Millions of tons of oil found at the bottom of the world's largest freshwater lake
Siberian scientists have discovered that at the bottom of Lake Baikal there are about 250-300 million tons of oil that are gradually rising and polluting the pure water of Lake Baikal, the publication "Science in Siberia" said.
According to Dr. Valery Moskvin, Doctor of Geological Sciences and Mineralogy, if a strong earthquake occurs in the region, just 1.2 thousand tons of oil will be released, causing an economic and ecological disaster.
Oil occasionally appears in the water, partially absorbing hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria from the genus Rhodococcus, which live in oily bitumens and actually inhibit the spread of oil over large areas of the lake.
However, it is possible that microorganisms will not be able to do the job of cleaning the lake. Valery Moskvin noted that this could happen if there were a strong earthquake in Lake Baikal.