Loch Ness
Timeline
500 million years ago.
The world is very different. Scotland lies on the coast
of the North American continent, far to the south of the
equator. Plate tectonics are moving the continent steadily
towards another called North Europe.
400 million
years ago
The continents collide; a collision that folded
and thrust up the Caledonian mountain chain on a Himalayan
scale.
380 million
years ago
The Great Glen fault fractures across the Highlands.
It is thought that the northern block has moved some 104km
to the south-west. Earth tremors still occur. This is
during the Devonian period and the only vertebrates are
primitive fish.
345- 280 million years ago.
The Carboniferous period saw Scotland starting
its journey north to the equator. Humid tropical swamps
cover much of the country and will one day become coal
seams. Some of the fish have evolved into amphibians and
are crawling ashore to feed on the insects and plants
that have already colonised the land. However, the amphibians
had to lay their eggs in water and indeed, still do. Towards
the end of the period they were evolving again. Millions
of years later, in the 1980's a fossil was found near
Edinburgh and christened "Lizzie". This was because it
had almost evolved into a reptile.
Mykura,
W. (1983) The Old Red Sandstone east of Loch Ness, Inverness-shire.
Institute of Geological Sciences, Report 82/13, 26pp.
Mykura,
W. and Owens, B. (1983) The Old Red Sandstone of the Mealfuarvonie
Outlier, west of Loch Ness, Inverness-shire. Institute
of Geological Sciences, Report 83/7, 17pp.
280-230
million years ago. The
Permian
The reptiles
needed no water to lay their eggs in and began to march
inland. Just as well, because almost all the world's landmasses
had clustered together into a super continent called Pangaea
with Scotland near the centre, so the climate was getting
drier. The Reptiles were to dominate the land.
230-195
million years ago. The Triassic
195-140
million years ago. The Jurassic
140-65 million years ago. The Cretaceous
Throughout these periods Scotland was drifting
north of the equator. It saw the rise of the mighty dinosaurs.
The newly evolved mammals were kept in hiding underground but their warm blood probably allowed them to be
more effective at lower temperatures, at night for example
and during the winters which were becoming more noticeable.
This was because the majority of the world's land was
now entering temperate latitudes. Also, the dinosaur's
world was fragmenting as the Atlantic Ocean opened up,
leaving Scotland behind, as part of Europe. Then followed
chaos, as huge quantities of lava flowed across the land,
especially in India. Volcanic gasses probably caused violent
climate changes. Suddenly, 65 million years ago, a huge
asteroid or comet fragment seared through the atmosphere
and impacted near the Yucatan Peninsular in Mexico. A
huge extinction followed, including the death of all the
dinosaurs. The land would now belong to the mammals and
birds.
65-1.8
million years ago. The Tertiary
Includes
65-55 million
years ago. The Palaeocene
55-39 million
years ago. The Eocene
39-22.5
million years ago. The Oligocene
22.5-5
million years ago. The Miocene
5-1.8 million
years ago. The Pliocene
The mammals and birds have now spread out into all
the vacant niches left by the reptiles. Some took to the
sea, to become the whales and dolphins, replacing the
great sea reptiles like the plesiosaurs.
The continents
were still drifting generally northwards. India collided
with Asia, forcing up the Himalayas. The Atlantic Ocean
was still widening. Scotland's climate became increasingly
seasonal. Finally, the landmasses converged on the North
Pole blocking the ocean circulation. Now, there was land
for snow to settle on, reflecting away the sun's heat.
The Ice Ages set the stage for the rise of mankind.
1.8 million
years- Present. The Quaternary
Includes
1.8 million-
10,000 years ago. The Pleistocene
10,000
years ago- Present. The Holocene
Since about 2.5 million years ago the ice sheets
of Europe and North America have advanced at least four
times; maybe twenty times. The rocks along Loch Ness,
because the movements of the Great Glen faultline had
shattered them, yielded easily to the ice. The massive
erosive forces smoothed and deepened the valley that would
one day become Loch Ness.
120,000 years ago.
The last Ice Age begins
20,000 years ago.
The Ice Age is at its peak. Parts of Scotland
lie buried by up to 1700m of ice.
18,000 years ago.
The ice begins to retreat. A glacier is still
carving its way down Loch Ness. Meltwaters running beneath
it are depositing sand and gravel to form ridges called
"eskers" at Tomnahurich and Torvean. Meltwater began to
raise the sea level and some have speculated that Loch
Ness could have ultimately become an arm of the sea, thus
allowing large creatures to enter. The removal of the
ice burden allowed the land to rise (Isostatic rebound)
and, according to the theory, this would have trapped
the animals in the loch. The relationship between rising
sea-level and rising land was very complex twelve to thirteen
thousand years ago and the matter of marine incursion
is still contoversial.
13,000
years ago.
The loch is now free of ice and a warm interlude of about
500 years could have brought summer temperatures similar
to today's.
Merritt,
J.W., Auton, C.A. and Firth, C.R. (1995) Ice-Proximal
Glaciomarine Sedimentation and Sea-level Change in the
Inverness Area: A Review of the Deglaciation of a Major
Ice Stream of the British Late Devensian Ice Sheet. Quaternary
Science Review, 14: 289-329
Firth, C.R. (1986) Isostatic depression during the Loch Lomond Stadial:
preliminary evidence from the Great Glen, northern Scotland.
Quaternary Newsletter 48: 1-9
Rines, R.H. & Dougherty,
F.M. (2003) Proof Positive- Loch Ness was an ancient arm
of the sea. Journal of Scientific Exploration. Vol. 17,
No.2: 317-323
Synge, F.M. (1977) Land and sea level changes during the waning of the
last regional ice sheet in the vicinity of Inverness.
Inverness Field Club, Special Volume, 83-102
11,000 years ago.
The glacier has now retreated from Loch Ness
but the cold is returning. On the high ground, the ice
is on the move again and just reaches the southern end
of Loch Ness. The ice holds back lakes in Glen Roy and
Glen Spean.
Sissons, J.B., (1979a) The Loch Lomond Stadial in the British Isles. Nature,
280: 199-202
10,000 years ago.
The melting continues again. The ice dams
holding back the lakes in Glen Roy and Glen Spean give
way in successive floods. As the lakes drain they leave
traces of their old shorelines as the famous "parallel
roads".
The final
outpouring may have laid the gravel foundation of Fort
Augustus before roaring on to carve into the gravels at
the northern end of the loch to form the channel of the
River Ness and indeed the foundations of Inverness itself.
The water level in Loch Ness rose 8m. It is calculated
that a third of the volume of the loch may have passed
through in as little as 48hrs! What effect this might
have had on the inhabitants of the loch may be left to
speculation.
