Expedition on board RV “V.A. Koptyug”, July 28 – 03 August, 2018

The expedition was carried out within the framework of the program “The Influence of Changing Natural and Anthropogenic Factors on Biochemical Processes on the Stony Littoral of Lake Baikal” on board RV “V.A. Koptyug”, July 28 – 03 August, 2018. The objectives of the work included biogeochemical and geophysical investigations of the coast in the area of Maloye More strait to determine the influence of surface and underground runoff on the coastal waters and littoral biota. In addition, it was planned to identify the areas of anthropogenic influence on bays and gulfs of lake Baikal from cruise ships and unorganized tourism.

Maloye More strait is an area of Lake Baikal which is actively developed by tourist agencies, flows of unorganised campers and cruise tourism. There is no environmental infrastructure in the coastal development zones. Anthropogenic process leads to eutrophication of coastal zones and change in the composition of surface and near-bottom waters. Due to biochemical, microbiological, geophysical, diving methods and survey of the territory with unmanned vehicles during the expedition, the state of the coastal zone and the water mass of Maloye More were assessed. Complex work was carried out on the sections in the central part of the strait and detailed transects in the littoral zone, including visiting the bays with the intensive development. To compare, the samples were also taken in little-visited areas of the coast.

In total, 153 water samples for the multi-element analysis, 40 samples of phytoplankton, 50 buckets of stones with phytobenthos, and 100 microbiological water samples were taken; 153 measurements of physicochemical parameters of water and 20 measurements of ATP in near-bottom water were made.