OREANDA-NEWS  About four tons of oil were released under the ice cover of Lake Baikal. According to experts, this is not an accident or a consequence of human activity, but a rare natural phenomenon associated with natural processes in the depths of the lake. This is reported by the Baikal Museum on its VKontakte page.

The oil release was recorded by museum staff near the village of Sukhaya in Buryatia during field observations of seals. During the winter, a significant amount of hydrocarbons accumulated under the ice, which broke out, forming oil stains.

According to experts, such emissions occur in Lake Baikal annually. The volume — about four tons — does not harm the ecosystem. Scientists note that this phenomenon was first described in the 19th century by researcher Johann Georg Gmelin. Later, Soviet geologists even studied the possibility of commercial oil production in the lake, but abandoned this idea because of the risks to the unique ecology.

The bottom of Lake Baikal contains hydrocarbon deposits, which is why oil and gas are formed there in natural conditions. But despite this, the lake remains one of the cleanest and most unique freshwater ecosystems in the world.