World's deepest and oldest lake shows off its underwater action at 200 metres

Currently two out of four cameras are broadcasting online permanently, showing to the world the fish and flora in the famous lake. 

Baikal Museum expert Alik Badardinov said: 'It is of great scientific interest what is happening there. 

'The cameras are long-term and day to day - summer, winter, fall, spring. They will record information all the time.' 

The 200 metre (656 ft) cameras are on the museums website and can be accessed here.

Earlier cameras had been recording underwater life at a depth of 5 metres, but this broadcast has now ceased. The pictures show how the cameras were installed by divers.

A total of 15 cameras are intended to show scientists and anyone interested in Baikal the panoply of life at a depth of 200 metres in a lake which contains thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are unique to its waters. 

The crescent-shaped rift lake is located in southern Siberia and contains around 20% of the world's unfrozen surface freshwater. 

Larger in surface area than Belgium, it contains more water than all the North American Great Lakes combined. Its maximum depth is 1,642 metres (5,387 ft).

It has existed for 25 million years and is considered the oldest as well as the deepest lake on the planet. Lake Baikal has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Baikal Museum is part of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.