In 1981, the Loch Ness Project, led by naturalist and Loch Ness expert Adrian Shine, built their own sonar search vessel. They used this to run systematic, continuous patrols along the length of the loch, resulting in 40 significant sonar contacts! While some could be explained – for example, by methane gas bubbles released from decaying vegetation, or seals entering the loch via the river – some remained unexplained.
The Loch Ness Project team launched Operation Deepscan in 1987 – a fleet of 20 boats using sonar as they slowly moved along the loch in a line. Again, strong sonar echoes were reported – and could not all be definitively explained.
One naturally-occurring phenomenon within the loch that was recorded were huge underwater waves, called internal seiches. These are driven by surface winds pushing the warmer upper layer of water in the loch out of place. When the warmer water swings back this creates waves in the top of the denser, colder layer of water below.
These internal seiches are common in Loch Ness – and have been seen to move floating objects, such as logs, through the water in the opposite direction to the prevailing wind. Something to remember when you’re watching closely for the monster!
A Loch Ness DNA survey
The most recent large-scale study of the loch and its possible inhabitants was carried out in 2018 by the University of the Highlands and Islands and the University of Otago, New Zealand.The researchers collected water samples from different parts of Loch Ness and studied these for environmental DNA – for those of us who aren’t scientists, this means DNA collected from an organism’s environment, rather than from the organism itself. The study aimed to identify all the living things in the loch. While no evidence was found of a prehistoric plesiosaur or other such large animal, the study did find a lot of eel DNA. So, could the Loch Ness Monster perhaps be a monster eel? It is reported, however, that around 25% of the DNA samples remain unidentified…
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