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Russian scientists begin trial exploration of world's deepest lake Moscow (AFP) July 24, 2008 Russian scientists leading a submarine expedition to probe the world's deepest lake on Thursday carried out test dives ahead of the start of the operation next week, reports said. The trial runs at Lake Baikal lasted two hours with two submarines diving to a depth of around 420 metres (1,386 feet), the Russian media reports quoted the organisers as saying. On Tuesday, the expedition will begin in earnest with the submarines attempting to descend 1,637 metres (5,402 feet) to the bottom of the lake which has a unique ecosystem and has never been explored. The expedition is being organised by Artur Chilingarov, a pro-Kremlin member of parliament and an Arctic explorer who led the team of scientists that planted a flag at the bottom of the North Pole in August last year. Previous missions have only descended hundreds of metres. Scientists will collect samples at different depths and hope to document the effects of global warming on the lake, as well as drawing the attention of the Russian government to the need for greater environmental protection. The mission at Lake Baikal -- a UN World Heritage site which contains around a fifth of the world's freshwater reserves -- will carry out dozens of dives by the Mir-1 and Mir-2 mini-submarines. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Researchers Find Key To Saving The World's Lakes Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Jul 24, 2008 After completing one of the longest running experiments ever done on a lake, researchers from the University of Alberta, University of Minnesota and the Freshwater Institute, contend that nitrogen control, in which the European Union and many other jurisdictions around the world are investing millions of dollars, is not effective and in fact, may actually increase the problem of cultural eutrophication. |
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