Sissons, J.B. (1979b) Catastrophic lake drainage in Glen Spean and the
Great Glen, Scotland. Jl. Geol. Lond. 136 : 215 - 224
Sissons,
J.B. (1981) Late Glacial marine Erosion and a Jokulhlaup
deposit in the Beauly Firth. Scottish Journal of Geology
17 (1): 1-19
The Ice Age
is now truly over. The bed of Loch Ness is covered with
a bed of blue grey clay. Near the top is a layer of small
stones, perhaps deposited by the last flood from Glen
Roy. For 10,000 years darker more organic sediments will
accumulate, layer by layer. One day they will reveal the
story of the loch (see 1994, The ROSETTA Project). (The
ROSETTA coring machine may be seen at Loch Ness 2000)
9000 years ago.
In the wake of the ice an Arctic "tundra"
vegetation develops with mosses, lichens and grasses.
Reindeer graze around the shores of Loch Ness. The first
trees to arrive are birches. Their tiny seeds are blown
long distances by the wind. They, with Juniper and Hazel
became established quite quickly but trees like the oak
followed more slowly since they relied on squirrels and
jays to "plant" their acorns. With the weight of ice gone, Loch Ness is starting
to rise towards its present height of 16m above sea level.
There is a burst of productivity from nutrients leached
from the soils exposed by the melting ice.
8000 years ago.
The Scots pine appears from the south
6000 years ago.
The Great Wood of Caledon is now fully established.
The Scots pines are now dominant, providing a home for
beaver, wolves and bears.
5000 years ago.
Neolithic farmers are just beginning to leave
their mark on the landscape as they clear the forest for
their crops. This is a time of stone circles like Callanish
and later, Stonehenge. Soon the Great Pyramid will be
built in Egypt.
4000 years ago.
Bronze Age farms flourish around Loch Ness in a climate
slightly warmer than it is today. The settlers are building
passage tombs and stone circles at Corrimony, Torbreck
and Clava. A lake dwelling called a "crannog"
is built at the southern end of Loch Ness. It is the only
island in the loch and is now called Cherry Island.
3000 years ago.
The climate is deteriorating. In Iceland
the volcano Hekla has erupted, darkening the sky with
sulphur-laden ash. Acid rain falls upon the crops. The
settlements around the loch are abandoned. Perhaps by
co-incidence, possibly not, the well-ordered sediment
sequences of Loch Ness are suddenly disrupted and jumbled
as the surface layers slump. The fall of Troy heralds
the end of the Bronze Age.
2000 years ago.
The Roman legions are marching into Scotland
but they soon retire to build Hadrian's Wall. The Christian
era begins.
1500 years ago.
In 565AD St. Columba, a Christian missionary
to King Brude of the Picts, "drove away a certain
water monster" in the River Ness. His biographer,
St. Adamnan, wrote that one of Columba's followers was
attacked as he swam across to collect a boat from the
other side. The saint "formed the sign of the cross
in the empty air" saying "Think not to go further
nor touch thou that man. Quick! Go back!" The beast
"fled backwards more rapidly than he came".
St. Adomnan, (690 AD) Vita
Sancti Columbae
1000 years ago.
King MacBeth of Scotland is killed. His successor
will swear allegiance to King William 1st of
England. The scene is set for Scotland's wars of independence.
700 years ago. (1297)
Andrew de Moray, an ally of William Wallace,
takes Inverness from the English. In 1314 "Proud Edward's Army" is sent homewards from
Bannockburn.
1743
The last wolf in Scotland is killed near Loch
Ness on the River Findhorn.
1746
The Jacobite cause is lost at the Battle of
Culloden to the north-east of Loch Ness. The "Seven
men of Glenmoriston" hide Prince Charles. The "Highland
Clearances" begin. Tenants are evicted and replaced
with sheep. Their grazing has resulted in much of today's
bare Highland scenery.
1755 22nd Dec
There had been an earthquake in Lisbon on 1st
Nov. On the 22 Dec. at Fort Augustus, the waters of Loch
Ness rose towards the town. It ebbed and flowed for over
an hour, rising over a metre above the normal level. All
the water in the loch must have been flowing backwards
and forwards. Earth tremors have also been reported from
Loch Ness in 1816, 1888, 1890 and 1901 when it cracked
the bank of the Caledonian Canal near Dochgarroch. Minor
tremors still occur.
Thorpe,
S.A. (1988). " light on obscure oceanographical problems", an historical review of studies of the physics
of Loch Ness. Scottish Naturalist, 1988 : 17-33.
Davison,
C. (1891) On the Inverness earthquakes of November 15th
to December 14th , 1890. Quarterly Journal
of the Geological Society 47 : 618-32
1822
Thomas Telford's Caledonian Canal is opened.
Begun during the Napoleonic wars, this canal joined the
lochs of the Great Glen into a 60mile passage from sea
to sea.
In addition
to the river, the canal now formed another access to the
loch from the sea to the north. The question of access
by marine animals was examined by Gould.
Gould, R.T. (1934) The Loch Ness Monster
and Others. London: Geoffrey Bles. New York: University
Books, 1969
(Pages 6-11)
Since Loch
Ness lies 52ft (15.8m) above sea level there are a series
of locks in the Inverness reach. The first is at Dochgarroch
just beyond the Dochfour weir where the canal branches
away from the River Ness. Four miles later, at Muirtown,
there is a flight of four locks; then within a mile is
the lock at Clachnaharry before the final "sea lock" which
gives access to the Beauly Firth.
Salmon and
eels making their way towards Loch Ness have been known
in this section of the canal. They can be accounted for
by the sluices, which level the sections even when the
lock gates are shut. The canal might also account for
the occasional presence of another marine fish, the flounder.
In 1984 this was a somewhat surprising discovery in the
loch, since the flounder was not considered a strong enough
swimmer to negotiate the weirs and rapids of the river.
It may be worth mentioning that even sturgeon have been
known to pass locks and weirs on other rivers.
The River
Ness itself, of course, has been the main avenue of colonisation
for the salmonid fishes and eels. Gould describes the
river access in 1933. There are two complete weirs on
the river but both have "fish gaps". The above-mentioned
Dochfour weir has a gap 60ft wide at the top and 30ft
at the base. Three miles downstream is the Holm Mills
weir which has a gap 24ft wide at the top and 12ft at
the base. Gould's enquiries suggested that, in a spate there
could be over 7ft of water depth at the Dochfour weir
and 5ft at Holm Mills. Certainly there is adequate access
for seals at the time of writing.
1833 16th
Oct
The Inverness Courier reports the "Death
of a Warlock" one Gregor MacGregor, alias "Willox
the Warlock". Among his possessions he had "a
piece of yellow metal resembling a horse's bridle, which
in the days of yore was sported by a mischievous water
Kelpie, who haunted the banks of Loch Ness and Loch Spynie". In Highland folklore, the Kelpie or Water Horse (Each
Uisge) emerged from many lochs to tempt travellers onto
its back. It then carried the victims into the water and
devoured them.
