SEDIMENTATION IN PROVAL BAY (LAKE BAIKAL) AFTER CATASTROPHIC FLOODING OF THE COASTAL PLAIN IN 1862

Abstract

Bottom sediments of lakes bear information on their accumulation history, which reflects changes in the environment. To find the key to this information is the most important lithological task solved on the basis of present-day natural objects. It is fair to assign to them Proval Bay formed in January 1862 in Lake Baikal during a very strong earthquake (magnitude 7.5) when a considerable fragment (200 km2) of the coastal plain (the Tsagan steppe) was detached and flooded by the Baikal water. Study of the composition of sediments formed after flooding is also very important for assessment of anthropogenic pollution, which has become prominent during the past decades due to intense industrial development.