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Experts are still analyzing their newly made 3-D maps of the Titanic shipwreck site, but they can already see that the great ship’s breakup was messier than most folks, including "Titanic" film director James Cameron, may have thought. “It wasn’t quite the way Cameron showed it in his movie,” expedition co-leader Dave Gallo observed.
In a post-expedition interview, Gallo said the fates of the 1,517 people who died in the 1912 tragedy were never far from his mind — especially when a doll’s arm turned up on the HD video from the seafloor.
Gallo and his colleagues spent weeks sailing back and forth between the research vessel Jean Charcot's port in St. John's, Newfoundland, and the North Atlantic spot where the Titanic went down. The expedition was interrupted by two hurricanes, Danielle and Igor, leading to last week's earlier-than-expected end.
Gallo, a researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, said he considered this the first purely scientific mission to the Titanic since the original survey of the site in the mid-1980s. Numerous voyages have been conducted in the intervening quarter-century, but "all of those have had science as a sidebar," Gallo told me.
"The primary mission of most of those was either recovery of artifacts, by RMS Titanic, or adventure tourism, with Deep Ocean Adventures," he observed. "Sure, they all came back with exciting images, but was that science? No."
Chris Davino, president of RMS Titanic Inc., said the past month's expedition was aimed at bringing together experts in deep-sea diving and salvaging with the scientific experts from Woods Hole, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and elsewhere. "It resonated more with me when I was out there that what we did will have real implications for deep-sea exploration and wreck-site archaeology," Davino told me. "The tools that these experts brought to bear are game-changing."
The expedition's primary aim was to use robotic vehicles equipped with cameras and sonar devices to create unprecedented maps of the Titanic. The survey covereed a 3-by-5-mile area — with high-resolution, 3-D mapping of the central 1-by-1.5-mile box. "We achieved our primary objective," Davino said.
So far, the biggest surprise has to do with how spread out the debris was. Gallo said he expected to see one or two well-defined debris trails, but "the breakup was a little more complicated than that." Unlike the largely intact (and iconic) bow section, the back section of the ship was "absolutely mangled by its trip to the bottom," he said.
"It's almost like you cracked it open and spilled everything out," Gallo said. "You see pieces of the engine, boilers ... where we thought there might be one or two big things, we found five. ... When we start to piece together how Titanic actually made its way to the bottom, those pieces will be key."
The maps now being created will precisely pinpoint all those big pieces, so that future researchers (including Gallo, if he has his way) will be able to gauge how the site has changed over time. Gallo noted that the wreck was constantly pounded by deep-ocean currents that were stronger than the experts expected. "I don't know if 'sandblasted' is the word, but it's certainly being buffeted," he said.
The 3-D survey mapped huge dunes of sediment as well as giant boulders that were "more than likely carried by icebergs," Gallo said. Could one of those boulders have come from the iceberg that Titanic ran into? There's no way of knowing.
Gallo thought the survey would turn up many more personal effects than it did — but there were still ample reminders of the tragedy that occurred 98 years ago on that "night to remember." Like that porcelain arm from a child's doll, or a bowler hat sitting by itself on the seafloor.
"Just when you feel like you're lulled into this quiet world, you get this jolt from Neptune that this is also the resting place of this wonderful ship. ... At bottom, it is a gravesite," Gallo said.
RMS Titanic Inc. has exclusive rights to salvage the Titanic, and it has incorporated thousands of recovered artifacts into traveling exhibitions to turn a profit — but not without controversy along the way. During this expedition, not a single artifact was brought up, although the more than 50 hours' worth of high-definition 3-D video will no doubt be used in commercial as well as scientific applications. "Just seeing the bow in 3-D provided new perspective," Davino told me. "You literally felt as if you were walking on the deck of the ship."
Davino said he and his colleagues haven't yet decided whether or not to retrieve artifacts during future expeditions.
