Moscow. September 7. INTERFAX.RU – Scientists of the Irkutsk State University (ISU) took samples of phyto- and zooplankton in Lake Baikal near the city of Baikalsk, Irkutsk region, where the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM) operated until 2013, the press service of the university reported on Tuesday.
“The samples taken will be compared with similar data obtained in the area of the village of Bolshiye Koty as part of the project of long-term monitoring of Lake Baikal” Point N1 ” – the message says.
The expedition took place at the end of August on the MM Kozhov university research vessel.
“Regular sampling of phyto- and zooplankton is necessary to understand the mechanisms of functioning of the lake ecosystem. They give us an idea of changes in these communities and, therefore, can help predict changes at other levels of the Baikal ecosystem,” the words of the leader of one of the groups are quoted in the message scientists of the Research Institute of Biology, Irkutsk State University Dmitry Karnaukhov. He noted that for the first time samples were taken in a lake near Baikalsk for the detection of microplastic particles in them.
“Microplastic pollution is a relatively new type of pollution and is still extremely poorly studied. In this regard, regular research on Lake Baikal is also of interest both from the point of view of the reasons for the ingress of microplastic particles into it, and from the point of influence of various types of microplastic particles on living organisms”, – noted Karnaukhov.
Monitoring of the Baikal water area in the Baikalsk region is carried out under an agreement between ISU and En + Group on cooperation within the framework of the creation of the International Center for Water Resources (ICWR).
Earlier it was reported that the university will carry out long-term monitoring of the environmental situation during the reclamation of the BPPM and the implementation of the ICVR project.
En + with the participation of VEB.RF plans to create a water resources center at the BPPM site.
At present, Rosatom and the Federal Ecological Operator, which belongs to it, are engaged in the disposal of the plant's waste.
Irkutsk State University was founded in 1918 and is the oldest university in Eastern Siberia. Currently, the educational complex of the university includes eight educational institutes, eight faculties, one branch and a scientific library. Its structure includes 13 scientific departments, including four research institutes: Research Institute of Applied Physics, Research Institute of Biology, Research Institute of Petroleum and Coal Chemical Synthesis, Research Institute of Legal Protection of Baikal, as well as an astronomical observatory and a botanical garden.
