Lake Baikal Hydrothermal Vents
At some locations hydrothermal vents with water that is about 50 c 122 f have been found.
Lake baikal hydrothermal vents. Isolated hydrothermal vents have also been found on seamounts and in lake baikal in siberia. Hydrothermal activity and high heat flow have been observed in other parts of the lake but the location of this circle near the southern tip over relatively deep water is puzzling. They have little effect on the lake s temperature because of its huge volume. One reason for lake baikal s unique biodiversity is its array of hydrothermal vents.
Dilute water samples have concentrations of so 4 cl na and sio 2 above ambient lake water values. In order to reveal causes and conditions of the above described phenomena the author designed a 3d model of heat and mass transfer in viscous medium and used it for numerical simulations. Hydrothermal vents in lake baikal. Kathleen crane department of geology and geography hunter college 695 park avenue new york ny 10025.
The vent occurs on the floor of a canyon at the intersection of a master fault bordering the north baikal basin and a fault running along the frolikha river valley. Lake baikal is unique in many regards. These hydrothermal vents are commonly found in oceans but lake baikal is the only freshwater lake known to have them. The lake sits on a tectonically active rift that slightly widens year by year and divers have found hydrothermal vents on the bottom that allow many of its species to survive the frigid siberian winters.
Department of geology and geography hunter college 695 park avenue new york new york 10021 usa. These are mostly in deep water but locally have also been found in relatively shallow water. We studied a hydrothermal vent in lake baikal with water temperature up to 16 c discovered over fifteen years ago in frolikha bay northern baikal crane et al 1991. Uplifting of deep water can accompany emissions of significant amounts of methane from sediments activation of thermal vents or gas water mud volcanoes at the bottom of lake baikal.
Venting of gases was seen at both sites and hot water up to 45 c discharges at the te pupu site. Heat flow and hydrothermal vents in lake baikal u s s r. It is the largest by volume and deepest 1 637 meters at the deepest point fresh water lake on earth.