Skip to main content
Log in

Water Chemical Composition of the Selenga River in High Water Level Period

  • GEOGRAPHY ABROAD
  • Published:
Geography and Natural Resources Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The ecosystem of the lake Baikal is one of the oldest freshwater reservoirs on the planet, where the largest available reserves are concentrated. The purpose of this study is to study the chemical composition of the surface waters of the Selenga River and its main tributaries in high water level period. The flow of river water plays an important role in the overall balance of substances entering the lake, since it is the main element of the incoming part of the chemical balance of the lake. The Selenga River is the main tributary of Lake Baikal, in the basin of which, unlike other tributaries, a large number of industrial, agricultural, processing enterprises, settlements and cities are concentrated. This article presents the results of the analysis of samples of surface waters of the Selenga River and its main tributaries taken in 2018. In 2018, the flow of the Selenga River after a long low-water period was close to the average annual one, which caused a significant decrease in the concentrations of components, while the relative composition of the main ions remained stable in all periods. Our study shows that the chemical composition of the water of the Selenga River depends on the fluctuations in water content.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Pfeiffer, M., Küstner, G., Erdenesukh, E., von Tümpling, W., and Hofmann, J., Investigation of environmental and land use impacts in forested permafrost headwaters of the Selenga–Baikal river system, Mongolia – effects on discharge, water quality and macroinvertebrate diversity, Int. Soil Water Conservation Res., 2021, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 605–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Meyer, J.L., Strayer, D.L., Wallace, J.B., Eggert, S.L., Helfman, G.S., and Leonard, N.E., The Contribution of Headwater Streams to Biodiversity in River Networks1, JAWRA J. Amer. Water Resour. Assoc., 2007, vol. 43, no. 1, 86–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Goncharov, A.V., Baturina, N.S., Maryinsky, V.V., Kaus, A.K., and Chalov, S.R., Ecological assessment of the Selenga River basin, the main tributary of Lake Baikal, using aquatic macroinvertebrate communities as bioindicators, J. Great Lakes Res., 2020, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 53–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Chalov, S.R., Jarsjö, J., Kasimov, N.S., Romanchenko, O.A., Pietroń, J., Thorslund, J., and Promakhova, E.V., Spatio-temporal variation of sediment transport in the Selenga River Basin, Mongolia and Russia, Envir. Earth Sci., 2014, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 663–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Plusnin, A.M. and Tulokhonov, A.K., Del’ta r. Selengi – prirodnyi biofil’tr i indikator sostoyaniya ozera Baikal (The Selenga River Delta – Natural Biofilter and Indicator of Status of Lake Baikal), Novosibirsk: Sib. Otdel. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2008.

  6. Pfeiffer, M., Küstner, G., Erdenesukh, E., von Tümpling, W., and Hofmann, J., Investigation of environmental and land use impacts in forested permafrost headwaters of the Selenga–Baikal river system, Mongolia – effects on discharge, water quality and macroinvertebrate diversity, Int. Soil Water Conservation Res., 2021, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 605–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Sorokovikova, L.M., Popovskaya, G.I., Tomberg, I.V., Sinyukovich, V.N., Kravchenko, O.S., Marinaite, I.I., Bashenkhaeva, N.V., and Khodzher, T.V., The Selenga River water quality on the border with Mongolia at the beginning of the 21st century, Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol., 2013, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 126–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Duvchigdamba, G., Bakhanova, M.V., and Shirapova, S.D., Socioecological problems of Mongolia associated with the gold mining on the tributaries of the Selenga River flowing into Lake Baikal, Materialy 14 Vserossiiskoi nauchno-tekhnicheskoi konferentsii “Energetika: ekologiya, nadezhnost’, bezopasnost’” (Proc. 14th All-Russian Sci. and Techn. Conf. “Energy: Ecology, Reliability, Safety”), Tomsk: Tomsk. Politekhn. Univ., 2008.

  9. Sinyukovich, V.N., Sorokovikova, L.M., Tomberg, I.V., and Tulokhonov, A.K., Climate changes and the Selenga River chemical flow, Dokl. Earth Sci., 2010, vol. 433, no. 2, pp. 1127–1131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Urbazaeva, S.D., Pavlov, I.A., Radnaeva, L.D., and Tulokhonov, A.K., Сhanges in the concentrations of heavy metals in water and sediments, depending on hydrological conditions. Collection of articles of the International scientific conference “Deltas: Genesis, Dynamics, Modelling аnd Sustainable Development. Ulan-Ude, Red Box Press, 2014, 109-11.

  11. Olivier, P., Radakovitch, O., and Hamelin, B., Major and trace element partition and fluxes in the Rhône River, Chem. Geol., 2011, vol. 285, pp. 15–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Baikal. Atlas (Baikal. Atlas) Moscow: Fed. Sluzhba Geodezii i Kartografii Rossii, 1993.

  13. Atlas Zabaikal’ya (Atlas of Transbaikalia), Moscow: Glavn. Upravl. Geodezii i Kartografii, 1967.

  14. Marchenko, O.Yu., Conditions of formation and long-term changes of extreme water content in the Selenga River basin, Cand. Sci. (Geogr.) Dissertation, Moscow: Energy Systems Inst., Russ. Acad. Sci., 2013.

  15. National Statistics Office of Mongolia, Mongolian Statistical Yearbook 2020, 2021.

  16. National Statistics Office of Republic of Buryatia, National Statistics Office of Mongolia, 2019.

  17. GOST 2874-82. Drinking Water. Hygienic Requirements and Quality Control, 1982. http://gostvoda.ru/ d/67 7526/d14-gost-2874-82. Cited February 1, 2021.

  18. Shpeyzer, G.M. and Mineeva, L.A., Guide to the Chemical Analysis of Waters: Methodical Grant, Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk, 55. http://window.edu. ru/catalog/pdf2txt/170/37170/14182?p_page=1. Cited February 1, 2021.

  19. Alekin, O.A., Semenov, A.D., and Skopintsev, B.A., Rukovodstvo po khimicheskomu analizu vod sushi (Guide to Chemical Analysis of Land Waters), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1973.

Download references

Funding

The work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant no. 075-15-2020-787 for implementation of large scientific project “Fundamentals, methods and technologies for digital monitoring and forecasting of the environmental situation on the Baikal natural territory”).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tc. Zh. Bazarzhapov.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bazarzhapov, T.Z., Shiretorova, V.G., Radnaeva, L.D. et al. Water Chemical Composition of the Selenga River in High Water Level Period. Geogr. Nat. Resour. 43 (Suppl 1), S92–S96 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372822050043

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372822050043

Keywords:

Navigation