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Water Quality in the Shallow Zone of Lake Baikal as Deduced from Sanitary and Microbiological Indicators

  • RESEARCH IN THE BAIKAL WATERSHED
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Abstract

A wide-scale investigation providing insight into the spatial and temporal distribution of sanitary and microbiological indicators of water quality has been undertaken in the shallow nearshore zone of Lake Baikal. Water samples were collected along the entire lake perimeter from 2012 to 2016 and in 2020 (total number, n = 450). A comparison of the abundance of fecal indicator bacteria in the bottom and surface waters at a total depth of 1 m showed that the concentration of sanitary indicator bacteria was generally higher in the surface water layers. The dynamics of water quality indicators (as determined from May to November at the monitoring stations in the villages of Listvyanka and Bol’shie Koty) did not reveal, according to statistical calculations, any substantial differences in the number of fecal indicator bacteria in most cases for different months of this study. The results of four circum-Baikal surveys at the same stations in June and September 2015 and 2016 also showed no notable differences in terms of the period of sampling. The concentration gradient of the fecal indicator bacteria 100 m from the water edge exhibited a consistent decrease of these microorganisms with distance from the shore towards deeper parts of the lake. An area of sampling was revealed in which the concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria considerably exceeded the regulatory standards (SanPiN 1.2.3685-21). The village of Khuzhir was such a site. In the shallow water at the villages of Sakhyurta and Kultuk, the concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria were on the verge of the maximum permissible concentration. These data provided evidence of constant and significant water pollution in the nearshore zone adjacent to settlements characterized largely by touristic activities (recreational activity is increased).

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Funding

This work was carried out as part of state tasks of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the topic “Comprehensive Studies of the Coastal Zone of Lake Baikal: Long-Term Dynamics of Communities under the Influence of Various Environmental Factors and Biodiversity; Causes and Consequences of Negative Environmental Processes” (0279-2021-0007). The collection and analysis of field data was supported by the projects “Large-Scale Changes in the Ecology and Biodiversity of Communities in the Coastal Zone of Lake Baikal: Interdisciplinary Research, Identification of Causes, and Development Forecast” (0345-2019-0009) and “Influence of Changing Natural and Anthropogenic Factors on Biogeochemical Processes on the Rocky Littoral of Baikal” (0345-2019-0010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Limnological Institute, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033, Irkutsk, Russia

    V. V. Malnik, A. N. Suturin, A. S. Gorshkova, Yu. R. Shtykova & O. A. Timoshkin

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  1. V. V. Malnik
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  2. A. N. Suturin
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  3. A. S. Gorshkova
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  4. Yu. R. Shtykova
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  5. O. A. Timoshkin
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Correspondence to V. V. Malnik, A. N. Suturin, A. S. Gorshkova, Yu. R. Shtykova or O. A. Timoshkin.

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Translated by S. Avodkova

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Malnik, V.V., Suturin, A.N., Gorshkova, A.S. et al. Water Quality in the Shallow Zone of Lake Baikal as Deduced from Sanitary and Microbiological Indicators. Geogr. Nat. Resour. 43, 141–148 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S187537282202007X

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