Lake Baikal. State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Barguzinsky Lake Baikal as a UNESCO World Heritage Site"

11.10.2019

One of the oldest lakes on the planet, its age is 25 - 30 million years. On Baikal, unlike many of the oldest lakes in the world, there are no signs of aging. On the contrary, scientists suggest that Baikal is a nascent ocean. This is confirmed by the fact that its shores diverge at a speed of up to 2 cm per year, just as the continents of Africa and South America.

It is located in the south of Eastern Siberia. It is the world's deepest lake with unique features and the largest reservoir fresh water on the planet. It has no equal in the world in terms of age, depth, reserves and properties of fresh water, diversity and endemism of organic life. Since ancient times, it has been called the sacred sea, glorious, gray-haired and formidable. Among the many epithets, one can distinguish such as: "the world source drinking water"," the blue eye of Siberia", "an oasis of the virgin nature of the Earth", "the sacred center of North Asia", "God-made creation", "the sacred gift of nature", "a monument of nature with unique landscapes", "an invaluable treasury of the genetic wealth of the Earth", " miracle of limnology, the focus of unique natural values. "Due to its unique features, Baikal was included in the list in 1996" world heritage"UNESCO.

Baikal is one of the oldest lakes on the planet; scientists determine its age at 25-30 million years. Most lakes, especially those of glacial and oxbow origin, live for 10-15 thousand years, and then they are filled with sediments and disappear from the face of the Earth. There are no signs of aging on Baikal, like many lakes in the world. On the contrary, research recent years allowed geophysicists to hypothesize that Baikal is a nascent ocean. This is confirmed by the fact that its shores diverge at a speed of up to 2 cm per year, just as the continents of Africa and South America diverge.
Among the lakes the globe Lake Baikal ranks first in depth (1637 m). On Earth, only 6 lakes have a depth of more than 500 m. The basin of Lake Baikal in morphological terms represents three independent basins - the Southern one with the greatest depth mark of 1430 m, the Middle one (1637 m) and the Northern one (920 m). The Baikal depression is asymmetric. Its western side is distinguished by a steep underwater slope (40-50 ° steepness), the eastern side is more flat. Quite often in the literature about Baikal there is still a mark of the lake's depth of 1620 m. This depth was recorded in 1959 as a result of measurements with a cable lot. Echo sounding measurements in 1974 recorded the depth of the lake at 1637 m.
At present, the Baikal basin is considered as the central link of the Baikal rift zone, which emerged and developed simultaneously with the world rift system (Florensov, 1978). Geophysicists put forward a hypothesis about the divergence of the shores of Lake Baikal at a rate of 2 cm per year. The Baikal depression is slightly wider than the modern lake, but much deeper than it. The depth of the depression is determined by the height of the mountains above it, the depth of the lake and the thickness of the bottom sediments lining its bottom. The deepest point of occurrence of bottom sediments of the lake is at a depth of approximately 6 - 8 thousand meters below the level of the world ocean. The "roots" of the depression cut through the entire earth's crust and go into upper mantle to a depth of 50-60 km. Studies point to an anomalously high heating of the bowels under Baikal. This is the deepest basin of the earth's land.

The Baikal region has a high seismicity - it is one of the most seismically active inland regions of the planet. Strong earthquakes occur with a frequency of 7 points - 1-2 years, 8 points - 5 years. In 1862, during a ten-point earthquake in the northern part of the Selenga delta, a land area of 200 square meters went under water. km with 6 uluses, in which 1300 people lived, and a new gulf Proval was formed. Weak earthquakes are recorded almost daily. Every year their number reaches 2 thousand or more. Scientists call Baikal the "ancient temechka of Asia"

Baikal is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Along the entire length of the western coast, mountain ranges come close to Baikal and almost sheer into the water. The highest peaks of the mountain ranges: Primorsky ridge - Three-headed char (1728 m), Baikal ridge - Mount Chersky (2572 m), Barguzinsky ridge - the highest mark (2840 m), Khamar-Daban - Mount Khan-Ula (2371 m).
In terms of area, Baikal (31,500 sq. km) ranks eighth in the world among lakes and is approximately equal to the area of such a country as Belgium.

Baikal is the largest storage of fresh water on the planet (23 thousand cubic km), which exceeds the volume of water contained in the five Great Lakes North America- Upper, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario combined, or 2 times more than in Lake Tanganyika. About 20% of the world's fresh lake water reserves are concentrated in the Baikal basin (excluding glaciers, snowfields and ice, where the water is in a solid state).

