Preliminary Report
Mongolian Selenga Research Expedition
August 2001

By Andrew Stubblefield (UC Davis and Expedition Leader) & Karen Smallwood (97' TBI Alumni and former TBI Executive Director)

(A More Detailed Report Will Be Published in Fall 2002)

Sponsored by the Mead Foundation and the Tahoe-Baikal Institute, an international team of Mongolian, American, and Russian researchers studied the Mongolian portion of the Selenga watershed from August 1 to August 26, 2001. The purpose of the research was to study levels of sedimentation on the river and to determine the source of this sedimentation. Preliminary results showed the Tuul River, a tributary to the Selenga, had the highest levels of disturbance due to significant gold mining activities on the river. The high occurrence of grazing in areas where mining was taking place made it difficult to determine the exact source of sedimentation. Differentiating between impacts from mining and agriculture could be a subject for future research.

Sampling Sites

The research team took water samples at 13 sites along the Selenga and several tributaries. Each site was sampled 1-3 times. Site visits were located at the following locations:

1. Yeroo River, above the confluence with the Orkhon River.
2. Yeroo River, at Bugant town, below the mines.
3. Yeroo River, above the mines, at Honnin Nok.
4. Yalbag River, above the confluence with the Yeroo, directly below mining area.
5. Bugant River, above the confluence with the Yeroo.
6. Orkhon River, above the confluence with the Selenge, near Sukhbatar.
7. Eg River, above the confluence with the Selenge. 8. Selenge, above the confluence with the Eg.
9. Orkhon River, above the confluence with the Tuul.
10. Tuul River, above the confluence with the Orkhon.
11. Khara River, above the confluence with the Orkhon.
12. Sharyn River, above the confluence with the Orkhon.
13. Zamar Mining region of the Tuul, at 4 locations.

Type of Samples

At all sites the group sampled for 12 different characteristics:

• Turbidity
• Nitrate
• Phosphate
• Ammonia
• Oxygen
• PH
• Temperature
• Conductivity
• Total Dissolved Solids
• Total Suspended Sediment
• Total Phosphorus
• Discharge

They also took photographs at all sites and noted locations with a Global Positioning System (GPS) point.

At several sites along the Yeroo and Tuul Rivers geomorphology samples were taken, including pebble counts, width-depth ratio and entrenchment ratio of several cross-sections of the river. These data show the level to which the river channel has been disturbed. Pebble counts show sedimentation, and width-depth and entrenchment ratios show down-cutting of the channel due to higher stream velocities and change in channel shape from mining activities.

Additional Activities

In addition to the planned sampling, the team had some unexpected opportunities to examine environmental problems from other angles.

In the Zamar region they were able to tour one of the mines and tour an active dredge. They also talked with the head geologist of the mining company. The geologist described the company's policy of restoring the topsoil after mining an area. The research group could not detect evidence of this type of restoration, however.

The group met with the mayor of Bugant, who talked to them in detail about the mining in the area, as well as the problems that the town has with its sewage treatment plan. For the last year the plant has been out of commission, leaving the town of 4,000 people to discharge untreated waste directly into the river. The group took photographs of the treatment plant so that Tuvshinjargal could report the problem to the Ministry of the Environment and hopefully encourage action on fixing the plant. The research team showed town officials in Bugant the sampling procedure. Two representatives from the Ministry of the Environment are stationed in Bugant, and they were interested in the research.

Preliminary Results

While most of the data has been analyzed, final calculations and conclusions have yet to be drawn. A preliminary look at the data shows that the Tuul River had the worst water quality of all the rivers sampled. Total suspended sediment in the Tuul was 200 mg/litre as compared to 10 mg/litre in other parts of the Selenge. While the Tuul does flow past Ulaanbaatar, the research group had the impression that most of this suspended sediment was due to mining.

Future Research

Ideas for future research in the Selenge watershed include sampling the Tuul more frequently at fewer sampling sites. Sampling should be done above and below the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, and above and below mining sites. A comparison of these data to data collected from the Eg river, the least impacted by mining, could show background sedimentation from grazing, helping to separate effects from mining and those of grazing. Another research avenue would be a trans-boundary comparison of the Mongolian and Russian sections of the watershed. Samples could be collected 3-4 times a week year round by local scientists.

From a larger perspective, problems with grazing could be looked at from a policy angle--changes in infrastructure, such as the construction of the planned East-West highway, and subsidies to farmers encourage more grazing. An evaluation of the long-term economic impacts of these types of policy decisions could be useful in predicting environmental changes.

Future plans

We plan to distribute the results of this work as widely as possible. The final paper, scheduled to be completed by March 30, 2002, will be sent to all partners in planning and carrying out the research, in Russia, Mongolia, and the U.S, including the Geo-Ecology Institute of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolian Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology, the Mongolia-Russia Selenga Joint Working Group, the Irkutsk Limnological Institute, Buryat State University, Irkutsk State University, Buryat Center for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of Environmental Pollution, and others. The paper will be sent to scientific journals for publication, as well as other "gray" journals more widely read by laypeople, such as Earth Island Journal, UC Davis Magazine, Mongol-Tolbo (a newsletter that reports on Mongolia-U.S. relations), and other journals that report on Asia and the Far East. The Tahoe-Baikal Institute will post the results on its web site, as well as make the information available to all donors and supporters. The Tahoe-Baikal Institute would like to extend a special thanks to the Mead Foundation for making this research possible.

Research Team

Andrew Stubblefield, Expedition leader -- Ph.D. candidate in Watershed Hydrology at the University of California, Davis.
David Gilroy (TBI '97) -- has a B.A. in Biology from the University of New Mexico, with a focus on river ecosystems.
Tuvshinjargal Dampil (TBI-Mongolia '99) --A hydrologist and head of the Physio-Geography Laboratory at the Institute of Geography in Ulaanbaator, Mongolia.
Enkhtuya Bazarradnaa -- Soil scientist from the Agricultural University in Darkhan, Mongolia.
Gantimur Davaadorzh -- Chemist-Ecologist from the Hydrochemistry Laboratory at the Geo-Ecology Institute in Ulaanbaator, Mongolia.
Inna Bessolitsina -- Ph.D. candidate in Zoology specializing in Aquatic Macro-invertebrates at the Irkutsk State University in Russia.
Viktoria Sharaldaeva - Ornithologist from the Department "Ecology and Environmental Health" of the East Siberian Technological University in Ulan-Ude, Russia.

Two other groups of scientists joined the expedition, pursuing some of their own research interests:

Sean Eagan - Forester/Hydrologist from the U.S. Forest Service research division.
Cynthia Horwitz - Botanist from U.S. National Park System.
Jennifer Sampson - Water chemist from the 10,000 Years Institute, based in Seattle, Washington.
Bill Volker -- Chemist from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.