Water of Baikal

The water of Baikal is notable for its unusual purity and transparency. The white disk of Sekka that is used to determine water transparency can be seen in Baikal up to 40 meters deep whereas the transparency of waters of the Caspian sea is not more than 25 meters, of lake Sevan - 20 meters. The famous Alpine lakes are inferior to Baikal`s water transparency. The researches showed, that on the 250-1200 meters depth - the transparency of Baikal water is not less, than in the Sargasso sea which is considered to be the world standard of the highest transparency. Aquaman lowered in the depth on bathyscaphe "Pisis" say, that the human eye may define penetration of daylight on the depth up to 800 meters, and sensitive photo cameras fix it on the 1500 meters depths. On shallownesses and in mouths of the rivers the transparency of water is much lower than in deep-water areas. During spring development of seaweed there is a gradual reduction of a transparency of water, and in March- May the white disk even in deep-water areas becomes invisible on 8-10 meters depth. The color also depends upon the transparency of water. In deep-water area the color is turquoise-blue, as in the deep seas; in the process of reduction of a transparency it becomes bluish-green; in August- September during the maximal development of summer plankton it becomes green-grayish.

Water of the lake corresponds to the best quality standards of pure potable water. Rare cleanliness and exclusive properties of Baikal`s water are caused by vital functions of animals and flora of the lake. Microscopic crayfish plays the main role of the filter of water. For one year the armada of crayfishes is able to clear the high 50ty meters layer of water three times. In Baikal water there are very few dissolved and weighed substances, and very few organic admixtures.

The mineralization of the water is insignificant - 96,4 milligrams per litre, mainly it is calcium, magnesium and silicon at that time. In other lakes it reaches 400 and more milligrams per litre. In Baikal there is no hydrogen sulphide, its water is notable for abundance of oxygen both in top, and in the deepest layers. Surplus of oxygen is promoted by active vertical water exchange in the periods before freezing and release from ice. The content of oxygen in upper layer is 11-14 milligrams per litre, on the depth it does not fall below 70-80% of concentration. In the upper layers of the cloak hydrogen the substance allocating great quantity of energy at the combustion is formed.

The water has fine taste and suits for men organism. The analyses carried out at the University of South Carolina (the USA), in the Frezenchus institute (Germany, 1995), and also in the laboratory centres of Japan and Korea, confirmed high qualities of the water. Baikal water concedes on cleanliness only to the lake Krater in the USA, Oregon (the depth is 610 m) which is considered to be natural analogue of distilled water.
At present in the world there is no open reservoirs of fresh water, suitable for drink. Except Baikal. Since 1992 Baikal water has been bottled. Water is taken from the 400 m depth where it is protected by water thickness from superficial pollution and where the constant temperature is + 4,2°C.

It is known that a drop of water getting into Baikal from its inflows is asserted here by years. Water exchange (replacement of deep waters by surface) occurs in the northern hollow for 225 years, in the middle- for 132 years and in the southern - for 66 years.

The temperature mode of Baikal water is original. It is connected not only with climatic conditions, but, first of all, with extraordinary depth of the lake and sharp prevalence of the deep zone over shallowness. The temperature mode of the lake is influenced also by horizontal circulation of waters, especially in spring and summer period. The water in Baikal becomes warm at the end of August. At this time its temperature on the surface reaches 10-16 degrees. The more deeply the layer of the water, the more slowly it gets warm. In summer on the 20 meters depth the temperature of the water rises not above 10 degrees and 250 meters deeper up to the bottom the water all year round has the same temperature - 3-4 degrees. Thus, the sun heats Baikal waters only on the 250 meters depth, and lower than these layers there practically are no seasonal fluctuations of temperature. On extensive shallowness, in gulfs and sors, the water gets warm up to 20-25 degrees.