In the spring, after the lake is freed from ice, the transparency of the water reaches 40 m, which is ten times more than in other lakes. For example, in the Caspian Sea, the water transparency is 25 m, in Issyk-Kul - 20 m. In Baikal, a silver coin thrown into the water can be traced to a depth of 30-40 m.
The climate of Lake Baikal and its coast has the features of a maritime climate and differs significantly from the climate of the surrounding area. Huge water masses of the lake in the summer warm up to a depth of 200-250 m and, like an accumulator, accumulate a large amount of heat. Therefore, the winter on Baikal is milder and the summer is cooler than in the rest of Siberia. The air temperature difference between Irkutsk and the coast of Lake Baikal in the daytime can reach 8-10°C. The absolute maximum for the period of meteorological observations in Irkutsk reached +36°С, the absolute minimum was -50°С. The remoteness of Irkutsk from the seas and its location in the center of the Asian continent give the climate a sharply continental character. The maximum daily temperature differences can exceed 30°C.

Baikal (Irkutsk region, Buryatia)

The cleanest and, without a doubt, the most beautiful Lake Baikal, rightfully took its place in the list .

Baikal is one of the greatest lakes on the planet, a lake of "superlative degree": the deepest (1637 m) and the oldest (about 25 million years), containing the largest number of endemics (more than 1000 species) and representatives of flora and fauna (more than 2600 species ) living in fresh water bodies of the Earth. The lake has a unique in terms of volume (23.6 thousand cubic kilometers) and quality of fresh water (20% of the world).

The lake lies in the Baikal depression - a bottomless stone bowl, surrounded on all sides by mountains. Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, deepest lake planet Earth, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The lake and coastal areas are distinguished by a unique diversity of flora and fauna. Many of Baikal's animals, birds and fish are endemic, meaning that they live only in this ecosystem and are not found anywhere else in the world.

Locals and many in Russia traditionally call Baikal the sea. Butto no matter how much one would like to call this majestic reservoir of fresh water a sea, it is still a lake, which is surrounded on almost all sides by picturesque mountains and hills of extinct volcanoes.

The lake stretches from northeast to southwest for 632 km in the form of a giant crescent. The width of Baikal ranges from 24 to 79.5 km. There is no other lake so deep on earth. The bottom of Lake Baikal is 1167 meters below the level of the World Ocean, and the mirror of its waters is 453 meters higher.

The water in the lake is so transparent that individual stones and various objects can be seen at a depth of 40 m. Such transparency of water can be observed after the ice has melted: usually in early spring, the water of Lake Baikal becomes bright blue. In summer and autumn, when the water warms up, microplankton and algae begin to develop in it in small quantities: naturally, at this moment it is already quite difficult to distinguish pitfalls at a depth of 40 meters, but the transparency is amazing even at these times of the year. True, its color changes: it does not turn into muddy green, on the contrary, it becomes soft turquoise.

Immerse yourself in the gentle and purest waters of Lake Baikal ... - a dream! True, a dream only for those who know very little about this lake. The thing is that the water here does not warm up even in summer above +9 degrees Celsius. Only in small and shallow bays can one expect that the water will warm up to +16 under the sun. Therefore, swim in Baikal and see undersea world through the crystal-clear water is possible only in a wetsuit. In winter, the water mirror is almost completely covered with thick ice, so thick that in the 19th century sleepers were installed on the ice and steam locomotives were transported across Lake Baikal with the help of horses. The ice on the lake is an amazing sight: during severe frosts, cracks pass through it, the length of which is sometimes 30 (!)

There is a legend that the father of Baikal had 336 rivers-sons and one daughter - Angara, they all flowed into her father in order to replenish his waters, but now his daughter fell in love with the Yenisei River and began to carry her father's water to her beloved. In response, Father Baikal threw a huge piece of rock at his daughter and cursed her. This rock, called the Shaman-stone, is located at the source of the Angara and is considered its beginning.

Baikal is not even an ecosystem, it is a whole world, a world in which everything exists in harmony with each other. It is impossible not to listen to the words of P.N. Kozlov, who writes that when a person communicates with nature, he becomes purer, his soul becomes whole and sensitive.

