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地球上最古老的湖泊是什么？
世界上最古老的湖泊的历史可以追溯到约2500万年，也是世界上最深，最多样化的湖泊。
来源:LiveScienceJust like the mountains, lakes on Earth can be ancient, or more than 1 million years old. There are only 20 ancient lakes on the planet, but which is the oldest?
Earth's oldest lake has a clear winner: Lake Baikal in southeast Siberia.明尼苏达大学的生物林库学（内陆水体研究）泰德·奥泽尔斯基（Ted Ozersky）表示，科学家估计，这个巨大的淡水体已有2500万年的历史。 By contrast, the Great Lakes formed less than 20,000 years ago. The second oldest lake on Earth is Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, which formed about 20 million years ago.
Lake Baikal Ted Ozersky less than 20,000 years ago. 20 million years agoLake Baikal measures 12,239 square miles (31,700 square kilometers), making it Earth's seventh-largest lake. It is not only the world's oldest lake but also the deepest one, at about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers). But that's just the water depth. Ozersky告诉Live Science：“实际的盆地的深度要大得多。”包括3.1至4.3英里（5至7公里）的沉积物在底部。 Ozersky说，就贝加尔湖而有数英里的沉积物，研究人员使用地震调查来估计沉积物形成的平均速度。
seventh-largest lakeThis sediment is key to dating the lake. Researchers measure a lake's age through isotopic dating. This technique involves measuring the ratios of radioactive isotopes. In this case, limnologists analyze lake sediments for radioactive versions of cesium, lead and carbon. This analysis tells them how old the different layers of sediment are and how fast that sediment accumulates, Ozersky explained
Related: How much water is in Earth's crust?
相关： How much water is in Earth's crust? Mark EdlundLake Baikal also claims the title of Earth's most biologically diverse lake, according to Ozersky.
Pusa sibirica Baikal seal average surface temperature