MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - Researchers exploring the depths of Lake Baikal using two Russian mini-submarines made their first scientific dives at a new site in the north of the lake on Friday, a member of the expedition said.
"Today we conducted the first scientific dives. Local scientists including the director of the Barguzinsky Nature Reserve, Gennady Yankus, dived today on the Mir mini-subs. The submersibles explored the lakebed and its wildlife and took samples of the water and biota," the spokesman said.
There will be no scientific dives on Saturday as the research fleet will visit Severobaikalsk to take part in celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of the opening of the Baikal-Amur Mainline railroad. The Mir mini-subs will be on public display.
The first technical dives were conducted near Severobaikalsk on Thursday. Researchers said that practically no research had ever been conducted in the area, unlike in the lake's south and central parts.
The first part of the expedition was conducted in the summer of 2008 when the Mir-1 and Mir-2 submersibles conducted 52 dives, making several scientific discoveries. Notably, researchers took samples of oil that seeps through cracks in the lake's bedrock and is digested by microorganisms.
This summer, the Mir-1 and Mir-2 mini-submarines have searching for new flora and fauna species, as well as diving to the lake's deepest point near Olkhon Island.
The mini-subs will return to the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh research vessel in Kaliningrad, Russia's exclave on the Baltic Sea, in September.
Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake and a UNESCO World Heritage site, has a coastline of over 2,000 km and a maximum depth of 1,637 meters. It contains 83% of Russia's and 20% of the world's fresh water.