World natural heritage site

With the adoption of the Convention for the Protection of Natural and cultural heritage planet, in 1972, the United Nations (department for education, science and culture) began to form the UNESCO World Heritage List, which includes the most significant objects of nature, history and culture, territories with outstanding global values of natural resources and which require careful treatment , preservation for posterity.

To be included in this list, you must meet at least one of four criteria:

The object presents outstanding examples illustrating the most important stages in the history of the Earth and remarkable geological processes;

The object provides exceptional examples to illustrate the most important ecological and biological processes of evolution and development of ecosystems and communities of living organisms;

The property includes outstanding natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic value;

The property includes the most important and significant natural habitats for the conservation of biodiversity, as well as species of outstanding universal scientific or conservation value.

Baikal is unique in this sense, it satisfies absolutely all the criteria of the Convention. Of the thousands of natural objects included in the World Natural Heritage List, a little more than a dozen meet all four criteria.

December 5, 1996, by decision of the 20th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, held in the Mexican city of Merida, Baikal, along with a coastal zone with a total area of about 8.8 million hectares, was included in the UNESCO Natural Heritage List.

The total area of the World Natural Heritage Site (UHPN) "Lake Baikal" is 88 thousand km2, of which 31.5 thousand km2 is the surface of the lake, and 19 thousand km2 is occupied by 3 reserves (Baikal-Lensky, Baikalsky, Barguzinsky) and 3 national parks(Pribaikalsky, Zabaikalsky and, partially, Tunkinsky).

5 urbanized industrialized territories are excluded from the Site: Baikalsk, Slyudyanka, Kultuk, Babushkin and Severobaikalsk.

The decision adopted by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee notes: “Lake Baikal is a classic case of a World Heritage site that satisfies all four natural criteria. The lake is located in the central part of the site. The features of the lake, hidden to a greater extent from the eyes of water, are of the main value for science and protection. The lake is surrounded by mountain-taiga landscapes and specially protected natural areas, mostly preserved in their natural state and representing additional value.

Lake Baikal is a limnological wonder and an area with the following excellent qualities:

The geological rift system that gave rise to Lake Baikal was formed in mesozoic period. Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest lake on Earth. Various tectonic forces still continue their action, as evidenced by the outlets of thermal flows from the depths of the lake.

The evolution of aquatic organisms that has taken place during this long period has led to the formation of an exceptionally unique endemic fauna and flora. Lake Baikal is the "Galapagos Islands of Russia", is of exceptional value for the study of evolution.

The picturesque landscape around the Baikal basin with mountain ranges, boreal forests, tundra, lakes, islands and steppes provides an exceptionally beautiful environment for Lake Baikal. Baikal is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth (20% of all world reserves), which additionally characterizes it as a unique phenomenon.

Lake Baikal is one of the most biodiverse lakes on Earth, with 1,340 animal species (745 endemic) and 570 plant species (150 endemic). In the forests surrounding the lake, there are 10 species of plants listed in the Red Book International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and a complete composition of typical boreal species is presented.

In addition to fulfilling one of the four criteria of the Convention, the desire of the country in which this site is located is necessary to protect and preserve it.

On the part of the leadership of the World Heritage Committee, the following requirements were presented to the Government of the Russian Federation:

1. Ensure final acceptance State Duma Law on Baikal;

2. Re-profiling the BPPM so that it ceases to be a source of pollution;

3. Reduce the discharge of pollutants into the Selenga;

4. Allocate additional funds to ensure the activities of nature reserves and national parks;

5. Provide and strengthen support scientific research and monitoring at Lake Baikal.

List of environmental measures implemented and already implemented by the management Russian Federation to meet the requirements of the leadership of the World Heritage Committee to the Government of the Russian Federation in connection with the assignment of the status of the World Natural Heritage:

2. Amendments have been made to the legislation regulating relations in the field of protection of Lake Baikal:

The boundaries of the water protection and fish protection zones of Lake Baikal are established by the Government of the Russian Federation;

State registration of objects that have a negative impact on environment Baikal natural area;

On the Baikal natural territory, it is prohibited to build new economic facilities, reconstruct existing economic facilities without a positive conclusion of the state environmental review of the design documentation of such facilities, and in the central ecological zone this natural area - disposal of production and consumption waste of I - III hazard class;

The possibility of transferring forest fund lands occupied protective forests, to the lands of specially protected territories and objects during the creation of specially protected natural areas;

The Water Code of the Russian Federation, the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation, the federal laws “On Ecological Expertise” and “On Fishing and Conservation of Aquatic Biological Resources” have been brought into line with the changes made to the Federal Law “On the Protection of Lake Baikal”.