1843-47
Extensions to the weir at Dochgarroch raise
the water level of Loch Ness by 9ft, nearly 3m.
1849 25th
Jan.
A great flood destroys the stone road bridge
in Inverness.
1852 1st
July
The Inverness Courier reports "A Scene
from Lochend" where two strange animals were swimming
across the loch. Some "thought it was the sea- serpent
coiling along the surface, and others a couple of whales
or large seals". The inhabitants made ready to defend
themselves with everything from battle-axes to pitchforks.
"At last, a venerable patriarch came to the conclusion
that they were a pair of deer". He fetched his gun
and was just about to fire when he threw it down and shouted
in Gallic " God protect us, they are the Water Horses",
thinking they were the ill omened Kelpies of folklore.
In the end, they did turn out to be horses; two ponies
from the Aldourie estate no less than a mile away!
1868 6th
Feb.
At the end of the winter there was a flood at
Loch Ness. The clay washed in by this flood settled on
the loch bed to form a "marker layer" enabling
core samples to be dated.
1868 8th
Oct
In the autumn the Inverness Courier reports
a curious incident at Abriachan. A "huge fish"
is washed up dead on the beach. It is about 2m long. Some
think it is the strange fish that has been reported for
"years back". It is finally pronounced to be
a skinned dolphin, possibly thrown overboard by "the
waggish crew" of a passing fishing boat to fool "the
credulous natives of Abriachan". This is the earliest
written reference so far discovered to a tradition of
something strange in Loch Ness.
1871 13th
July
The Inverness Courier reports the capture of
a sturgeon just off the Inverness entrance to the Caledonian
Canal. It had almost broken out of a salmon net and was 7ft long. Apparently another sturgeon had been caught
in Inverness some 35 years before. On the 12th August
1661 a sturgeon no less than 12ft long had been caught
nearby.
1903
April
In April, Sir John Murray's "Bathymetrical Survey of the Scottish Lochs" takes 1700
depth soundings in Loch Ness. They establish the loch to
have the greatest volume of any lake in Britain and that
its maximum depth is 754ft (230m). Claims for greater depths will be made later but all remain
unconfirmed; most resulting from sonar anomalies.
Murray,
J. and Pullar, L. (1907). Bathymetrical survey of the
fresh-water lochs of Scotland. Part X111 - Lochs of the
Ness Basin. Geographical Journal, 30 : 62-71
John Murray's remarkable survey covered
most of the Scottish lochs including Loch Morar, which
was found to be the deepest at 1017ft (310m).
The Survey also included some of the first work on the
loch's biology, physics and the characteristics of its
sediments. There is no reference to unusual creatures in the loch
but one observation of possible significance to monster
sightings is a description of the Loch Ness mirage.
Loch Ness is very prone to mirages since the huge body
of water reacts slowly to seasonal temperature changes.
Hence, the loch is often colder than the air in summer
and warmer in winter. On calm days, the lower layers of
air can be affected by the water temperature and distort
the images of objects seen, especially from close to the
waterline. The most usual effect is to elongate the object
vertically. A water bird for example, may then look much
larger than it is. This mirage was cited by the witness
Alex Campbell as an explanation for his "plesiosaur" sighting
in 1933 (see 1933, Oct17th).
Murray,
J. and Pullar, L. (1908b). Mirages on Loch Ness. Geographical
Journal, 31
: 61-62
Further discussion
of mirages in this context was to take place in:
Lehn, W.B. (1979) Atmospheric refraction and lake monsters. Science, 205:
183-185
and
Shine, A.J. and
Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed by Sonar
and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist 105:111-199.
(see pages 163-167)
About 1916
Mr James Cameron, head keeper of the Balmacaan estate, comes
into the Drumnadrochit Hotel with "his face as white
as paper". He said that while he was fishing from a
small boat an "enormous animal" had surfaced very
near him. The shock caused him to go dizzy and then he rowed
ashore as quickly as he could.
1930 27th
August
The "Northern Chronicle" reports "a
fish or whatever it was".
1932 February
A Miss K. MacDonald saw a "crocodile" like creature making
its way up the River Ness, which was in spate, towards the
loch. The creature had a short neck, long snout and some
reports suggested tusks.
1933
North shore road improvements (today's A82)
remove the screen of trees, improving the view of the
loch and bringing more visitors to the area. Some believe
that this is the reason for the explosion of sightings
in that year. Others suggest that the cause was literally
explosions; the rock blasting during the road construction.
1933 March
Mrs. Aldie Mackay, manageress of the Drumnadrochit Hotel
(now the site of Loch Ness 2000), was on the road from Inverness
when she saw something resembling a whale. She did not publicise
he story but it was picked up by Alex Campbell, water bailiff
and enthusiast of the legend. He gave the story to the Inverness
Courier. The story published on 2
nd May is often
seen as the birth of the modern legend. Over the next 65
years, there will be over a 1000 recorded sightings. The
majority will be of two types; the multi-humped sea serpent
and the long necked plesiosaur. Attempts to reconcile these
two conflicting stereotypes, each unlikely in itself were
to cause difficulties for the investigators of the 1960's
as they sought a single explanation.
1933 9th
June
The "Scottish Daily Express" reports
"a mystery fish".
1933 July 22nd
A Mr. Spicer and his wife were driving along the south shore,
when at about 3.30pm he saw, crossing the road " the
nearest approach to a dragon or prehistoric animal that
I have ever seen in my life". They only saw it for
a few seconds at a distance of about 200yds and the lower
part was hidden by a rise in the road. Nevertheless, it
seemed to have a long neck and ponderous body. This is the
first long neck report. It was also the beginning of the
international sensation. Monsters were in vogue. Only a
few months before, the film King Kong had been released,
containing frightening footage of prehistoric monsters fighting.
Spicer had seen the film and considered what he had seen
resembled the screen animation of a diplodocus.
1933 Sept.
22nd
A Miss. J.S. Fraser and four others, are at
the Half-Way House tea-room at Altsigh. Theirs is the
first reference to a long necked creature, actually in
the loch. Three hours later, there is a similar report,
ten miles to the north.
1933 Oct.
17th
The "Scotsman" reports that in early
September, Alex Campbell, the bailiff, had a sighting
of a long necked, plesiosaur like creature near Fort Augustus
which dived on the approach of two fishing boats. A few
weeks later he saw the same thing again but this time
was able to see the explanation; cormorants distorted
by mirage. The original sighting, re-dated to 1934 was
to become the most broadcast of all the sightings and
became the most inspirational ever to the monster hunters
of the 1960s since it was the archetypal plesiosaur description.
