Lake Baikal: In the former North Sea, the fresh water was 30 times more than that of China. Can it be realized if water is diverted to North China?

Lake Baikal is located in Irkutsk Oblast, East Siberia, Russia. The earliest records in Chinese history books can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty. It is estimated that everyone knows the story of Su Wu’s shepherd. The North Sea mentioned in it is the current Lake Baikal. According to estimates, the water storage capacity of Lake Baikal is the largest among lakes in the world, reaching 23,000 cubic kilometers, accounting for one-fifth of the world's total fresh water, and the water quality of Lake Baikal is so good that it can even be drunk directly. So can we use its huge water resource reserves to introduce it into China through water diversion projects to alleviate the water shortage in China, especially in the northern regions?

If you look at the area of ​​the lake, Lake Baikal can only rank sixth among the large lakes in the world. The first place is Lake Superior in North America, with a water area of ​​82,000 square kilometers, while Lake Baikal's The water area is only 31,000 square kilometers, but the depth of Lake Baikal is very large, with an average water depth of more than 700 meters and the deepest depth can reach 1,637 meters. In contrast, the average water depth of Lake Superior is only 140 meters. The largest lake in China, Qinghai Lake The average water depth of the lake is only 21 meters, which is far from that of Lake Baikal. Therefore, the storage capacity of Lake Baikal is the largest lake in the world. Even if the fresh water resources in all the lakes and rivers in China are added together, it is still less than eighth of the water resources of Lake Baikal. one-third.

From the perspective of geological structure, the area where Lake Baikal is located is located between the Eurasian plate and the Amur plate in eastern Asia, and the two plates are gradually separated during the process of plate shifting. One of the typical geological cracking areas, the current area where Lake Baikal is located is still expanding outwards, with a cracking distance of about 5 mm per year. In the long process of geological evolution, the water resources of the surrounding rivers have been continuously injected, and the salinity of the water has gradually decreased, gradually forming the current state.

At the same time, since Lake Baikal and its surrounding areas are less affected by human activities, the circulation of water resources is relatively rapid, and the background value of pollutants is low, so the water quality is very good, reaching the first-class standard of surface water, and also That is to say, it can be drunk directly. If you go boating on it, under direct sunlight, you can clearly see the area tens of meters underwater, as if you are in a fairyland on earth.

Then, if such a huge amount of high-quality water resources is introduced into China through a water diversion project, it will definitely play a huge role in alleviating the drought problem in the north and northwest regions. However, the implementation of this project, whether it is from the coordination of international issues or From the perspective of engineering benefits and costs, none of them are feasible.

First of all, Russia’s relations with China on the issue of the Far East have always been relatively sensitive. In recent years, not only has it repeatedly proposed restrictive measures for the transaction of natural resources such as forests, but it has also implemented strict management on economic, trade and personnel flows. Take the Russian Far East In terms of high-quality water resources in the region, even selling drinking water directly to China has been resisted in recent years, not to mention the construction of large-scale water diversion projects? At the same time, in the case of a huge export of freshwater resources, the ecological environment of the lower reaches of Lake Baikal will inevitably be affected to a certain extent, and regional climate conditions, forest quality, biodiversity, etc. will definitely be affected accordingly. This is not Russia would like to see.

Secondly, judging from the short-distance water transportation route, whether it is leading to northern cities such as Beijing or to western cities such as Xi’an, it must pass through Mongolia in the middle, and Mongolia is a very arid country. Can Mongolia deliver water? Our "handy favor" is still unknown, and the possibility is not high.

Third, from the perspective of the difficulty of project implementation, the average altitude of the area where Lake Baikal is located is about 450 meters, while the average altitude of the Mongolian Plateau in the middle is above 1,200 meters. How to transfer water from low-altitude areas will be the biggest technical difficulty. If pressurization is considered, the distance from Lake Baikal to northern China is at least 1,000 kilometers, and the energy input required will be a huge expenditure. In addition, if water is transported through open channels like the South-to-North Water Diversion Project implemented in China, then due to the aridity of the areas passing through, the evaporation and other losses during the input process and how to manage it will also be a big problem. If all the channels are used underground If the pipeline is not used, not only the project cost will increase sharply, but also the efficiency of water delivery will be greatly reduced. And if it passes through the northeast region of China, the length of the water transmission line will be doubled, and the cost of the project will also be astronomical.

Fourth, from a climate point of view, the area where Lake Baikal is located has a temperate continental climate. The annual average temperature is very low, as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. The winter is extremely cold, and the lowest temperature can reach nearly minus 40 degrees Celsius. Every year in early October Therefore, half of the year is in the ice-covered period. If water is diverted from Lake Baikal, then half of the time will not be able to transport water, and the practicability of the project will also be greatly improved. Moreover, the long-term low temperature will face severe challenges both for the construction of water intake facilities and the maintenance of pipelines.

Therefore, cross-regional water transfers in China basically have to consider project costs and climatic factors, and it is by no means a solution that can be solved by simply reclaiming an artificial river or laying a pipeline.