For more details on the regulatory legal acts in accordance with which environmental protection measures are implemented, see the section "Laws".

3. In 2008, BPPM, at the request of Rosprirodnadzor, suspended the production of bleached pulp and switched to the production of less profitable unbleached pulp using closed water circulation technology, which completely eliminates the release of even treated wastewater into the lake. The plant stopped its work on December 25, 2013. On December 28, 2013, the Prime Minister of Russia signed a decree on the creation of the Zapovedniki Rossii expo center on the territory of the closed plant.

4. Since August 1, 1990, the Selenginsky Pulp and Paper Mill has stopped discharging industrial wastewater into the Selenga.

5. In 2008-2010, the International Research Expedition "Worlds on Baikal" was carried out, during which 160 dives were made on the Mir-1 and Mir-2 deep-sea submersibles. Following the results of the International Conference at the UNESCO Headquarters "Baikal - a World Treasure", an increase in the intensity and quality of scientific research in order to preserve the Baikal ecosystem was noted, the importance of the results of research International expedition "Worlds" on Baikal, which included scientists from 12 countries of the world; a significant contribution of this expedition to the development of Russian and world fundamental science, such areas as geology, geography, limnology, geochemistry, geophysics, biology, etc.; large amounts of data obtained during the expedition, allowing to significantly expand the understanding of the genesis of Baikal and modern processes occurring in it.

6. State funding for ensuring the protection of Lake Baikal and the Baikal natural territory is carried out with the help of the Federal target program"Protection of Lake Baikal and socio-economic development of the Baikal natural territory for 2012 - 2020", approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 21, 2012 No. 847. (See the section "Implementation of FTP measures").

Sources used in the preparation of the material:

Baikal studies: study guide / N. S. Berkin, A. A. Makarov, O. T. Rusinek. - Irkutsk: Publishing house Irk. state university, 2009

Volkov, S. On Baikal / Sergey Volkov. - M. : AST: AST Moscow, 2010. - 568 p.

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BAIKAL - A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

The problem of preserving the natural heritage has always existed, sometimes becoming quite acute. The relevance of studying this topic lies in the fact that it is necessary to know the unique features of this lake, to give an idea of the planetary significance of its conservation, and also to form a careful and responsible attitude of the population.

The study of this issue began with a visit to the Baikal Limnological Museum. The scientific direction of the museum is the study of the features of the evolution of the ecosystem of Lake Baikal. The museum provides in-depth information about the history of the origin and existence of Baikal, presents biodiversity lakes, the relationship of abiotic and biotic factors, introduces specially protected areas, talks about the study of the lake, and even gives the opportunity to virtual dive to the bottom of Lake Baikal. natural heritage baikal planetary

The list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia includes 26 sites, including: 16 of them are included in the list according to cultural criteria, 10 sites - according to natural ones.

In 2016, it will be 20 years since Lake Baikal was included in the World Natural Heritage List. This happened on December 5, 1996. To be included in the World Natural Heritage List, a candidate site must meet at least one of four criteria, Baikal satisfies all four. Of the thousands of natural sites on the List, just over a dozen meet all four criteria.

Baikal is an exceptional natural beauty, it represents a number of unique phenomena.

Baikal is the deepest lake on the planet, its depth is 1637 m, water transparency is about 40 m, which is ten times more than in other lakes. For example, in the Caspian Sea, the water transparency is 25 m, in Issyk-Kul - 20 m. In Baikal, a silver coin thrown into the water can be traced to a depth of 30-40 m.

In the lake, which is known as the "Galapagos of Russia", thanks to ancient age and isolation formed a unique freshwater ecosystem, the study of which is of lasting importance for understanding the evolution of life on Earth. The lake is home to 1340 animal species (745 endemic) and 570 plant species (150 endemic). This species diversity has developed due to the high oxygen content in the water.

After the inclusion of Baikal in the World Natural Heritage List, its ecological state is given Special attention. At present, two large administrative regions of Russia are located on the territory of the drainage basin of Lake Baikal - the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. Possessing industrial and agricultural potential, these entities determine state of the art ecosystems of the lake, being a source of pollution.

