Recent results of monitoring of the vertical component of the electrical field in Lake Baikal on the surface-bed baseline

The vertical component of the electrical field was monitored on the surface-bed baseline in the region of the Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Observatory from 2003 to 2010. This monitoring allowed us to obtain data on internal and external field sources. However, the insufficient accuracy and reliability of the measurement setup slowed the progress in interpreting the measurements. A novel setup, which was the first to provide the means to control the base potentials of electrodes, was designed in order to overcome these constraints. The setup in its final configuration started taking measurements in 2013. Analysis of the measurement results obtained in 2013 and 2014 does, on the one hand, confirm the conclusions drawn previously on the nature of variations of the vertical component of the electrical field, but, on the other hand, it raises new questions. The field induced by flows was compared to direct velocity measurements. The conclusion regarding the correlation between long-period current variations in the hydrosphere region of the global electric circuit and the solar activity variations was confirmed, but the considerable lag observed in this correlation stands in need of explanation. A nonlocal response of the electrode base potentials that preceded an impending earthquake by up to 12 days was revealed.