SULPHATE REDUCTION IN SVYATOE LAKE BOTTOM SEDIMENTS (SOUTH OF THE ARKHANGELSK REGION)
The article studies the anaerobic bacterial process of sulphate reduction in the bottom sediments of the small fresh water lake Svyatoe. The samples were collected at a deep-water station of the lake during winter (March) and summer (July) low water periods and at a shallow-water station in March only. The obtained data on the reduced sulphur and residual sulphate distribution forms allowed to report the activation of the process under investigation in the upper sediment layers (up to 10 cm) as well as its intensification in the sediment depths (deeper than 25 cm). It is typical of both stations. The determinant factors of sulphate reduction in the bottom sediments of the researched lake Svyatoye are, the first and foremost, the sulphate content in the silt water of the sediments (arriving with the groundwaters) and the income of organic matter into the sediment upper layers. The microbiological studies performed earlier confirm the geochemical readings of the obtained quantitative results.