Lake Baikal — a very special place

David Jewson, a member of Sperrin u3a, will talk about his experiences of working on Lake Baikal in Siberia. David has worked on lakes all around the world, including our own Lough Neagh, but considers Lake Baikal a special place for many reasons.

Lake Baikal is the world’s oldest (20 million years), deepest (1.5 km) and largest lake by volume (20% of the world’s freshwater). It has an astonishing biodiversity, including seals born on the ice and animals that can survive in its incredible depths.

David travelled there 2 or 3 times a year for 20 years as leader of a UK programme that was part of an international research project to support Russian science, during a period when the old Soviet Union was collapsing. David will talk about some of the adventures and the hurdles that had to be overcome.