological and chemical treatment of waste waters. Only the tissue extracts of seals and a few roach possessed mutagenic activity. In conclusion, even the modern waste water purification systems do not totally abolish potential toxicity and/or mutagenicity of the effluents.     

Thermal anomalies associated with shallow gas hydrates in the K-2 mud volcano, Lake Baikal

Thermal measurements and hydrate mapping in the vicinity of the K-2 mud volcano in Lake Baikal have revealed a particular type of association of thermal anomalies (29–121?mW?m^–2) near hydrate-forming layers. Detailed coring within K-2 showed that hydrates are restricted to two distinct zones at sub-bottom depths exceeding 70–300?cm. Temperature data from stations with hydrate recovery and degassing features all display low thermal gradients. Otherwise, the thermal gradients within the mud volcano are generally increased. These findings imply a more complicated thermal regime than often assumed for mud volcanoes, with important roles for both fluids and hydrates. The coexistence of neighbouring low and high thermal anomalies is interpreted to result from discharging and recharging fluid activity, rather than hydrate thermodynamics. It is suggested that hydrates play a key role in controlling the fluid circulation pattern at an early stage. At a later stage, the inflow of undersaturated lake water would favour the dissolution of structure I hydrates and the formation of structure II hydrates, the latter having been observed on top of structure I hydrates in the K-2 mud volcano.     

The structure of suspended matter in Lake Baikal according to the data of measurements of light scattering functions

By using light scattering functions measured in Lake Baikal, we compute the characteristics of suspended matter, such as the mass concentration and the number of particles of the mineral and biological fractions, their mean radius, and the parameter of dispersion of mineral particles. The data on the vertical distributions of the characteristics of suspended matter are obtained for various regions of the lake in the summer period. We compare the characteristics of suspended matter in the zones of upwelling and downwelling of waters in Lake Baikal and in the Indian Ocean, which reveals its identical specific composition in these waters.     

Holocene Faunal Trends in West Siberia and Their Causes

Based on an analysis of the transformation of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of West Siberia in the Holocene, the classification and periodization of the main faunal trends are presented. Against the background of changing environmental conditions, the key regularities of the faunal dynamics, and the ways some species penetrate into the territory of the region and others disappear from the beginning of the Holocene to the present time have been indicated. Three global and four fluctuating trends are identified. The anthropogenic trend is ascertained separately. A conclusion is made about the prevailing causes of these changes, associated primarily with periodic climatic processes of different levels, determined by planetary geological and cosmic cycles. It is emphasized that, in the historical period, anthropogenic factors play a significant role in the regional faunal dynamics.