"I'm open-minded to the possibilities on both sides," he told me. "It has to really start with an understanding of what the wreck site holds today — what its condition is likely to be over the course of time, how best to preserve Titanic's legacy. Should it remain in its current form, a sanctuary? Certain people — other than me, people from the government and other sectors that have been opposed to salvage operations generally — suggest that it might be appropriate to target the mailroom, or some personal effects, to bring up more about the passengers, to tell more about their stories if those items are going to be otherwise lost."
What do you think? Should the Titanic be left alone, to rust away into nothingness during the years and decades to come? Or should more of its remains be gathered up, in cooperation with scientists and historians? Feel free to weigh in with your comments below.
More about the Titanic:
- Postings about the Titanic expedition on Cosmic Log
- Reports from NBC News' Kerry Sanders on World Blog
- Expedition Titanic website
- RMS Titanic's Facebook page, Twitter feed, Flickr site, YouTube channel
- Blog postings from the Waitt Institute
Join the Cosmic Log corps by signing up as my Facebook friend or hooking up on Twitter. And if you really want to be friendly, ask me about "The Case for Pluto."
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Bring as much of it up as possible to save what is left. The bodies are long gone, but their legacy and stories can still live.
I absolutely agree!
"Bring as much of it up as possible to save what is left. The bodies are long gone, but their legacy and stories can still live."
It sounds to me like boiler explosions tore the back section of the ship up as it went under. That would defiinitely make things messier on the bottom. Maybe it was those tremendous explosions which kept the lifeboats from attempting more rescues on that ill fated night.
Rick Carter-XLEagle1 - You make a valid point there. One can only imagine the magnitude of the explosions created as the icy Atlantic waters rushed in and flooded those monster size heated boilers. Surely must have been catastrophic.
I agree, bring up everything that isn't nailed down.
We gain nothing by leaving anything down there to rot.
They have found pairs of shoes side by side on the bottom
That is all that is left of the bodies-there aren't any.
Put a hollow block of ice around it , start a shirt sleeves
atmosphere inside, send commercial subs with paying
tourists down to look around and take pics.
You would make a mint- maybe even enough to raise
the sections.
It's not always about money. Let it rest. Some are saying there is nothing to gain by leaving it on the bottom, what is it you hope to gain by bringing it up? To satisfy some morbid fascination with the death of over a thousand people? The story of the Titanic will always be with us, no need to parade the relics from those lost souls.
Strikes me as sad that there are those that want to profit off the misfortune of others.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see an accounting of how much various insurance companies have paid out to date on claimed losses of documented but never proven lost cargo and personal items?
Why can't they just blow a hole in the thing and get into the forward boiler and engine area. It seems
obvious they can't go in from the top due to all the unknowns.
The only way to see the still hypothetical gash is to get in there. Otherwise what eles can they do
to actually find out.
Let the dead rest. This particular shipwreck has no other historical significance beyond the interest of fans of the various books and movies created about it. Why risk the lives and money in bringing up "artifacts" that are of such minimal historical value? Sheesh, even as we type this, the sinking is less than 100 years old. Spend the money on something of real historical value (and something that isn't as risky as salvaging something thousands of feet below the stormy North Atlantic).
it will always be about money
I agree with those who say salvage everything we can. There is no benefit to letting it sit on the bottom and rust away.
Up to and including the time of the initial finding of the Titanic's final resting place it had been stated that there would be no disturbance or artifact collecting. Well... we can all see how long that touchy-feely sentiment lasted, can't we? It didn't take too long at all to breech that most reverent thought at all, did it? May as well unleash the rest of the profiteering dogs and run amuck. They can all swaddle themselves in the comfort of empty words later. Obviously there is no need at all to justify spending the massive amount of money needed to continue this grand adventure. It certainly will be interesting to see the volumous amount of scientific research gathered from scraping up the remains. Surely it must be important to those in high places. Otherwise the 'salvaging of artifacts' not even a hundred years old would be nipped in the bud and the funds better spent elsewhere. Bottom line is - It IS all about money.
Enough is enough with the Titanic. There is nothing more to learn or talk about, and thats why it's time to make money on the wreck. Time to move on and let it go.
