A sophisticated underwater robot is being used in the most technologically advanced survey of Loch Ness yet undertaken, and has already disproved some recent claims.
Norwegian company Kongsberg Maritime, experts in subsea survey and construction, is using its torpedo-shaped Munin device or drone. It is normally used to trace vessels lost at sea or sometimes aircraft which have crashed. It is equipped with sonar imaging now being used to survey the bottom of the loch which is over 750 feet deep in parts.
The survey has already established that claims there is an unexplored trench or crevice in the loch’s floor which runs even deeper, are inaccurate.
A tour boat skipper earlier this year recorded a depth of 889ft on his sonar equipment. But it is understood that data from Munin’s survey suggest it may have been the loch’s steep sides which had distorted the information rather than revealing ‘Nessie’s Trench.’
But an an unidentified sunken boat has been discovered.
More information on Kongsburg's survey, which has been Operation Groundtruth, is expected to be released later today.
The project is being supported by national tourism body VisitScotland and The Loch Ness Project, which has been gathering scientific information on the loch's ecology and the potential for a monster, for many years.
Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness Project said that Kongsberg Maritime’s Munin drone was the most advanced piece of technology to be yet deployed in the loch, and he was confident it would provide significant new information. “There is always more to learn about Loch Ness,” he said.
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