Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere of Lake Baikal: Sources, Automatic Monitoring, and Environmental Risks

Obolkin, Vladimir; Molozhnikova, Elena; Shikhovtsev, Maxim; Netsvetaeva, Olga; Khodzher, Tamara

doi:10.3390/atmos12101348

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Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere of Lake Baikal: Sources, Automatic Monitoring, and Environmental Risks

by

Vladimir Obolkin

^*

,

Elena Molozhnikova

,

Maxim Shikhovtsev

,

Olga Netsvetaeva

and

Tamara Khodzher

Limnological Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), 664033 Irkutsk, Russia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1348; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101348

Submission received: 26 August 2021 / Revised: 21 September 2021 / Accepted: 10 October 2021 / Published: 15 October 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality Management)

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the results of the automatic (in situ) recording of the regional transport of pollutants from the large regional coal-fired thermal power plants in the atmospheric boundary layer above the southern basin of Lake Baikal. Due to high stacks (about 200 m), emissions from large thermal power plants rise to the altitudes of several hundreds of meters and spread over long distances from their source by tens and hundreds of kilometers. The continuous automatic monitoring of the atmosphere in the southern basin of Lake Baikal on top of the coastal hill (200 m above the lake) revealed the transport of a large number of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides in the form of high-altitude plumes from thermal power plants of the large cities located 70 to 100 km to the northwest of the lake (Irkutsk and Angarsk). The consequence of such transport is the increased acidity of precipitation in the southern basin of Lake Baikal and the additional influx of biogenic nitrogen compounds to the lake ecosystem. The spatial scale and possible risks of such regional transport of air pollution for the lake ecosystem require further closer study.

Keywords: boundary layer; air pollution sources; monitoring; air pollutant transport

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MDPI and ACS Style

Obolkin, V.; Molozhnikova, E.; Shikhovtsev, M.; Netsvetaeva, O.; Khodzher, T. Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere of Lake Baikal: Sources, Automatic Monitoring, and Environmental Risks. Atmosphere 2021, 12, 1348. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101348

AMA Style

Obolkin V, Molozhnikova E, Shikhovtsev M, Netsvetaeva O, Khodzher T. Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere of Lake Baikal: Sources, Automatic Monitoring, and Environmental Risks. Atmosphere. 2021; 12(10):1348. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101348

Chicago/Turabian Style

Obolkin, Vladimir, Elena Molozhnikova, Maxim Shikhovtsev, Olga Netsvetaeva, and Tamara Khodzher. 2021. "Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere of Lake Baikal: Sources, Automatic Monitoring, and Environmental Risks" Atmosphere 12, no. 10: 1348. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101348

APA Style

Obolkin, V., Molozhnikova, E., Shikhovtsev, M., Netsvetaeva, O., & Khodzher, T. (2021). Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere of Lake Baikal: Sources, Automatic Monitoring, and Environmental Risks. Atmosphere, 12(10), 1348. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101348

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Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the Atmosphere of Lake Baikal: Sources, Automatic Monitoring, and Environmental Risks

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