Geoecological Assessment of the State of Coastal Waters and Bottom Sediments of the Lake Baikal and Its Tributaries (West Coast)
This article presents the results of assessing the quality of coastal waters of the western coast of Lake Baikal and the rivers flowing into it (Kuchulga, Khorga, Sarma, Kurma). To assess the state of coastal waters, the following parameters were determined: the hydrogen index, the content of nitrogen-containing substances, phosphates, petroleum products, and heavy metals. Concentrations of heavy metals were found in the bottom sediments. The research was conducted in the summer period of 2016-2017. The lake shore under consideration is experiencing a high anthropogenic load due to the residential and recreational facilities located there. As a result of the study, it was found that, for most of the considered parameters, the water of the lake and its tributaries meet the established sanitary and hygienic standards. The excess of the MPC of the fishery in terms of the content of copper and lead in the water of the lake and its tributaries was determined. On the basis of the obtained data, a map-scheme of the distribution of nitrogen-containing substances in the study area was constructed. The concentrations of metals in the bottom sediments are also set at the level allowed by sanitary standards. There was a slight excess of the background values for the cobalt content in the samples of bottom sediments taken from the coastal waters of the lake and the Sarma River. To assess the degree of contamination of surface waters with heavy metals, the pollution coefficient for the sediment bottom was calculated, according to which the water bodies under consideration have a low degree of HM contamination.