Russia - First-ever dive into mysterious 'Russian Loch Ness' in one of Earth’s Poles of Cold.

Russia - First-ever dive into mysterious 'Russian Loch Ness' in one of Earth’s Poles of Cold.(RT). Russian researchers have reached the bottom of Labynkyr, one of the coldest lakes on Earth, popularly known as the Russian Loch Ness for the legend of it being inhabited by a cryptozoological monster. Guinness World Records took note of unique dive. ­-71 Celsius (-96 F) is how low temperatures can get in the Siberian village of Oymyakon in Yakutia, home to lake Labynkyr. Located in a ‘Pole of Cold’, one of three places on Earth with the coldest air temperatures, it welcomed the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society with a relatively ‘mild’ -45 C (-49 F). One of the crew of ten, Viktor Ozarenko, optimistically noted in his FB: “It’s warm in Oymyakon, just -45 C, can’t wait to swim”. The man who actually carried out the historic plunge was, however, the leader of the group, Dmitry Shiller. The diving pioneer gave his reasons for wanting to go: “By now almost all the land on earth has been studied, but terra firma is only 30% of the planet! I’m sure there are a lot of secrets under water, so that’s where all of the science will go in the near future”. Labynkyr has long been a research attraction for its anomalies. It freezes much slower than other lakes nearby and it has a huge crack at the bottom, where the lake’s average depth of 52 meters increases to 75-80.
That’s where Dmitry eventually went. Water in the lake was -2 C (-28 F), much warmer than -45 C of the air, which was nevertheless little relief to the diver, who also had to carry out some scientific work under water.
Dmitry managed to take footage of the lake bottom, took samples of water, flora and fauna, something no one has ever done there before. Previous attempts to explore Labynkyr were only made with the help of robots or echo sounders.Astonishingly, the lake does not freeze over completely in winter, in contrast to virtually all lakes in the region. The ice that does form, unusually, can be too thin to walk on. It is not uncommon to driver cars on lakes in Yakutia in winter: but not Labynkyr.
One unproven theory is that Labynkyr, where much of the rock is volcanic, is warmed slightly from below by a fissure in the Earth's crust.
There’s also a mysterious side to the lake. Popular legend says it’s inhabited by a monster nicknamed ‘the Labynkyr devil’. The 1953 Soviet expedition to Oymyakon contributed to the myth of Nessie’s Russian brother, after Viktor Tverdokhlebov, the head of the Siberia geological unit of the USSR’s Academy of Science, said he saw the creature. He described the episode in his diary:

 “…There was some kind of an animal….As it approached, I grew overwhelmed by a strange consternation, freezing me inside. A dark grey oval bulk was seen in the water. On it were two symmetrical white spots, looking like eyes of an animal, and something like a stick poked out of it… Maybe a fin? We only saw a little part of the animal, but could guess a huge solid body under water. No doubt, that was a predator, one of the strongest in the world”.

Dr Emeliyanova, from the Biogeography Department of the Geographical Faculty of Moscow State University, is struck by historical accounts of monsters in Labynkyr and Vorota and believes they are credible.

They date from the late 19th century, while accounts of the Loch Ness monster are usually held to have emerged in the 1930s.
On the basis of 'sightings' there has been speculation that Labynkyr and Vorota might be inhabited by a school of ichthyosaurs, prehistoric marine reptiles resembling dolphins or sharks, or plesiosaurs, a popular theory concerning 'Nessie' in Scotland which is often depicted with a long neck.

'As a scientist I know this is not enough to locate and study some unknown creature. I can put it like this, however. I believe there is a mystery in this lake because there is no smoke without fire.
'I am sure that numerous legends which exist and circulate for many years just can't be groundless. I read many different legends but the account below is what I heard with my own ears.
'Several fishermen who visit this lake from time to time say they experienced the following when fishing from a boat in this lake: during quiet, and not windy, weather when there were no disturbances in the lake, some strange waves coming from under the water suddenly heavily shook their boats.
'It was as if a big body was moving under the water and producing waves which reached the surface and shook the vessel.'
She explained: 'These stories shook me up, for instance, about a boat which was lifted by something or somebody. Two fishermen were fishing in the middle of the lake in late Autumn, they were in a 10 metre long boat when suddenly the bow began to rise as if somebody was pushing it from under the water.
'It was a heavy boat, only a huge and strong animal can do such a thing. The fishermen were stuck by fear. They did not see anything, no head, no jaws. Soon the boat went down.'
Researchers of the Russian Geographical Society did not encounter the legendary monster though. But still what they did see was unique, and according to the expedition supervisor Tatiana Nefyodova, the Guinness World Records is interested. Evidence for registering “the first ever winter aqualung dive in a cold pole natural body of water (Oymyakon, Yakutia)” is now being gathered. Read and see the full story here.More here.