Estimation of Mineralization Increase in the Under-ice Water Layer of Southern Baikal

Changes in the ionic component of the under-ice mineralization in the southern basin of Lake Baikal in 2001–2016 are analyzed. Data on the under-ice layer mineralization variations derived from water conductivity measurements using the SBE-25 high-precision CTD sonde are compared with the results of calculation of salt separation during the formation and growth of the ice cover. The studies demonstrated that the mineralization increase is affected not only by salinization during ice crystallization but also by the water inflow from the central basin of the lake and from the Selenga River (more than a half of its runoff propagates to Southern Baikal in winter).