Lake Baikal: Extreme level as a rare hydrological event

Abstract

The optimal boundaries of water level variation range in Lake Baikal have been determined under the conditions of runoff regulation at the Irkutsk HPP and the extremely low water abundance in lake basin in recent years. The properties of the time series of level regime and the characteristics of runoff from its drainage basin have been studied. The formation of long-term dry periods in the region has been studied, and the regularities in level regime variations in the lake have been estimated for both natural and runoff-regulation conditions, and the specifics of runoff regulation and level drawdown in dry years have been considered.