MOSCOW, July 17 (UPI) -- A team of Russian scuba researchers have launched an expedition in hopes of setting new records in the seas near the Arctic Circle.
The "Seas of Russia" project involves cold-water diving in an effort to test new equipment and study local marine life.
Headed by Dmitry Shiller, the underwater scientists will mostly record data about flora and fauna of coastal waters.
The team of divers descended 111 meters (364 feet) into the Arctic Circle's Barents Sea this week, Sputnik News reported.
The expedition was launched by a group of scuba divers from Kazan headed by Shiller, and based 500 miles east of Moscow. The mission also involves testing domestically produced new breathing equipment and examining the impact of such depths on the human body.
The researchers will continue "to test new underwater equipment developed by the Russian holding company Termodinamika, a subsidiary of the Rostec state corporation," Russia Beyond the Headlines reported.
The gear allows them to work underwater at subzero temperatures for several hours, according to the manufacturer's press service.
Apart from conducting their research, the divers installed a monument to Russian sailors who died defending the region during World War II.
