Characteristics of Lake Baikal:

Abiotic factors:

1. Water temperature:

The annual temperature amplitude of the littoral is determined by the climate, the water depth, and in a high amount also by the exchange with water from deeper zones, from phreatic water and from rivers (Rossolimo, 1957). The water below 200 m has a constant temperature of 3.6°C. Thus, in open Baikal (i.e. not bays or gulfs) the temperature of the uppermost water layers in late summer does not exceed 14°C. The temperature regime of the open Baikal is well documented for several regions (Rossolimo, 1957), but most of the data relate to the pelagial, not to the littoral. From the middle of January to the end of April the lake is covered by ice (in dependence of the region maximal 1-1.5m thick). 

Because of the dry climate in winter and the strong wind, the ice is partly not covered by snow but translucent, allowing the primary producers (diatoms) to develop in winter.

Walk across Lake Baikal in the beginning of April