Unique phenomena in Lake Baikal, Russia, imaged and studied with SAR and multi-sensor images

Abstract

Lake Baikal in the Russian Federation, the deepest freshwater lake in the world, has several unique hydrological and weather regimes and other natural phenomena, including local winds, giant ice rings and oil seeps. These phenomena leave pronounced footprints on the surface of the lake and in the ice cover. They can be imaged, mapped and studied by remote sensing, in particular, by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and multi-sensor imagery. For the first time, a study of three different phenomena – local winds, oil seeps and ice rings – in Lake Baikal has been performed primarily using remote-sensing data and images. The multi-sensor imagery that was collected and analysed, including SAR and optical images, provides both new insight into and new information on these phenomena to help understand their nature.

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Russian Government (Grant No.11.G34.31.0078) for research under supervision of the leading scientists at the Russian State Hydrometeorological University. The ERS-2 and ENVISAT SAR images used in this study were provided by ESA in the frameworks of the ENVISAT AO project С1Р.3424 – this is greatly appreciated. Special thanks go to K.-F. Dagestad, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre, Norway, for producing the wind maps from the SAR images, and to A. Kouraev, University of Toulouse/LEGOS, France, for materials and discussions on the interpretation of ice rings. The contribution of the peer reviewers in preparation of the manuscript is also greatly appreciated.