Methane bubbles in Lake Baikal./Courtesy of Kristina Makiba

Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the oldest and deepest lake on Earth. It holds over 20% of the world's freshwater. Lake Baikal is also a storage site for methane, a greenhouse gas. Experts report that if the methane trapped in Lake Baikal is released, the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere could increase, ultimately raising the average temperature of the planet.