Scientist Finally Complete Detailed Map of The Wreck Site
RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,517 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909-11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried over 2,200 people – 1,316 passengers and about 900 crew. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.
URL Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic
RMS Titanic – Wikipedia Used under ‘Fair Use’ for historic summary in this article.
Titanic’s Bow
When Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, it’s stern and bow sections separated. The two pieces came to rest roughly 2,000 feet apart from one another on the ocean floor, 2.3 miles below the surface of the North Atlantic.
With the 100th anniversary of Titanic’s sinking approaching, a team consisting of scientist, engineers and imaging experts are joining forces to discover “How the “unsinkable’ ship broke apart and sank 2 and a half miles below the ocean’s surface. The ‘Titanic Incident’ event occurred on April 15th, 1912. On April 15th at 8pm ET, the History Channel is going to air a special “Titanic at 100: Mystery Solved”. This will portain to the mission, capturing of high-tech mapmaking process, unveiling of incredible pieces of wreckage that has never been seen before, and the expedition’s findings will be presented.
Wreck Site Map From 2010 Expedition
A collaboration between various partners, the 2010 expedition to the Titanic wreck site produced the first comprehensive map of the 15-square-mile debris field. AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) and an ROV (remote operated vehicle) were used in conjunction to harness cutting-edge 2-D, 3-D and sonar technology.
In 1985, the RMS Titanic wreck was discovered off the coast of Newfoundland. However, even after quarter of a century, nearly half of the wreck had been unexplored. However, during the 2010 expodition, experts equipped with sonar technology and high-resolution cmeras mapped the debris field in its entirety. They captured 15 square miles of the ocean floor llttered with artifacts that are large and small. The previous surveys explored 60 percent of the area, but they left out significant pieces of the sunken ship and limited conclusions regarding Titanic’s sinking to theories, conjecture and land-based studies.
The Deckhouse Debris
The so-called deckhouse debris, a pile of rubble located at a significant distance from the rest of the wreckage, was of particular interest to the analysts during the 2010 expedition. Containing the base of Titanic’s third funnel and surrounding decks, this piece and its location in relation to other elements helped experts reconstruct how the ship broke apart.
The Discovery expedition’s participants generated a map that was not only more complete but m also more precise than earlier attempts. Although there had been dozens of expeditions to Titanic, no prevoius survey has created a comprehensive site survey map of the Titanic wreck site. They only covered a portion of the wreck site, since they could only stay down for so long. Key information was lost, when experts from previous expeditions fused together these disparate slices back on the surface. This included the exact locations of artifacts and fragments.
The debris field
This composite image, released by RMS Titanic Inc., and made from sonar and more than 100,000 photos taken in 2010 from the unmanned, underwater robots, shows a small portion of a comprehensive map of the 3-by-5-mile debris field surrounding the stern of the Titanic on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. Picture: AP / RMS Titanic Inc.
Pieces of Titanic’s Double Bottom
Once a single piece encasing the hull, Titanic’s double bottom is thought to have split apart after the ship broke in half. It has otherwise remained relatively intact over the last century.
Titanic’s Stern and Surrounding Debris
A cloud of debris lies beside Titanic’s stern, containing remnants of the galley and upper decks, three baggage cranes, boilers and cylinders, among numerous other pieces. This zone is considered “ground zero” of the sinking, which is thought to have occurred directly above the area.
The “Bigger Piece”
Salvaged in 1998, the 15-ton “Big Piece” is featured in Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Las Vegas, analyst dubbed the larger chunk of wreckage encompassing several decks the “Bigger Piece” for this reason.
Cover of Titanic’s Number-One Cargo Hatch
Located at the far edge of the debris field beyond the bow, the cover of Titanic’s number-one cargo hatch is thought to have blown off the ship when water burst out of the bow as it slammed into the ocean floor.
Funnel Remains
The remains of one of Titanic’s funnels have been positively identified, buried in the sand with only the black band around its top having survived. An entire set of whistles is still attached to it.
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