Global warming could lead to Moscow reservoirs being populated by toxic “aliens”

A study conducted by scientists from Lomonosov Moscow State University showed that the water temperature in lakes increases from year to year - not much, but constantly. On the one hand, this makes swimming more pleasant, but on the other hand, it can lead to serious environmental problems.

The researchers observed the condition of the Kosinsky lakes (Kosino-Ukhtomsky district of the Eastern Administrative District) - White, Black and Holy. The biological station appeared in Kosinskoye Trekhozerye back in 1904, but existed only until February 1941. Nevertheless, the interest of university scientists in the lakes continues to this day.

Observations over the last decades have shown that since the 1980s, the duration of ice cover on lakes has decreased by an average of 18-20 days. The reason is that every 10 years the water gets warmer by 0.2-0.3 degrees Celsius.

As Maria Tereshina, a research fellow at the Department of Land Hydrology at the Faculty of Geography at Lomonosov Moscow State University, explained to MK, this is not a harmless change at all. Global warming contributes to the colonization of water bodies by “aliens,” representatives of flora and fauna alien to our region. These include microorganisms, large algae, and microscopic crustaceans. Reduction of ice cover and strong (sometimes up to 30 degrees) heating of water in the warm months contribute to blooming. The appearance of green biomass on the surface of a reservoir is not only an unpleasant phenomenon, but also sometimes harmful to swimmers. Certain types of aquatic flora emit toxins that can harm even humans.

Experience shows that often "aliens" displace endemics (local animals and plants). By the way, at one time such a situation occurred in the Black Sea, where voracious rapana mollusks displaced a large number of local species. Previously, they lived on our Pacific coast. How they got to the Black Sea is a mystery. If warming continues at the same rate, it should not be ruled out that something similar will happen here. True, it will not be rapanas, who love salt water, but someone else who will settle there.

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