1933 Nov 9th -23rd
Rupert Gould interviews over 50 eyewitnesses and the following
year, publishes 42 sighting reports in his book
Gould, R.T. (1934) The Loch Ness Monster
and Others. London: Geoffrey Bles. New York: University
Books, 1969
He concludes
that some creature has made its way into the loch and
become trapped. He favours an amphibian.
1933 Nov
12th
Hugh Grey takes the first monster photograph.
1934 Jan.
4th
The "Daily Mail" expedition led by
Marmaduke Wetherell suffers an embarrassment. Plaster
casts of some strange footprints found at the loch side,
are pronounced by the British Museum to be from a stuffed
hippopotamus. He had used one of his big game hunting
trophies, a hippo foot ashtray. There are also some doubts
about a land sighting made by Arthur Grant during the
expedition. However, it would seem that the expedition
does have a serious aspect. It is remarkable for the first
application of hydrophones to the problem; a method that
reached its zenith with the Loch Ness Investigation in
1970. The Daily Mail's special investigator F.W. Memory
chronicles events in a series of articles and shows a
degree of scepticism regarding some of more flamboyant
activities. He begins to record sightings of a grey seal from the south eastern shore. Finally Wetherell
himself claims a sighting of a grey seal and sketches
"what he and others saw from the launch Penguin".
Memory,
F.W. (1933) Daily Mail, Dec18th 1933 - Jan. 19th
1934
Subsequent monster hunters tended to disregard
the possibility of seals, partly on the strength of the
opinion of the water bailiff Alex Campbell, that they
had never been known to enter the loch. Nevertheless some
descriptions are very seal like.
For example, a sighting
by a Mr. Palmer on Aug.11th 1933 describes
a head just breaking the surface. The following June,
Miss Margaret Munro had a land sighting, which could have
been a seal, on a beach near Fort Augustus.1934 April.The surgeon Kenneth Wilson claims to have taken
an interesting photograph. The picture, published on April
21st shows an upraised head and neck. It is
to become the most famous image of the monster. It will
also have the effect of restricting the scope of debate
regarding the identity of Loch Ness Monsters. Seals or
"strange fish" do not have long necks.
1934 Summer
The first large expedition is mounted by the insurance magnate,
Sir Edward Mountain. Twenty unemployed Inverness men are
enrolled as "watchers for the monster" and paid BP 2 a week. Eleven sightings are made and five photographs taken,most attributable to boat wakes. On 15th Sept, the expedition's leader Capt. James Fraser takes a
film from near Urquhart Castle. Sadly, the film has been
lost but when shown to scientists they did at least believe
that it showed a living animal. A seal! It is not impossible
that Sir Edward's expedition has indeed solved the identity
of an unusual visitor to the loch.
Mountain,
Sir Edward (1934) Solving the Mystery of Loch Ness. The
Field, 22nd Sept: 668-9
It was to
be 1985 before it became definitely established that seals
do enter the loch.Since then, both common and grey seals
have been recorded in most years. They follow the salmon
up the river and may spend months in freshwater.
Williamson, G.R. (1988) Seals in Loch
Ness. Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst., No 39: 151-157
Unknown species
of long necked seals have been suggested as possible candidates
by two authors.
Oudemans, A.C. (1934) The Loch Ness
Monster. Leyden: Late E.J. Brill
Costello, P. (1974) In Search of Lake
Monsters. London: Garnstone
.
However, the
seal theory was to prove too mundane for most monster
enthusiasts who were to note that sightings were persisting
and there was always the "Surgeon's Photograph" with its
long upraised head and neck. It was to stand guardian
over popular expectations for sixty years.
1934 Aug.
24th Another picture is published, attributed to
F.C. Adams.
1938
Capt. D.J. Munro attempts to raise BP 1,500 to
set up three camera stations on the loch. Sadly his company,
"Loch Ness Monster Ltd.", only attracts an investment
of BP 90 and the scheme is abandoned.
1951 July
14th
Lachlan Stuart takes a picture of three angular
humps close to the beach. A little later, he confesses
to a local resident, the author Richard Frere, that it
was a hoax. Frere did not reveal the secret for thirty
years.
1955 July 29th
Mr P.A. MacNab takes a picture near to Urquhart
Castle. It appears to show an enormous hump backed creature.
More than a Legend
1957
Constance Whyte's book is published. As the wife of the
Caledonian Canal Manager she came to Loch Ness in the
late thirties She found that sightings had persisted after
the sensation of the thirties and had written an article
in 1949. She details more than 60 sightings and concludes
that the loch contains a resident population of unknown
creatures.
Whyte,
C. (1957) More than a Legend. London: Hamish Hamilton;
rev. 3rd imp. , 1961
1958 Oct.16th
The "Weekly Scotsman" publishes a
picture taken from a canoe by H.L. Cockrell. It looks
like a stick but some think it is moving.
A War
of Attrition
Constance Whyte's book, drawn on the experiences of manifestly
sincere people showed that the Loch Ness Monster was no
mere thirties frivolity but a puzzle that was worth investigation.
Indeed it was a mystery, which she felt the nation had
an obligation to investigate. The series of classic photographs
plus the apparent frequency of sightings by Sir Edward
Mountain's expedition suggested that organised surveillance
might succeed.
Two zoologists
at the Natural History Museum had taken an interest. Dr.
Dennis Tucker lectured to students at Cambridge University
who began to plan an expedition. Dr. Maurice Burton was
busy providing data to an enthusiastic aeronautical engineer
called Tim Dinsdale. He also lent him a cine camera.
1960 April 23rd
Tim Dinsdale, on the sixth and last day of his search takes
a 4min film, which becomes one of the best known pieces of evidence. For most of the
sequence, the object has the dimensions, appearance and
speed of a powered rowing boat. However, many believe that
it shows an unidentified animal because of subtle differences
in the "propeller wash". The zoologist Maurice
Burton had studied the problem for many years and encouraged
Dinsdale's early interest but he was to become sceptical
of the film and much else:
Burton, M. (1961) The Elusive Monster.
London: Rupert Hart- Davis
An assessment
of the film in 1966, by Britain's "Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre", concluded that the photographer would have noticed a boat,
had it been one. Dinsdale publishes his book the next
year and devotes his life to vindicating the eyewitnesses.
He made many visits to the loch and published widely on
the subject until his death in 1987.
Dinsdale, T. (1961) Loch Ness Monster.
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Philadelphia: Chilton,
1962; 2nd ed. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1972; 3rd
ed., 1976; 4th ed.,1982
Dinsdale, T. (1966) The Leviathans.
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul; 2nd rev.
ed., London: Futura, 1976.
Dinsdale, T. (1975) Project Water
Horse. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
1960 May
27th
Peter O'Connor takes a controversial picture
of a plesiosaur like object in shallow water.
