Expedition to study the isotopic composition of Baikal waters

The expedition finished on board the RV “Vereshchagin” within the program “Study of seasonal and long-term transformations of the state of water bodies and watercourses in East Siberia in the context of climate change, geological environment and anthropogenic loads” (project № 0279-2021-0005) (directed by A. Fedotov).

The aim of the expedition was to study the distribution of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the Baikal water column.

Water samples were collected at the central station Listvyanka-Tankhoy (Southern Baikal) from the surface to a depth of 1,410 m. The samples were taken every 10 meters from the surface to the bottom using a Carousel SBE-32 cassette-type sampler. Further, these samples will be examined with a Picarro L2130 isotope analyzer. The Institute bought this device within the program of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia to update the instrument base.

At the same time, hydrophysical measurements were carried out using a high-precision SBE-25 CTD-zond with additional sensors of dissolved oxygen and transparency.

The obtained results will be used to study the processes of vertical water exchange in Baikal.