By Tim Binnall
A state-of-the-art holographic camera captured photos of various 'micro-monsters' lurking in the waters of Loch Ness. The enlightening project was reportedly the result of a collaboration between the Loch Ness Centre tourist attraction and researchers from the University of Aberdeen School of Engineering. The latter group developed the device, dubbed the weeHoloCam, that is "capable of producing several thousand digital holographic images of microscopic marine organisms in one dive." Keen to see how the camera would perform in fresh water for the first time, the researchers reached out to the Loch Ness Centre, which worked with them to deploy it at the famed Scottish site.
Although they initially suspected that the water might be too murky for the camera to capture anything of interest, the team ultimately wound up rather pleased with the results of the experiment. After lowering the device to a depth of around 650 feet, the university's Dr Thangavel Thevar marveled, the group was "able to see lots of interesting particles which, by working with biologists, should be able to give us more information about the biodiversity of Loch Ness." While the images captured are not those of the site's famed monster, Nagina Ishaq of the Loch Ness Centre explained that the project was part of an overarching effort to "encourage researchers to come here and to find out more about what is in the Loch, because there is so much we don't know."