1960 June
Col. "Blondie" Hasler mounts an eight week expedition
from his junk rigged yacht "Jester" which worked in concert
with a shore station equipped with long lens cameras. Fifty
six volunteers took part and the watches on Jester were
continuous by day and night. Even without the shore station,
there are over 1000 hrs of observation and hydrophone work.
Results ar inconclusive.
Hasler, H.G. (1962) Jester in search
of the joker. The Observer, 19th Aug.
Some of Hasler's
ideas are prophetic. He proposes an underwater hide and
observation using a glass bottomed boat. These ideas will
form the substance of the Loch Morar Expeditions of 1974&75.
Shine,
A.J. (1975) Loch Morar Expedition. Report
1960 Summer
The first full scale scientific investigation.
Peter Baker
leads a combined Oxford & Cambridge University expedition
to the loch.
Baker,
P.F. and Westwood, M. (1960) Underwater detective work.
Scotsman, 12th, 13th, 14th
Sept.
There was
another expedition in 1962. They station film cameras
around the loch, keeping 85% of the surface under observation
for 230hrs and 50% for a further 250hrs. They make 19
"sightings" from which they concluded that the
multi-hump "sea serpent" sightings, are caused
by boat wakes. They also found that diving birds caused
some long neck sightings. Nevertheless, there were some
echo-sounding contacts they could not explain.
Baker, P.F. and Westwood, M. (1962)
Sounding out the Monster. The Observer, 26th
Aug.
Birmingham
University bring a sonar and biological expedition to
Loch Ness.
Birmingham
University Expedition 1961
"the prize will be very great" (David James 1964)
1962
The "Loch Ness Phenomenon Investigation
Bureau", (LNI) forms under the energetic leadership
of David James MP. The other directors are the author
Constance Whyte with naturalists Sir Peter Scott and Richard
Fitter.
David James,
with his background of naval service and Antarctic exploration
brings an acute mind and outstanding organisational ability.
He shows a bold ingenuity in his early expeditions with
rock blasting to simulate the 1930s and the last of the
wartime searchlights probing for nocturnal activity. He
turns a national joke into something like a national endeavour.
Using his position ruthlessly, he has panels of eminent
zoologists and barristers examine his evidence, together
with Ministry of Defence photo-interpreters. He even subjects
his observers to psychological examination.
For the next
10 years, the "LNI" will mount intensive surface
surveillance, using telephoto cine cameras. They aim to
repeat the classic photographs on good quality film. The
investigation reveals a definite correlation between calm
"Nessie" weather and sightings. They shoot film on 12 occasions but none showing
anything resembling the "classic photographs".
They also collect some 258 sighting reports.
James,
D. (undated. Probably 1967) Loch Ness Investigation. London:
The Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau.
James, D. (1961) Time to Meet the
Monster. The Field, 23rd Nov. : 951-53
James, D. (1962)
The Monster Again. The Field, 14th June: 1060
James, D. (1964)
'We find that there is some unidentified animate object
in Loch Ness'. The Observer, May17th. (Report on the 1963 expedition)
James, D. (1964)
Fine -weather monster. The Observer, 27th Dec.
(Report on the 1964 expedition)
James,
D. (1965) The Loch Ness Investigation. Report
James,
D. (1966) The Loch Ness Investigation. Annual Report
James,
D. (1967) The Loch Ness Investigation. Annual Report
James,
D. (1968) The Loch Ness Investigation. Annual Report
James,
D. (1969) The Loch Ness Investigation. Annual Report
Strategies of Evasion
By 1967 it was clear that something was wrong.
The war of attrition against the law of averages seemed
lost, yet the sightings record was undiminished. In human
terms, the evidence for unusual creatures in the loch was
overwhelming, yet photographic surveillance on the most
massive and protracted scale could not produce verification.
The same could
be said over thirty years later. Categories of sighting
reports were now recognised. Peter Baker's lesson about
the multi-humped sightings was slowly relearned. Among
the middle ranks of the technical staff, there was a growing
objectivity born of their growing experience of the loch's
power to deceive. People like Dick Raynor, who had taken the
LNI's best film and Rip Hepple, who would circulate a
newsletter for thirty years after its demise, were now
experts at sighting diagnosis.
The American
Roy Mackal had become Scientific Director of the LNI and
now began to turn toward underwater techniques including
hydrophones, sonar, and despite the peat stained water,
photography. In one way, this was an evasion of the basic
question of eyewitness verification but it was seen as
more direct and perhaps more active. General scientific
work under Bob Love was introduced, perhaps a tacit admission
that the loch's capacity to support unusual creatures
should not be taken for granted. In an attempt to avoid
the problems of scale, expeditions to small Irish loughs
with similar traditions, began in 1968. Finally, a spectacular
report from Loch Morar, which was known to have a Monster
tradition, resulted in
the formation of a new group, The Loch Morar Survey. Loch
Morar was only half the length of Loch Ness though logistics
would be found much more difficult through the lack of
roads. Another difference, not exploited until 1974 was
the relative clarity of Loch Morar's water. Morar was
to become the focus of British effort during the decade
of underwater photography in the 1970s.
1968 August
Birmingham University, working with the LNI, monitor an
advanced sonar fixed to the shore and beaming out into the
loch. They record a huge contact, apparently rising from
the loch bed.
Braithwaite, H. (1968). Sonar picks
up stirrings in Loch Ness. New Scientist, (19th Dec.
1968) 40 : 664 - 666
However, further work was to warn of
the refraction problems caused by temperature layers in
the water column.
Tucker, D.G. and Creasey, D.J. (1970). Some sonar observations in Loch Ness. Proceedings
of the Challenger Society, 4 : 91-92.
The actual extent of temperature effects
on sonar was addressed by
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
(see pages 119-136 and 171-173)
1970
The Loch Ness Investigation's largest expedition
uses moored hydrophone station underwater cameras and sonar.
Mackal. R. P. (1976) The Monsters
of Loch Ness. Chicago: Swallow. London: Macdonald and
Jane's, 1976
Tim Dinsdale
has now joined the LNI as director of surface photography
and with Dick Raynor keeps the camera batteries running
to the end. The end will not be far.
1970
The "Loch Morar Survey" begins three
years of work and establish that this, the deepest Scottish
loch, also has a monster tradition. Though they maintain
the traditional camera sites, they incorporate from the
outset, a strong team of freshwater scientists to examine
the biological possibilities.
Campbell,
E.M. and Solomon, D. (1970) Loch Morar Survey. Report
Campbell,
E.M. and Solomon,
D. (1971) Loch
Morar Survey. Report
Campbell,
E.M. and Solomon, D. (1972) Loch Morar Survey. Report
Campbell, E.M. and Solomon, D. (1972)
The Search for Morag. London: Tom Stacey
1972
After ten years, the camera batteries at Lochs
Ness and Morar are dismantled. The passive surface vigil
is over. The Achnahannet headquarters "long lens" is now in retirement at the Loch Ness
2000 exhibition. Individual vigils continue.
