Researchers and "monster hunters" conducted a major search of Loch Ness , Scotland, over the weekend in search of the legendary monster . In fact, they are said to have detected some mysterious sounds in the area.
In poor weather, volunteers and researchers lined the shores of the Scottish loch just outside Inverness. The team, which consisted of about 200 people, used special drones, boats with infrared cameras and an underwater hydrophone, in the hope of unraveling a mystery that has fascinated the world for many years.
In fact, it is said that during the testing of a hydrophone, some mysterious sounds were detected that could be linked to the legendary Loch Ness Monster.
"When we were testing the equipment we heard four distinctive noises," Alan McKenna the Sun."We didn't know where they were coming from. We didn't know the origin, which is very exciting."
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Mr McKenna, from Edinburgh, was among 200 people taking part in the search for the monster, also known as Nessie. Around 300 people watched the efforts via livestream over the weekend.
“We had people from all over the world,” he said. “We had people from Spain, France, Germany and we had a couple of Finns. We had news teams from Japan, Australia, America and it was really good. We all bonded together. It was fantastic.”
Paul Nixon, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre, said: “I believe there is something big lurking in the depths of Loch Ness. I don’t know what it is, but I believe there is something down there.”
Mr Nixon said we don't know exactly what lies beneath the lake and what the Loch Ness Monster actually is. However, he said he has seen sonar scans "the size of trucks moving underwater".
Researchers believe that thermal scanners could be very useful in detecting any anomalies in the depths of the lake.
In addition, the hydrophone will allow researchers to listen for unusual underwater signals.
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Loch Ness is 36 kilometers long and has a maximum depth of 240 meters, making it the largest freshwater lake in the United Kingdom by volume.
Reports of an aquatic monster lurking in the area have existed since ancient times, with stone sculptures found in the area depicting a mysterious beast.
The earliest written mention of the creature dates back to 565 AD in a biography of the Irish monk, Saint Columba. According to the text, the monster attacked a swimmer and was about to strike again when Columba ordered it to retreat.
More recently, in May 1933, the local newspaper Inverness Courier reported that a couple passing by the lake saw “a terrible commotion” in the water.
Today, there are more than 1100 officially recorded sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, according to The Loch Ness Center.
Of course, this whole story, true or not, is a significant source of revenue for Scotland every year, since many tourists visit the region for this very reason.
Over the years, scientists and volunteers, fascinated by this mystery, have tried to find evidence of a large fish, such as a sturgeon, living in the depths of the lake. Some have suggested that the monster could be a prehistoric marine reptile, something like a plesiosaur.
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In 1972, the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau conducted a very extensive search, but it yielded no results.
In 1987, Operation Deepscan deployed sonar equipment across the entire width of the lake and claimed to have found an “unknown object of unusual size and strength.”
In 2018, researchers conducted a DNA survey of Loch Ness to discover the organisms that live there. No signs of plesiosaurs or other large animals were found, although the results showed the presence of many eels.
What is certain is that the mystery of Nessie will concern us for a long time to come!
Source: www.news.com.au
