White Sea · Russia · Ice · Wall
Biofilter Bay
Ice hummocks under a cliff shaped like a mammoth
Biofilter Bay is a small bay that cuts far into the shore near Nilmoguba, sheltered on one side by steep cliffs, one of them shaped like a mammoth. A rock wall drops into a silted bottom with almost no current, and in winter the bay is dived under the sea ice for the hummocks and ice formations along the cliffs.
Also known as Biofilters Bay.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows White Sea and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The dive follows the vertical rock wall of the bay down to 7-8 m. Below it the slope flattens and runs out into a silted seabed at 12-15 m. The sea anemone Cerianthus lloydii, the nudibranch Coryphella verrucosa and cod live in the bay.
In winter the same bay is dived beneath the sea ice next to the steep cliffs. The ice formations here are the reason to come, and the picturesque ice hummocks below the mammoth-shaped cliff are known to many underwater photographers.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows White Sea: Ice diving runs February to April while the sea ice holds; summer diving is by speedboat, with the water warmest in July.
Sources
- Dive sites — The Arctic Circle Dive Centre
- Diving in the White Sea — Off Beaten Waves
- Ice Diving in the White Sea — X-Ray Mag
More dive sites in White Sea
Pinnacle
A lone rock carpeted in plumose anemones
A kelp-topped wall falling into deep water
Deep anemone and soft-coral colonies far out from Nilmoguba
Sea angels drifting over a kelp forest
Kelp forest
Fucus shallows above a slope into deep water
Wreck
A Yaroslavets diving boat from a biological station
Reef
Rare Gorgon's head brittle stars among Arctic soft corals
Channel & pass
Sponge and hydroid gardens fed by a strong tidal flow
Similar dives elsewhere
Bays here only appeared as the glaciers pulled back
A nerpa pup swimming alongside divers at a seal hole in the ice
Two glaciers head this 26 km fjord off Ny-Ålesund
A tidal current keeps this glacier-backed bay ice-free