A Direct Assault
1972 8th August
There are new faces at Loch Ness. At 1.45am, an underwater camera deployed by "The Academy of Applied Science", under the leadership of Robert Rines, takes what became known as "the flipper photograph" amid swirling silt. After alleged computer enhancement, the picture is published and does look like a flipper. In 1975, prompted by concerns for conservation, Rines and Sir Peter Scott will take the controversial step of naming the monster "Nessiteras Rhombopteryx"; The Diamond Finned Wonder of Loch Ness.
Rines, R.H., Wyckoff, C.W., Edgerton,
H.E. and Klein, M. (1976). Search for the Loch Ness Monster.
Technology Review, March/April 1976 : 25 - 40
There will be controversy over whether the published pictures were computer enhanced as stated, or whether they were simply retouched.
Razdan,
R. and Kielar, A. (1984) Sonar and photographic searches
for the Loch Ness Monster: a reassessment . Skeptical
Inquirer, 9(2): 147-158
Later attempts to reproduce the flipper image by legitimate enhancement of the original would fail.
1974
Adrian Shine's "Loch Morar Expeditions"
commence, exploiting the clear water here, in contrast
to the dark water of Loch Ness. Some of the Loch Morar
Survey sighting reports suggested large shapes moving
close inshore. The expeditions use an underwater camera
hide called "Machan" which was baited to attract
fish and submerged to 10m on the rocky ledges of the shoreline.
A crouched observer looks upward, waiting for a huge shadow
against the surface brightness. Speculation is turning
towards benthic fish, such as sturgeon or catfish, as
candidates.
1975
At Loch Morar, the submersible "Machan"
is joined by "Pequod" a small surface vessel
designed with a transparent dome for an underwater search
for unusual bones. Over 200 miles of shoreline are examined.
The original Machan and a model of Pequod are now in the
underwater hall of Loch Ness 2000.
Shine,
A.J. (1975) Loch Morar Expedition. Report
Also, a safer
method of monitoring is introduced; underwater television. The T.V. camera
was mounted on the loch bed pointing upwards, to reveal
the full profile, in silhouette, of any animal swimming
above. The method will be tried exhaustively in 1976.
1975
In June the Academy of Applied Science obtained a series of underwater pictures using time lapse photography. The camera was suspended beneath a moored boat. The pictures looked like the bottom of the loch and debris. In a new edition of his book, however, Nick Witchell describes them with enthusiasm. The pictures include a ‘plesiosaur’ an ugly ‘gargoyle head ’and the ‘underbelly’ of an animal. At the time it was claimed that the camera was in mid water, too far above the loch bed for any confusion. Tim Dinsdale, who had observed the moored boat swinging inshore into shallow water attempted to restrain the investigators but was ignored. A scientific symposium has been arranged under the auspices of the Royal Society of Edinburgh but is cancelled, allegedly due to the publicity generated by Witchell’s forthcoming book. When it is published the ‘Flipper picture’ has been mysteriously turned upside down. It looks better that way to support the plesiosaur contention.
The journal Nature for 11th Dec 1975, publishes two of the 1972 ‘Flipper pictures’, allegedly computer enhanced, together with the sonar chart supposedly covering the event. Also presented is the suggested ‘whole body’ shot from 1975. The object is for Scott and Rines to name the Loch Ness Monster, Nessiteras Rhombopteryx,‘The Diamond Finned Wonder of Loch Ness’. A news conference in the afternoon of 10th Dec gives a press preview and David James arranges a presentation in a committee room at the House of Commons in the evening. The reception is cool.
Rines, R.H., Wyckoff, C.W., Edgerton,
H.E. and Klein, M. (1976). Search for the Loch Ness Monster.
Technology Review, March/April 1976 : 25 - 40
It has since been discovered that the camera mooring itself was in shallower water than claimed. In 1987 as part of Operation Deepscan a sunken tree stump was recovered from beneath the mooring position, which bears considerable resemblance to the gargoyle head picture.
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
(See pages
167-170)
In the second week of January, Sir Peter Scott receives unwelcome news. Witnesses from the boat’s crew operating the echo sounder producing the 1972 sonar trace accompanying the ‘Flipper picture’ write to tell him that the sonar transducer was not fixed to the loch bed as in the Academy diagram but swinging in mid water. Marty Klein, the Academy sonar expert had only made his comment that the trace showed a moving object on the basis that the transducer was actually fixed.
Worse, Allan Gillespie, who was supposed to have done the computer enhancement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California wrote to say that he was ‘deeply concerned’. He had not worked on the pictures published in Nature. They were not computer enhanced; they were retouched. In 1998, Charlie Wycoff, Bob Rines’ photographic expert, clarified the issue by drawing in the edges of the flipper which appeared to be retouched.
In the same week, Sir Peter receives an alternative underwater research proposal from Adrian Shine regarding the use of video at Loch Morar. He, together with David James becomes patron of the Loch Morar Expedition. He warns Shine about the recent embarrassment at Loch Ness.
The Loch Morar Expedition deploys its "silhouette
camera" for over a month. Because the images are
moving, they are seen in context, so there are no mistakes.
Shine,
A.J. (1976) Loch Morar Expedition. Report
At Loch Ness, the Academy's cameras are placed
beneath a securely anchored raft. There is no longer any
possibility of photographing the loch bed.
Klein, M. and Finklelstein, C. (1976).
Sonar serendipity in Loch Ness. Technology Review, Dec.
1976 : 44 -57
The National
Geographic Society also places cameras in ambush. At both
lochs, the vigils are un-rewarded.
Ellis,
W.S. (1977) Loch Ness - The Lake and the Legend. National
Geographic, June: 758-79
The
Indirect Approach
The underwater
photography era is over and thoughts are turning towards
the enigmatic sonar contacts that have been made from
time to time. By 1979 the "Loch Morar Expedition" has,
with the encouragement of David James, become "The Loch Ness and Morar Project" to work
at both lochs and turns to an active study of the environment,
in order to place the mystery in context. The Loch Ness
Investigation Bureau is wound up, transferring its material
and finances to the new Project.
The LNI directors
Norman Collins, David James and Sir Peter Scott become
Project patrons. From now on, the
investigators themselves would have to become proficient
naturalists, photo and sonar interpreters but above everything,
experts on the loch itself.
Shine,
A.J. (1980) Loch Ness & Morar Project. Report
1978 10th August
The Loch Ness and Morar Project finds an unexpected
variety of invertebrate animals 300m deep in the abyss
at Loch Morar. It was once thought that there was little
life here. Some of the species are Ice Age "relicts"
which find refuge in the cold water at these depths. The
Project will find a similar community of animals at 200m
in Loch Ness. Here, there are even some fish, Arctic charr
and lampreys.
