Expedition onboard the RV “Akademik V.A. Koptyug”, July 15-25, 2020

The expedition within the framework of the programs “Influence of Changing Natural and Anthropogenic Factors on Biogeochemical Processes in the Stony Littoral Zone of Lake Baikal” and “Studies of Evolutionary, Ecological and Molecular Biological Aspects of Silica-Dependent Chromista as the Main Participants in the Silica Cycle in Aquatic Ecosystems” was carried out onboard the RV “Akademik V.A. Koptyug”, July 15-25, 2020, throughout the coast of Lake Baikal.

The aim of the expedition was to study biogeochemical processes in zones with different intensity of anthropogenic impact.

Hydrobiological, microbiological and biogeochemical methods were used to objectively characterize the zones of ecological stress. The studies of the littoral zone were carried out with the assistance of scuba divers along transects (21) with different degree of anthropogenic impact. Three deep water sections were investigated in Southern and Northern Baikal to determine the stability of the lake’s core of waters. The hydrochemical characteristics of 20 rivers of the Baikal basin and the estuary state were studied. The geological structure of Bolshoy and Small Ushkany islands, including the littoral zone, were investigated. The characteristics of weathering of various rocks in the littoral zone of the islands were studied in detail. Three sedimentary cores were sampled near the Akademicheskiy Ridge. The composition, spatial distribution and productiveness of phytoplankton were determined at nine stations in the littoral zone of Baikal bays. It was revealed that the stations in the southern and central basins were highly productive, in Barguzin Bay and the Maloye More Strait – close to highly productive and in the northern basin – low productive.