Russian mini-subs surface after dive to bottom of Siberian lake

Russian mini-subs surface after dive to bottom of Siberian lake

IRKUTSK, July 29, 2008 - Two Russian mini-submarines came to the surface of Siberia's Lake Baikal on Tuesday after a dive to the bottom of the world's deepest lake. The Mir-1 and Mir-2 submersibles were shown on TV channel Vesti-24 being lifted onto a barge after their ascent from one of the deepest points of what locals call the 'Sacred Sea'. The crew earlier claimed to have reached a depth of 1,680 meters (5,500 feet), but around 20 minutes after the subs resurfaced, expedition leader Artur Chilingarov told reporters that no records had been broken. "This was not a record, we didn't do this to break records," he said. Expedition member Anatoly Sagalevich clarified that Mir-1 had reached a depth of 1,580 meters (5,184 feet) during a 90 minute descent, while Mir-2 reached 1,592 meters (5,223) in just over one hour. The record of 1,637 meters (5,371 feet) for a freshwater dive is held by a 1990s Baikal exploration team. Chilingarov is a Russian lawmaker who also led a symbolic dive to the North Pole seabed last August, during which a Russian flag was planted on the seabed. The mini-subs, which were used for the Arctic dive and had been specially adapted for freshwater conditions, were submerged in the middle of Lake Baikal, between Olkhon island and the Svyatoy Nos ('sacred nose') peninsula. Chilingarov earlier said the Mir dives were "a logical continuation of lake exploration that was begun 30 years ago with the Pisces apparatus." Soviet scientists in a Pisces submersible reached a depth of 1,410 meters (4,600 feet) in 1977, and examined the lake's bed with searchlights. The lake has since been the focus of numerous Soviet, Russian and international research expeditions. Baikal, whose age scientists estimate at 25 million years, is a UNESCO World Heritage site with hundreds of species of unique fauna and flora. Crew member Natalia Komarova told reporters before the dive that the results of the expedition would have an important impact on environmental legislation, and that new safeguards would be needed to protect the lake, given the planned intensive economic and industrial development of East Siberia over the coming years. The lake has been the focus of major environmental scares in recent years, with a last-minute change to an oil pipeline route that was set to pass near Baikal's shores, and environmental regulators' claims against a pulp mill accused of pumping large volumes of toxic waste into the lake. The expedition is set to run for two years, during which the scientists will conduct around 160 dives in various areas of the lake. Research will include tectonic information-gathering and exploration for archeological artifacts.