The lake has been at risk more than once, not so long ago, an oil pipeline was planned to be laid along the Baikal drainage basin and five other territories with protected status, but this project did not pass the state environmental review.

Today over Baikal new threat: planned by Mongolia to build a hydroelectric power station on the Selenga and its tributaries, which could lead to the degradation of Lake Baikal. Selenga - largest river, flowing into the lake, provides up to 80% of the water flow into the lake. The construction of dams on the river will significantly change the ecosystem of the river, the consequences are only negative - there will be a deterioration in water quality and deterioration of water supply conditions, degradation of wetlands, loss of geological stability and an increase in the risk of landslides, erosion, earthquakes.

The Limnological Institute highlights a new problem: the pollution of the coastal zone of Lake Baikal, which Irkutsk scientists announced in 2014, has taken on catastrophic proportions in the full sense of the word. About 60% of the lake coast is covered with spirogyra-algae, characteristic of warm stagnant reservoirs, which were almost never found in Baikal before, its closest relative lives in the area of wastewater from the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill.

They cover almost 1 km of the coast with a thick layer with a strip 2-3 meters wide, emitting an unpleasant odor. Residents of the village of Maksimikha note the disappearance of the coastal whitefish, which spawns near the coast, this is due to the fact that the decomposition of algae in the coastal strip is incompatible with the reproduction of fish and other inhabitants of Baikal, since oxygen is consumed by microorganisms, and its content in the water is sharply reduced. As a result of a decrease in the oxygen content in the water, the death of organisms that need oxygen occurs - zooplankton, fish, and its laid eggs.

Fertilizer minerals can enter Baikal with liquid household waste(nitrogen and phosphorus), sewage (nitrogen), detergents (washing powder contains phosphorus salts), with industrial waste from pulp and paper industries. Decaying biomass, organic waste, gives secondary pollution. Eutrophication is the process by which lakes gradually become swamps and do not usually live long.

Therefore, it can be concluded that at present the lake is experiencing an increased anthropogenic load.

Moreover, the development of spirogyra poses a danger to humans. Fields of rotting algae attract masses of gulls and other birds, with their feces, intestinal bacteria enter and actively multiply, which during storms are washed into the lake itself. This is the so-called secondary sanitary pollution, something that the employees of the Limnological Institute have already diagnosed.

Perhaps it is with the appearance of spirogyra in the lake that mass death sponges - a natural filter of Baikal water. Algae occupies the spawning grounds of the yellowfly fish, and it, in turn, is the favorite food of the Baikal omul. That is, the consequences may affect the population of the latter. Sponges first die out, and then colonies of blue-green bacteria appear on them, and some genera of these bacteria can produce toxins of various effects, including those that affect the central nervous system, the liver, and can, for example, cause cirrhosis.

Baikal is unique natural complex, which is of interest both as an object of scientific research and as an unconditional aesthetic value.

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Lake Features

The origin of this lake is tectonic. It is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia.

The uniqueness of water:

ecological formula.
The acidity of the water.
Energy of melt water.
The unique composition of water.
The taste of pure water.

The purest water from all lakes on the planet. Differs from sea water. Many times less minerals than in other sources. Saturation with oxygen.

Baikal is protected by UNESCO.

A unique view of flora and fauna, geological objects. All of them are of great importance for the planet.

The oldest lake, about 30 million years old.

One of the deepest lakes. Its depth is 1637 meters.

Water transparency can reach 40 meters.

The eighth wonder of the world or why it is worth visiting Baikal

Definitely, from my point of view, Baikal is one of the wonders of the world. At least once in a lifetime, but it is worth visiting this unique lake. Feel the scale of this planet. Soak up this air. Touch this water. Just enjoy your existence. Here are a few reasons why you should visit this unique creation of nature:

Variety of terrain. Colorful landscapes.
Lots of interesting myths around this lake.
Local settlement. Interesting culture of the peoples inhabiting this place.
Baikalsk. ski resort.
Variety of local dishes.
Flora and fauna.

You won't find a better place on the planet. Definitely a miracle of this planet.

The scale is striking. Nature surprises. The features are discouraging. What could be more beautiful than mother nature. If our planet had a face, it would definitely be Baikal.

Such a contrast is collected in one place. Well, isn't it unique?

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