Spatial-Temporal Variability of Small Gas Impurities over Lake Baikal during the Forest Fires in the Summer of 2019

Abstract

Lake Baikal—a unique ecosystem on a global scale—is undoubtedly of great interest for a comprehensive study of its ecosystem. In recent years, one of the most significant sources of atmospheric pollution in the Baikal region was the emission of smoke aerosol and trace gases from forest fires, the number of which is increasing in the region. The transport and accumulation of aerosol and small gas impurities over water area of Lake Baikal is observed every summer due to forest fires occurring in the boreal forests of Siberia. The atmosphere above the lake covers a huge area (31,500 km2) and is still a little-studied object. This article presents the results of experimental studies of ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere over Lake Baikal, carried out on a research vessel during the boreal forest fires in Siberia in the summer of 2019.

Spatiotemporal Variations of Aerosol Optical Depth in the Atmosphere over Baikal Region Based on MODIS Data

“…The combination of high temperature and low relative air humidity in June causes hot dry winds and droughts contributing to fire hazards and hence, greater AOD in June. During the other half of summer (July-August), cyclonic activity intensifies dramatically, resulting in higher relative humidity and rainfall [23]. Thus, the Baikal region belongs to a group of regions that display seasonal variations in atmospheric transparency, with the minimum in spring and summer and the maximum in autumn.…”

Lidar observations of the tropospheric aerosol structures on the Baikal Lake coast

“…It is the world's largest reservoir of clean water, which by its area (600x40 km 2 ) can be classified as a small inland sea 1 . This explains the attention to the study of the atmosphere of the Baikal basin from the standpoint of global environmental and climate change [2][3][4][5][6][7] . The region is located in the area of western transport, however, due to the influence of the mountainous environment, the occurrence of characteristic regional weather conditions, mainly the wind system, and the associated cloudiness and precipitation regimes is observed 8 .…”

Atmospheric Deposition on the Southwest Coast of the Southern Basin of Lake Baikal

“…Natural and climatic factors that prevent the dispersion of technogenic emissions significantly affect the levels of air pollution [7]. Emissions of smoke aerosols and trace gases from the increased number of wildfires have become significant sources of air pollution in the Baikal natural territory (BNT) [8,9]. Control over the pollution entering the ecosystem of Lake Baikal through the atmosphere is becoming increasingly important.…”