Seasonal variations in the vertical structure of pelagian water stratum in the Southern Baikal

Abstract

For the first time, T,S-analysis was used to determine the specifics of seasonal variations in the vertical structure of Lake Baikal active layer. In the under-ice period, the active layer includes the under-ice, top winter, and upper intermediate water masses. The under-ice water mass, unlike other masses, shows an increase in mineralization to 100.74 mg/kg, which corresponds to a release of 71.1 g salt under 1 m² of water surface in a layer 0–40 m in the process of salt freezing out during ice cover formation and accretion. In the phases of mixing (homothermy), the water masses of the active layer transform into a surface homogeneous mass. In summer and autumn, surface and upper intermediate water masses, separated by a water mass of summer thermocline can be identified. A specific feature of the summer thermocline water mass is the increased sum of ions because of an increase in HCO₃^- concentration at the decay of organic matter accumulating in the bottom part of the thermocline. The existence of the under-ice water mass and the water mass of summer thermocline was established in Lake Baikal for the first time. In the deep-water zone (>250 m), except for the bottom parts, the lower water masses (the lower intermediate and the deep) are permanent, their characteristics remaining stable during the year. The changes in the bottom water mass are due to the character of the processes of bottom water renewal.