What is wrong with Lake Baikal?

What is wrong with Lake Baikal?

Tourism, corruption threaten world’s largest freshwater lake. After the closure of the Baikal cellulose-paper industrial complex in 2013, the main cause of pollution for the great Siberian lake became mass tourism. Lake Baikal is 25 million years old and more than 5000 feet (1500 m) deep.

Why is Lake Baikal called the pearl of Siberia?

Fewer than 65 native fish species have been recorded in the lake basin, but more than half are endemic to Baikal. More than 350 amphipod crustaceans species and subspecies are endemic to the lake. Locals call the lake “The Pearl of Siberia” and think of Baikal as secret divinity.

Does Lake Baikal have a monster?

Now, in case its biodiversity doesn’t dazzle you, here’s another peculiar fact: Lake Baikal has its own version of the Loch Ness Monster known as “Lusud-Khan” (which translates to “Water Dragon Master”).

Is Lake Baikal in Russia polluted?

One major source of pollution at Lake Baikal is the lack of sewage and water treatment facilities in the area, such that untreated water drains into the lake. Russian environmentalist groups are attempting to combat this issue by promoting the development of sustainable tourism in the Lake Baikal region.

Is Lake Baikal contaminated?

More than 15,000 metric tons of toxic waste have flown into Russia’s Lake Baikal from its largest tributary in the last decade, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday. Environmentalists have acknowledged pollution at Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest and oldest freshwater lake, since at least 1998.

Has anyone been to the bottom of Lake Baikal?

Two small, manned submarines reached the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest freshwater lake, on Tuesday, Russian news reports said. Russian news agencies earlier cited organizers as saying the expeditions set a world record for the deepest descent in a freshwater lake.

Is Lake Baikal deeper than the ocean?

It is the deepest (more than 1642 m) continental water-body on the Planet and contains 23,600 km 2 of water or about 20\% of the Earth’s unfrozen surface freshwaters. The bottom of the lake is 1182 m bellow the level of the world ocean. deeper than the deepest point of the ocean floor – Mariana Trench (11022 m).

What was found in Lake Baikal?

Lake Baikal is highlighted in green below. Lake Baikal is home to more than 2,000 species of plants and animals, two-thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world, including the Baikal omul fish and Baikal oil fish as well as the nerpa, one of the world’s only freshwater species of seal.

Why does Lake Baikal have bubbles?

The bubbles in the ice are the result of methane gas that is produced by algae. Baikal is the world’s deepest lake. Its origin and age still provoke scientific arguments, so let’s just say that Baikal is the biggest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, measuring in at a depth of 1,642 meters (5,387 feet).

Are there any fish in Lake Baikal?

More than 50 species of fish live in Lake Baikal, according to Baikal World Web. Aquatic invertebrate species include more than 100 species of flat worms, more than 700 species of anthropods (insects, arachnids and crustaceans) and more than 170 species of mollusks.

Is Lake Baikal drying up?

hydro power stations on the Selenga River and its tributaries can cause the unique lake [Baikal] to dry out. The 25 million-year-old lake is on the edge of environmental catastrophe and if certain measures are not taken, it might disappear just like the Aral Sea. Its main outflow is the Angara River.

Is Lake Baikal toxic?

Russia’s Lake Baikal became extremely polluted by harmful toxic materials and anti-WWTP regulations. The largest freshwater lake in the world is facing extreme pollution.