Martin,
D.S., Shine, A.J. and Duncan, A. (1993) The Profundal
Fauna of Loch Ness and Loch Morar. Scottish Naturalist
105 : 113-136.
Shine,
A.J. (1983) Loch Ness & Morar Project. Report
Shine, A.J. (1983) The Biology of
Loch Ness. New Scientist 17th Feb.
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
1981 Summer
The "Loch Ness and Morar Project" completes
a special sonar patrol vessel, a 40ft catamaran based
on inflatable "sponsons". Called the "John
Murray" this vessel is built on a beach and will
be run 24hrs a day in silent patrols along the length
of the loch. The beginning of truly systematic assessment
of unusual sonar contacts begins. Underwater television
establishes that there are fish (Arctic charr) living
on the loch bed at 220m. One day the "John Murray"
will be reassembled at Drumnadrochit, where part of the
Loch Ness 2000 Exhibition will have to be built around
it!
1982 Summer
The Loch Ness Project records 1500hrs of patrols using scanning
sonar, like an underwater radar. It becomes clear that illusions
can occur underwater as well as on the surface. Rules are
established to assess contacts. Forty contacts of exceptional
strength and depth were recorded. Sometimes they seemed
to move.
Shine,
A.J. (1983) Loch Ness & Morar Project. Report
For the remainder
of the eighties, the Project refines sonar analysis.
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
1982
Jennifer Bruce saw no monster when she took
a photo of the castle but when developed, it showed a
sinuous head and neck. She had not noticed the seagull
flying by!
1983
The fiftieth anniversary of the Loch Ness Monster.
Ronald Binns was once a member of the Loch Ness Investigation
but his book takes a decidedly sceptical line.
Binns,
R. (1983) The Loch Ness Mystery Solved. Shepton Mallet
(Somerset) : Open Books.
1984 July
The Loch Ness Project establishes a fixed sonar station
in the centre of the southern basin in 170m of water. "The
Monitor" is a raft on a four point mooring involving nearly
2km of rope! This allowed
the scanning sonar to make more accurate plots of target
movements. However, the strongest contacts ceased.
1984 September
Steven Whittle, supported by Vladivar Vodka attempts to
trap the Loch Ness Monster in a 60ft by 20ft cage. He intends
to release it after photography.
1985
The Loch Ness Project establishes that the largest
sonar contacts in the loch are caused by huge underwater
waves and draws attention to the effects of these upon
objects floating on the surface. These waves were described
by Dr Steve Thorpe in 1972, and take place along the thermocline,
which is the boundary between the dense cold deep water
and the lighter warmer water floating on top. In the summer, the warmer water can be blown to
the northern end of the loch by the prevailing south-west
wind, tilting the thermocline in that direction. As the
wind drops, the warm water flows back and forth for some
weeks. When this happens, objects on the surface such
as logs can be borne along against the wind looking just
like swimming animals. Underwater, huge waves form on
the thermocline. The one measured in 1985 was 40m high.
They are invisible at the surface but make gigantic sonar
traces. This is probably what caused the strange contacts
made by Birmingham University in 1968.
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
(For extent of sonar reflections see pages 171-173.
For effects on floating objects with relevance to monster
sightings see page 170)
1986
Another sceptical book appears. Stewart Campbell
proposes alternative explanations for the sightings record
and other evidence.
Campbell,
S., (1986) The Loch Ness Monster, The Evidence. The Aquarian
Press, rev. ed. 1991, Aberdeen University Press
1986
The Project uses Simrad underwater television to explore Loch
Ness habitats.
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
1987 July
A symposium on The Loch Ness Monster is hosted by the International
Society of Cryptozoology and the Society for the History
of Natural History. The symposium, at the Royal Museum of
Scotland has contributions from; Richard Fitter, Roy Mackal,
Henry Bauer, Paul LeBlond, Adrian Shine, Robert Rines and
Tim Dinsdale.
1987 October
The Loch Ness Project's, "Operation Deepscan"
draws a "sonar curtain" along the loch. Twenty
vessels were equipped with Lowrance echo sounders
and formed a slow moving line. When interesting contacts
were made, a follow up flotilla moved up to plot the positions.
By revisiting these positions, it was possible to see whether
the objects had moved or whether they were buoyant debris,
tethered in some way to the loch bed. Most contacts were
fixed but three had disappeared, not 10m monsters but apparently
stronger than fish echoes and lying much deeper in the water
column. They are still unexplained, though one possibility
is that they were caused by some form of unrecognised interference
between the sounders. It could also be that some strong
deepwater contacts could be seals, which are now known to
visit the Loch Ness almost every year. The loch has been
swept for misleading contacts. It has also been swept clear
for science! A general scientific understanding of the environment
will shine unexpected lights into the controversy.
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
(See pages
185-192)
1988-91
Operation Echo is a follow up and is a collaboration
between The Loch Ness Project and Simrad, whose demonstration
vessel "Simson Echo" examined the fixed contacts found
by Operation Deepscan. A Sutec "Sea Owl" remote operated
vehicle is used.
Many other
exercises are undertaken, including the first quantitative
acoustic estimates of the fish population.
1990 Summer
The Loch Ness Project experiments with eyewitnesses. Volunteers
are asked to observe
and sketch an object surfacing. The results are interesting!
Shine,
A.J. (1993) Postscript: Surgeon or Sturgeon? Scottish
Naturalist 105 : 271-282.
(Page
277)
A fixed station
is established in the centre of the loch. It is used by
visiting university research groups collaborating with
the Project.
Shine,
A.J., Minshull, R.J. and Shine, M.M. (1993) Historical
background and Introduction to the Recent Work of The
Loch Ness and Morar Project. Scottish Naturalist 105:7-22.
1993
The Loch Ness Project completes sampling for
a three-year study of Loch Ness food chains by Lancaster
University. The Project also publishes a series of papers
in the Scottish Naturalist.
One of the more interesting findings,
is that there are only about 20 tonnes of fish available
as food for anything larger. There shouldn't be more than
2 tonnes of monster population, which is less than it
sounds.
Shine,
A.J., Martin, D.S. and Marjoram, R.S. (1993) Spatial Distribution
and Diurnal Migration of the Pelagic Fish and Zooplankton
in Loch Ness. Scottish Naturalist 105:195-235.
Shine,
A.J. (1993) Postscript: Surgeon or Sturgeon? Scottish
Naturalist 105 : 271-282.
(Pages
271-2)
1992-3
Nicholas Witchell's expedition, Project Urquhart,
involving the Natural History Museum and the Fresh Water
Biological Association finds even less fish (1.2 tonnes).
Bean, C.W., Winfield, I.J. and Fletcher,
J.M. (1996) Stock assessment of the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) population in Loch Ness, U.K. Stock Assessment in Inland Fisheries (Ed. I.
