The “methane eruption” on Lake Baikal in 1912 as an effect of a strong earthquake

Radziminovich, Ya. B.; Shchetnikov, Alexander A.; Вологина, Е. Г.

doi:10.1134/s1028334x10050077

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…It has also been demonstrated that significant amounts of gas can be released from the bottom of a lake by seismic activity (Wetzel, 2003;Radziminovich et al, 2010). Bubbles of methane (CH 4 ) or carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) trapped in the sediment are released and re-suspended in a thin layer of mud just above the bottom by earthquakes and this may have been sufficient to cover C. vicinus in Lake Krn with a layer of sediment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The affected groups are predominantly benthic. Among the rare, recorded effects of seismic activities on aquatic animals is a report from Lake Baikal, where an earthquake on August 1912 released a large amount of methane into the water column, causing a mass-kill of Baikal oil fish (Comephorus baikalensis (Pallas, 1776) and C. dybowskii Korotneff, 1905) (Radziminovich et al, 2010). A few days before the strong earthquake (European Magnitude Scale/EMS/ = 6.3) that hit L'Aquila (Italy) on April 6, 2009 common toads (Bufo bufo Linneaus, 1758) disappeared from their breeding site and did not return until after the aftershock series declined (Grant et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Consecutive earthquakes temporarily restructured the zooplankton community in an Alpine Lake

Brancelj

Žibrat

Mezek

et al. 2012

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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-Two consecutive earthquakes temporary changed a zooplankton community in a high-mountain Lake Krn (altitude 1383 m a.s.l.). It was dominated by the eurytherm copepod, Cyclops vicinus, until 1998, when the first earthquake hit the lake (EMS = 5.6). After the earthquake, the population of C. vicinus collapsed and the thermophilic cladoceran, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, took over. After the second earthquake in 2004 (EMS = 4.0), C. vicinus became untraceable. In 2008, few copepods reappeared and by 2010 they became the sole dominant again. Only Secchi-disc depth showed a statistically significant increase over time, while N tot , P tot and temperature showed an increasing trend, yet the relationship was insignificant. To compare multi-parameter properties of the water column, the studied period was divided into Period 1 (before the first earthquake), Period 2 (between earthquakes) and Period 3 (after the second earthquake). A Hotteling T 2 test confirmed a statistically significant difference between Periods 1 and 2 & 3 (P < 0.01), but not between Periods 2 and 3 (P > 0.1). During simple laboratory experiment, specimens of C. vicinus were covered with a thin layer of sediment, to mimic the earthquake's effect on their survival. A hypothesis was that the timing of both earthquakes had been crucial for decimation of C. vicinus population as they re-suspended sediment with hibernating copepodites. As these became subsequently buried they were deprived of a re-activation signal and exposed prolonged anoxic conditions there. C. quadrangula temporary filled the void left by the copepod, which needed 6 years to regain its dominance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consecutive earthquakes temporarily restructured the zooplankton community in an Alpine Lake

Brancelj

Žibrat

Mezek

et al. 2012

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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“…Heat flow in the Baikal basins averages around 50-70 mW/m 2 . There are some narrow zones where heat-flow values may reach up to 80-110 mW/m 2 , and locally heat-flow anomalies with magnitudes of more than 200-1000 mW/m 2 have been reported, mainly at the eastern side of the lake (Poort and Klerkx, 2004;Golubev, 2007).…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These reports stated that large number of fish were washed up along the shore (Granin and Granina, 2002). One possible explanation was that their deaths were associated with gas emissions (Lomonosov and Chekanovsky, 1897) caused by mud-volcano eruptions triggered by earthquakes (Radziminovich et al, 2010). Vereshchagin (1947, p.135) wrote: "There used to be a peculiar businessthe golomyanka thrown on the shore have been picked up, and cod-liver oil was melted from the fish, which was partly used for technical purposes and partly exported to China, where it was used in medicine".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A lot of dead fish that normally live at substantial depth, such as the Baikal golomyanka, appeared." (Radziminovich et al, 2010). Other reports include one by Vereshchagin and Sidorychev (1929), in which they described finding several dead fish "bychok zheltokrylka" (Cottocomephorus grewingkii) in trawls from a depth of about 200 m. These fish do not float up to the surface after death and so would not leave evidence of mass deaths as in golomyanka.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increase in the water level of Lake Baikal as a possible cause of changes in methane flux and concentrations in the water column

et al. 2023

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The construction of a dam for the Irkutsk hydroelectric power plant caused the water level in Lake Baikal to increase by 80 cm between 1958 and 1961. This led to a downward migration of the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (BGHSZ) in the sediments of the lake, which was followed by a long transition process to a new state of equilibrium. In the first stage of the transition, new gas hydrates formed at the BGHSZ, which was accompanied and followed by a decrease in pore pressure, a decrease in methane transfer from the BGHSZ to the lake floor (via fast transfer pathways, such as faults or mud volcanoes), a decrease in the intensity of methane release from the lake floor into the water column, and a decrease in the methane concentrations in the water. In the second stage, which covers the last 10-15 years, methane concentrations in the 2 water column have started to increase again, possibly in response to an uptick in methane flux from the lake floor. In this paper, we look at possible explanations.Mathematical modeling of the migration of the BGHSZ allowed us to estimate how long the transition process takes. The modeled transition times are different for different locations in the lake, depending mainly on the sedimentation rate and the gas hydrate content of the sediments.In the near future, Lake Baikal may reach a quasi-stationary state again similar to that before the construction of the dam. This stationary state likely involves much higher methane concentrations in the water column than what is observed today, as well as adverse effects on biota of pulsed expulsions of methane, sourced from the BGHSZ, into the water column by means of e.g. mudvolcano eruptions. Such effects may include events of mass deaths of the endemic deep-water fish, golomyanka, similar to what was reported to have occurred in the 19 th and first half of the 20 th century, prior to the construction of the dam. This study also reemphasizes how variations in the dynamics of a natural gas hydrate system may have a profound impact on the water bodies in which they occur and on the ecosystems within these water bodies. It also highlights which effects can be expected in other hydrate-bearing marine basins where climate-induced sea-level rise will impact the dynamics of the hydrate reservoirs.

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

et al. 2012

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The “methane eruption” on Lake Baikal in 1912 as an effect of a strong earthquake

Cited by 8 publications

References 3 publications

Consecutive earthquakes temporarily restructured the zooplankton community in an Alpine Lake

Consecutive earthquakes temporarily restructured the zooplankton community in an Alpine Lake

Increase in the water level of Lake Baikal as a possible cause of changes in methane flux and concentrations in the water column

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

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