Academy of Applied Science
SPARKS:2001

Loch Ness Findings
by Dr. Robert H. Rines, President

Refer to Sparks 2001 3rd Quarter issue for a detailed description of the research team

Did the Academy research team encounter Nessie(s) in Loch Ness this summer? Maybe yes. Maybe no. On the positive side, a powerful V-shaped wake (pictured left) on a flat, calm Urquhart Bay was expertly videoed by Academy videographers of WYCN tv13 Nashua, Gordon Jackson and Carolyn Choate. The ever-vigilant team was alerted to unusual activity on the bay during a dinner and reporting session they were holding on their hillside cottage overlooking the bay, for 15 other members of the Academy research team. All were in wonderment at a powerful disturbance that turned at the river mouth and raced into the bay. The movement lasted over three and a half minutes until submerging. Lisa Rines Toth, Justice Rines, Elijah Ercolino and Richard Smith had rushed to a lower level of the hill and took digital and photographic stills. All photos are presently under study and enhancement by Navy and other wake experts.

Again on the "maybe yes" side, in our remote underwater video camera vehicle (ROV), we came upon what is strongly suggestive of a decaying "animal" carcass in 333 feet of water (pictured left) near the mouth of Urquhart Bay--a find that excitingly occurred in the presence of 60 Minutes II producer Harry Moses and his CBS team, near the end of our expedition. We're hopeful that our Scottish colleagues, including Gordon Menzies and Adrian Shine of Drumnadrochit, may succeed in relocating and getting a sample for analysis.

On the more discouraging side, John Fish, Arnie Carr, Ann Janerico and Jim and Kendra Archer of our American Underwater Search and Survey team made repeated chirp side-scan sonar sweeps, back and forth the length of the loch, but failed to yield the large mid-water targets of prior expeditions.

The ROV did discover large undercuts or caverns (long rumored but now photographically documented) in a steep 70° solid rocky "grand canyon" off Horseshoe Scree on the southern shore near Fort Augustus. Also, several bays of the main loch could have harbored targets evading our sound beams on our longitudinal "acoustic netting" sweeps of the 24 mile long loch.

Horseshoe Scree gave up another previously unknown secret that may bear upon the food chain of Loch Ness-colonies of orange, living gelatinous "matts," (pictured left) apparently never before known to exist in fresh water lochs. With Mike Nicholson of Deep Sea Systems remotely piloting the ROV on its 1100-foot control cable, we tried unsuccessfully to scoop these up with nets attached to the ROV, but the "matts" disintegrated on the 600-foot rise from the bottom. Again, our Scottish colleagues will try to bring up a sample for analysis and identification.

We're also cautiously optimistic that marine clamshells, discovered by Frank Dougherty when they were accidentally brought up with the bottom silt of the loch by our deep dragging anchor, may at long last be the first positive clues to the possible presence of the sea in the great rift harboring fresh-water Loch Ness. This discovery presents quite favorable implications for how "Nessie(s)" may have entered the loch.

Though we of the Academy team encountered no large sonar targets, we were impressed with a copious fish population. Perhaps more importantly was Duane Marshall's find of the sonar charts from the Royal Scot (a tourist boat that plies the Fort Augustus beat several times a day) which showed large target encounters on at least three occasions within recent months. They're staying on the alert and in contact with us.

The Wyckoff underwater video station stays on watch off Temple Pier, 24-hours a day, with Internet relaying capability to Academy U.S. headquarters--and with various "attractant" tools available--flashing LEDs, salmon oil, and the Blonder sound recording and playback system.

We have heartening and exciting interest of UK and Norwegian sonar and ROV suppliers and local university researchers who want to volunteer and contribute to "another go" soon. So, the intrigue continues.