G. Cowx), Fishing News Books, Oxford: Blackwell, Scientific
Publications, pp. 206-223
Witchell,
N. (1993) The Scientific Exploration of Loch Ness. (Project
Urquhart Report)
They report
that the quantity of open water fish is "incapable of
supporting a population of predators". However, they have
found areas off river mouths where echo sounding suggests
very high numbers of fish. Subsequently these are recognised
as methane gas bubbles rising from decaying vegetation.
See also
Shine,
A.J. and Martin, D.S. (1988) Loch Ness Habitats Observed
by Sonar and Underwater Television. Scottish Naturalist
105:111-199.
(Pages 166-167)
and
Shine,
A.J. (1993) Postscript: Surgeon or Sturgeon? Scottish
Naturalist 105 : 271-282.
(Page 281)
In an address
to the Royal Geographical Society the next year, Prof.
Gwynfryn Jones of Project Urquhart will dismiss the possibility
of large predators on the basis of the loch's food resource
and in 2000, Nicholas Witchell will announce that he doesn't
believe there is a monster in Loch Ness.
1993
December
Things have come a long way. The huge multi-humped sightings
have been explained. Long necked sightings are often water
birds or swimming deer. A host of illusions above and
below the water have now been analysed in detail. It has
just been shown that the loch cannot support a resident
population of very large predators. Yet elements of the
sighting record are still compelling, particularly close
encounters before the sensation of 1933.
Roy Mackal,
in America was tackling a similar dilemma, not only regarding
Loch Ness, but also sightings in some North American river
systems. He suggests something related to an extinct primitive
whale Zeuglodon cetoides which had a serpentine form and
could be migratory in behaviour.
In the Scottish
Naturalist, Adrian Shine proposes a way that both sides
can be almost right. Early stories of strange fish and
perhaps even the water horse tradition could conceivably
have some foundation in fact, irrespective of the food
resources in the loch. Very rarely, sturgeon have entered
British rivers to spawn. These huge reptilian looking
fish can grow to more than 3m long and would cease feeding
before entering freshwater. They have never been known
to breed in Britain. Therefore, any sturgeon entering
the loch would spend a lonely vigil off one of the rivers
before returning to the sea, leaving no trace save an
enigma. The native Atlantic sturgeon is now almost extinct,
so it would be an unlikely candidate for contemporary
sightings but in terms of the late nineteenth century
"strange fish" it may have something to offer. In 1934, Gould had found the sturgeon idea
quite attractive in terms of a real creature being responsible
for the phenomenon but it clearly didn't explain many
of the sighting reports, especially the long necked plesiosaur
stereotype. But did it have to?
Shine,
A.J. (1993) Postscript: Surgeon or Sturgeon? Scottish
Naturalist 105 : 271-282.
1994 April
The famous long necked icon of 1934, the "Surgeon's
Photograph", is exposed as a hoax. In a collaboration
between the Loch Ness Centre (now Loch Ness 2000),
David Martin of the Loch Ness Project and the sightings
expert Alistair Boyd, a detective story unfolded which was
to rival the affair of the Piltdown Man. The photograph showed a model constructed by the
Wetherell family of hippo foot fame. The surgeon, Kenneth
Wilson, was a stooge. He had actually confessed as much,
at least twice but Nessie authors ignored him.
Martin,
D. and Boyd, A. (1999) Nessie : The Surgeon's Photograph
Exposed. London : Martin
& Boyd
1994
The ROSETTA Project drives 6m sediment cores through the
whole span of human civilisation, into the clays left
by the melting ice. The whole history of the loch is there,
like an open book. There is no sign of marine diatoms,
which indicates that the sea could not have entered Loch
Ness at the end of the last Ice Age. The ROSETTA corer
is now in the Loch Ness Centre.
Cooper, M.C., O'Sullivan, P.E.,
Harkness, D.D., Lawson, E.M., Bull, D., Kemp, A.E.S.,
Peglar, S.M., Matthews, N.M., Jones, R.I. and Shine, A.J.
(1998) 14C Dating of laminated sediments from Loch Ness,
Scotland. Radiocarbon,
Vol 40, No2 : 781-793.
1997
The Loch Ness Project, in collaboration with
Simrad, use colour TV cameras to re-explore the
loch's habitats all the way down to 230m. The footage
will be used in a new exhibition being prepared at Drumnadrochit. (Loch Ness 2000)
2000
In return for the Exhibition Centre’s continuing support, the Loch Ness Project draw together the findings and original artefacts from the years of controversy.
Written and designed by the Project leader Adrian Shine, the “Loch Ness 2000 Exhibition” is opened by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. This radical investigation brings the mystery up to date, examining the monster question by exploring the loch itself.
2002
The Project’s Operation Groundtruth in collaboration with Cabaco Inc. discovers a debris field around the crash site of John Cobb’s speed record attempt craft, Crusader. Also, we discover the wreck of a Zulu class fishing vessel. These were the last Scottish offshore fishing vessels to work under sail.
In collaboration with Simrad, we use two swaith multi-beam sonars in the most extensive hydrographic survey of the loch. The survey took 54.3 million soundings. The maximum depth of 225m lies in the North Basin. This is only 2m less than found our previous survey with Bentech in 1991
2006
1st Nov.'Why the Loch Ness Monster is no Plesiosaur'. The New Scientist reports the findings of Dr. Leslie Noe of Cambridge University's Sedgewick Museum, that plesiosaurs could not raise their necks like a stereotype Nessie. He told a meeting in Canada of the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology, 'The osteology of the neck makes it certain the plesiosaur could not lift its head up, swan like, above the water.'
2016
In collaboration with a team from Kongsberg Maritime led by Craig Wallace, we discover the sunken monster prop from the 1969 film, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. An autonomous underwater vehicle, Munin allows far higher resolution of underwater topography and loch bed objects than previously.
2018
We participate in an environmental DNA survey of Loch Ness led by Prof. Neil Gemmell of The University of Otago. The Loch Ness Centre vessel Deepscan is provided for the deepwater sampling.On Sept.5th, 2019, Prof. Gemmell holds a news conference at the Loch Ness Centre to announce the results. There is no reptilian DNA in the loch. Of the current fish candidates for the monster, the survey cannot exclude sturgeon as they are migratory and would be unlikely to be present at the time of the survey. One or two long lived surviving wels catfish might not leave enough DNA for detection. The theory of common eels not migrating to the sea but becomming gigantic 'eunuch' eels surfaces again. But, of course, the abundant eel DNA would be exactly the same as for all the other eels. Thus, the eDNA survey could neither confirm nor refute any of the current 'lateral thinking' basket of fish candidates!
2019
Craig Wallace brings Munin back to Loch Ness, and we discover the remarkably intact aft section of Crusader at a depth of 200m.
Copyright Adrian Shine
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