Methods for Monitoring the Chemical Composition of Lake Baikal Water

Abstract

In the early 1990s, a system of comprehensive monitoring, including hydrophysical, chemical and biological investigations, was developed at the Limnological Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences to assess the current environmental state of Lake Baikal. Chemical monitoring of the Baikal water includes checking the dynamics of chemical components in the pelagic and littoral areas of the lake, as well as their input from the atmosphere and water from the lake’s tributaries. The monitoring system allows scientists to assess historical trends of the chemical components in the lake and forecast possible changes in the biota habitat. The low concentrations of most components in the Baikal water initiated the development of more sensitive methods. New methods for analysing anions and persistent organic pollutants (PAHs and PCBs) were elaborated at the Institute and certified by the State Standard Committee of the Russian Federation. These methods feature high sensitivity, selectivity and fast analysis and are widely applied when monitoring the chemical composition of different environments in the Baikal region. The reliability of methods and quality of analytical analyses are checked annually according to international and Russian programmes on inter-laboratory calibration. The results do not deviate from the reference standard samples by more than 10 %, which attests to the reliability of new methods for chemically monitoring the Baikal water. Based on long-term data with the application of high-precision methods, we were able to assess the current chemical composition of the Baikal water. Present concentrations of pollutants in Lake Baikal, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals, are low and do not directly affect the composition of the water and biota. Moreover, the ecosystem of Lake Baikal is self-purifying. The water of Lake Baikal in its deep area is one of the purest natural waters in the world and can be used for drinking and other purposes. It is recommended to include water quality tests in the regular monitoring system, in particular checking the littoral zone where the coast is highly developed and near the mouths of the lake large tributaries, analysing such parameters as sanitary and microbiological characteristics, nutrients and biota. It is also necessary to regularly monitor the concentration of persistent organic compounds in the air, and in the lake water, bottom sediments and biota. Many of these compounds are mutagenic and carcinogenic, and they are also able to accumulate in the food chains and transfer from one organism to another.