Lake Baikal: The North Sea used to have 30 times more fresh water than China. Will it be possible to transfer water to North China?

Lake Baikal is located in Irkutsk Oblast, Eastern 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 Suwu Shepherd. The North Sea mentioned in it is now Lake Baikal. According to estimates, the storage capacity of water resources in Lake Baikal is the largest in the world, reaching 23,000 cubic kilometers, accounting for one-fifth of the total fresh water in the world. Moreover, the water quality of Lake Baikal is very good, and it can even be directly drunk. So can we take advantage of its huge water resources and introduce it into China through water diversion projects to alleviate the water shortage in China, especially in the northern region?

In terms of lake area, Lake Baikal can only rank sixth among the world’s largest lakes, and the first 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 is only 21 meters, which is far from Lake Baikal. Therefore, the storage capacity of Lake Baikal is the largest in the world. Even if the freshwater resources in all lakes and rivers in China are added together, it is still less than 80% of the water resources of Lake Baikal. one part.

From a geological point of view, 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 plate advancing process. This part of the area is the most One of the typical geological cracking areas, the area where Lake Baikal is located is still expanding outwards, and the distance of cracking is about 5 mm every year. In the long geological evolution process, the water resources of the surrounding rivers have been continuously injected, and the salt content of the water has gradually decreased, gradually forming the current state.

At the same time, because Lake Baikal and its surrounding areas are less affected by human activities, the circulation and replenishment of water resources is relatively fast, 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, you can drink it directly. If you are boating on it, under direct sunlight, you can clearly see the area of ​​tens of meters underwater, as if you are in a fairyland on earth.

Well, if such huge and high-quality water resources are introduced into China through the water diversion project, it will definitely play a huge and obvious 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 benefit and cost, it is not feasible.

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

Secondly, according to the route of short-distance water delivery, whether it is to be led to northern cities such as Beijing or to western cities such as Xi'an, it must pass through Mongolia, and Mongolia is a very arid country. Can Mongolia deliver water? We have a "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 more than 1,200 meters. How to transfer water from low-altitude areas will be the biggest technical difficulty. If you consider pressurization, the distance from Lake Baikal to northern China is at least 1,000 kilometers, and the required energy input will be a huge expense. In addition, if one considers the water transfer through open channels like the South-to-North Water Diversion Project implemented in China, due to the aridity of the passing area, losses such as evaporation during the input process and how to manage it will also be a big problem. If all use underground pipeline, then not only will the project cost soar, but the water delivery efficiency will also be greatly reduced. And if it goes through the northeastern region of China, the length of the water transmission line will be doubled, and the cost of the project will be astronomical.

Fourth, in terms of climate, the area where Lake Baikal is located has a temperate continental climate. The average temperature throughout the year 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 It began to freeze, and it began to melt in May, so half of the year is in the freezing period, so if water is diverted from Lake Baikal, water will not be able to be transported for half of the time, and the practicality of the project will also be great. Discounted, and long-term low temperature, whether it is for the construction of water intake facilities or the maintenance of pipelines, will face severe challenges.

Therefore, the cross-regional water transfer in China basically has to consider the issue of project cost and climatic factors. It cannot be solved by just reclaiming an artificial river or laying a pipeline.