PENANG, August 2015 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is going to create history for the first time in exploring the deep and dark zone of Temenggor Lake, Perak in the near future.

Temenggor, the second largest man-made lake in Malaysia after Kenyir Lake, has a depth of up to 100 metres, and prior researches had only been made on its surface (up to 10m).

The research which is led by Profesor Dr. Mashhor Mansor, who lectures at the School of Biological Sciences (PPSK) USM and with more than 30 years’ experience in studying biological diversity in lakes and rivers worldwide, would be done in collaboration with partners from various countries especially those from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

LIPI has a broad expertise concerning aspects of hydrology and comparative study on lakes, other than the experience in doing researches in Indonesia, which has more than 800 lakes, mostly natural ones.

Mashhor said, research on the dark zone of a tropical lake has never been done yet, as it is very difficult and requires the best equipment and a deep knowledge and understanding.

According to him, there are many mysteries and secrets within the depths of 90 metres and more and this research would try to answer questions on the possibility of the existence of living things and microorganisms at the lake bottom.

“This research is very important as the combination of the best talents coming from various countries would result in the identification of species at the far bottom of the lake, which lacks oxygen and light,” he said.

He said this at the press conference in conjunction with the seminar entitled “The Study on Depth Profiles of Dark Zone in Temenggor Lake: The First in a Tropical Area” here recently.

The Dean of PPSK, Associate Professor Dr. Ahmad Sofiman Othman and Director of LIPI Research Centre for Limnology, Dr. Tri Widiyanto were also present.

Mashhor also said that, the findings from this study would contribute to the essential information which could be accessed by the public and more specifically the researchers throughout the world.

Furthermore he said, the research outcomes would be documented and published by the end of this year, other than becoming a 'blue-print' to be submitted to the government authorities and various parties to better understand the ecosystem of the lake in whole.

“Until recently, academic texts on lakes would refer to researches done on lakes in seasonal regions such as in Europe and the USA, not in tropical areas where the conditions are totally different,” he said.

He stated further, the local and South-East Asian expertise in the field of ecology and biologically diverse ecosystems are comparable to others around the world in conducting researches, such as in facilitating the management of lakes and rivers for sustainability and continuity in the future.

Ahmad Sofiman, who is also involved in the research then said, the lake is a complex ecosystem and a thorough understanding and research is necessary to know more of the overall process concerning the lake.

“We need to know the interior and exterior aspects of the lake in order to create an effective management system for the lake, to ensure the continuous preservation of its biodiversity and a thorough understanding of the ecosystem. This could also assist the researchers in understanding various aspects in relation to the lake, such as its relevance to natural disasters such as floods, death of organisms on its surface, and toxic pollution among others.”

Others who would be involved in the research team include those from Louisiana State University (LSU) (USA), Tsukuba University (Japan), Cantho University (Vietnam), Mahidol University (Thailand), Yezin Agriculture University (Myanmar) and Busan University (Korea).

Translation: Tan Ewe Hoe/Text: Marziana Mohd Alias/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa