The Sino-Russian joint scientific expedition on Lake Baikal, the world's deepest and largest freshwater lake, officially kicked off on Saturday.

It is believed to be the largest ever joint scientific expedition  between China and Russia. A total of 43 scientists and journalists, including 20 foreigners, took two expedition ships and began the research work on the lake. The whole expedition will end at the end of this month.

The scope of study for the current expedition includes zoology and environment, water lives, lake environment, regional economy, remote sensing and geographic information of the lake.

Located in southern Siberia, the lake, with a depth of 1,620 meters, lies between the Irkutsk Oblast on the northwest and Buryatia on the southeast. It was put on the world natural heritage list by the United Nations in 1996.

(CRI August 14, 2005)