Effect of long-range transport of sulphur and nitrogen oxides from large coal power plants on acidification of river waters in the Baikal region, East Siberia

et al. 2019

JOR

The article considers the results of experimental studies of mesoscale processes of atmospheric pollution transfer to the southern Baikal in the system of low-level atmospheric jet flows in the atmospheric boundary layer at heights up to 100–600 m. It is shown that the plumes of atmospheric emissions of large coal-fired power plants can be captured by the atmospheric jets and transferred to hundreds of kilometers without significant scattering and deposition. Such cases are observed, as a rule, at night and more often in the cold season of the year. The main pollutants in these plumes are sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides, concentration of which in the region of Lake Baikal (70 km from the source) can reach the level from hundreds to thousands µg/m3. In the process of transfer, nitrogen oxides are partially oxidized by atmospheric ozone to nitrates (mainly to nitric acid), while ozone concentrations in the plume zone drop to zero, completely expending on oxidation.

Section: результаты и их обсуждениеunclassified

Mesoscale Processes of Atmospheric Pollutants Transfer in the South Baikal Region

Оболкин

Shamanskii

et al. 2019

JOR

“…The waters of these rivers correspond to the sulfate class of calcium group for a significant part of the year. The waters of the Solzan, Utulik and Snezhnaya rivers have a higher buffer capacity; their composition remains stable and corresponds to the bicarbonate class of calcium group (Obolkin et al, 2016;Tomberg et al, 2016).…”

Section: Hydrochemical Investigations Of Lakementioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrochemical studies in Lake Baikal: history and nowadays

Domysheva

Сороковикова

et al. 2018

LFWB

This work is about the history and the main stages of the hydrochemical studies in Lake Baikal for the last 90 years. The first studies of Baikal water chemistry, including its deep-water zone, had been carried out at the late 1920s under the guidance of G. Yu. Vereshchagin. At the same time, the guide that was used during many years by chemical hydrologists for water chemistry analyses not only on Baikal had been developed. The long-term hydrochemical research of 1950s-1960s gave data on background concentrations of chemical components both in the lake and in its tributaries. The nowadays data evidence that the content of major ions in the deep-water zone of Lake Baikal is constant. It is found that the temporal and space changes of nutrients concentrations in the pelagic zone of the lake depend mainly on phytoplankton growth, whereas the current increase of nutrients concentrations in the littoral is mainly induced by human activities and the development of tourism. It is found that the Selenga River, the largest tributary of the lake, undergoes the highest anthropogenic load. The pollutants, which enter the river in Mongolia, affect the content of major ions, nutrients and organic matter on the territory of Russia up to the mouth; more pollutants are added by Russian local wastewater sources. Amid the ongoing low water levels and increased anthropogenic load, the annual average concentrations of mineral phosphorous in the Selenga River show a trend to decline, whilst the content of phosphorous organic compounds increases. The efflux of mineral and total phosphorous by the Selenga is governed by changes of the water runoff. Changes in chemical composition of low-mineralized rivers of South Baikal (Khara-Murin and Pereemnaya) whose water catchment areas were affected for many years by emission of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill and by transfer of pollutants from the industrial complexes of Pribaikalye are registered.

“…Studies of the air basin of the Baikal region in the 1970s-80s were mainly focused on studying of the chemical composition of atmosphere precipitations and its role in the chemical balance of Baikal waters (Khodzher, 1983;Vetrov et al, 1985;Obolkin et al, 1990;Anokhin et al, 1991). It was shown that the long-term ingress of acid components with atmosphere precipitations and their high accumulation in the snow cover and soils of the inflows' basins of the Southern Baikal caused to a shift of the main ions balance in the waters of the Southern Baikal inflows towards an increase of content of sulfates and a decrease of content of hydrocarbonates (Sorokovikova et al, 2004;Khodzher, 2005;Obolkin et al, 2016). Studies have shown the significant role of the atmosphere in the ingress of substances on the underlying surface.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics of SB RAS (Tomsk, Russia), Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics of SB RAS (Novosibirsk, Russia). The distribution of the aerosol was investigated not only in the surface layer, but also in the upper atmosphere up to 2-3 km from the earth's surface (Balin et al, 2016;Obolkin et al, 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerosol in the atmosphere of the Baikal region: history and contemporary researches

Голобокова

Оболкин

et al. 2018

LFWB

The results of long-term studies (1995-2017) of the physical properties and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol in the Baikal region are considered. These studies are important for understanding the role of the atmosphere in the formation of the chemical composition and quality of the waters of Baikal and its inflows. Over the past two decades, Limnological Institute SB RAS (Irkutsk, Russia) have conducted various joint studies of the characteristics of atmospheric aerosol with Russian and foreign groups. The chemical composition, biological component, size distribution, spatial distribution and aerosol sources over the lake were investigated. The interannual variability of the main chemical compounds in the aerosol was estimated. So, over the period studied, there was a gradual decrease observed in the concentrations of the main ions in the aerosol composition: in Irkutsk by 2.1 times, Listvyanka-by 4.0 times, at the background site of Mondy-by 3.5 times. In addition to quantitative changes, there is a change in the ratio of the main ions in the aerosol at Listvyanka site (south-west coast of Lake Baikal) and at the background site of Mondy. Upon condition of no external influences the content of the main ions in the aerosol on the surface layer of Lake Baikal is significantly lower (0.33-5.2 μg•m-3) than during of extreme conditions (2.2-5.2 μg•m-3). Forest fires near Baikal cause an increase of the concentrations of Na + , K + , NH 4 + , Cl-, and NO 3 ions in Baikal aerosols. Components of soil-erosion origin (Al, Fe, Zn, Cr, Ba) dominate in the elemental composition of the aerosol. Their concentration increases during forest fires up to 1.4-6 times at average. The flows of sulfur and nitrogen, the main acidifying components, differ in different years of observations both at the monitoring sites and over the surface of Lake Baikal.