Yeah! Jay!
Spoken like a TRUE Capitalist!!
Like a TRUE greedy Capitalist PIG.
A TRUE greedy Capitalist PIG who has no more morals than a tse-tse fly.
How much longer, then, do we wait to make $$ of the wreckage from the World Trade Center? got to be pieces of office equipment, desks, light fixtures, etc... Oh, should we consider the 3,000+ people who were killed there?? same difference - just more recent...
It should be allowed to rest in peace. It is a solemn final resting place for those who trusted their lives to fools. No recovery efforts can be justified on the basis of furthering archeological science. The only intent is to satisfy some morbid curiosities and capitalize on these expositions. The very background of the Titanic's discovery sullies the altruistic nature of the folks wanting to recover artifacts. The men on the sunken submarines Ballard used to finance his Titanic discovery deserved as much, if not more, recognition as those people on the Titanic. Ballard's career soared, the balance of "discoverers" enjoyed unfettered access to the Titanic, and no one speaks of the lost submarines and their legacy. These submarines were also manned by men who trusted their lives to fools. The real story is who were the fools, what did they know, and what did they think they knew? That's the value in these discoveries. That's the salvage that should be taken. Those are the records to be recovered and they are not in the depth of the oceans but in the halls of corporations.
I can understand why some would feel drawn to look at artifacts connected to those who drowned on the Titanic, and it has nothing to do with morbid curiosity. These things make the victims and their experiences more tangible, and give us a connection to them. Saying that 1500 people died is a statistic. Seeing a doll, or a shoe, or a watch that a living, breathing human being used or loved - adds a dimension to the story that dry facts cannot. In the news recently, the wreckage of a WW2 plane was found in a remote region, and a watch was found in the wreckage. It was eventually returned to one of the crash victims relatives, and it gave them a connection to this man who many of them never knew. The scope of the Titanic disaster makes it more than just a matter for immediate relations to be involved in. It touches on the humanity and mortality of all of us, and seeing that doll or shoe or watch or plate - brings that home.
One of the most fascinating and tragic events of history, let the pictures be enough to remember her by.
I can understand salvaging a few artifacts from the wreck, for posterity's sake, but let the dead rest in peace. If anything of "value" is left (contents of a safe), perhaps that would be worth the effort, but otherwise, this sad site should remain undisturbed, as any other cemetery.
Let the Dead Rest in Peace...have we not learned from desecrating the tombs of other civilizations and periods of history? We have brought up enough artifacts to prove that it is in fact the Titanic, that is all we should ever do with these wrecks, whether they be civilian or military, they are still graveyards, and we don't go around digging up cemeteries looking for artifacts, we have progressed beyond grave robbing, or should have.
Well, it's not a shrine, but it is a cemetary. It's an icon, for sure. But, what's to be gained from retrieving more pieces and parts? Is it going to better anyone's life? Will it contribute to society? Is it scientifically relevant? Will it make anyone "feel" better about the tragedy?
No, but it might generate an income stream. Worst reason in the world to bring up any of it after all these years. The story and legends surrounding the Titanic will always be fascinating, but, unless profit is your SOLE motive, there's no point in retrieving it. I'd just leave it be, let the sea have what it claimed all those years ago.
Let it be. As others have pointed out, there's really nothing to be gained but money by bringing up more items, etc. There are interesting and valuable items buried in every cemetery in the world. That doesn't mean we should start digging them up. The only difference here is that it's water instead of dirt covering the area.
Hans, I couldn't agree more. It is not a morbid curiosity that has me interested in seeing the artifacts, it is the real life connnection. Isn't it the same when people go to Ground Zero? It makes you feel. I know for some it is about the money, as it always will be for some. We must remember though that the documentation of this ship and the information learned about it has come at a price. We are more knowledgable about the Titanic and that was not cheap information. (granted James Cameron made a mint!) I don't like to see things disappear forever. I understand people passed in the ship, but history is so important. Yes, it may only be less then 100 years, but if we wait, there may not be anything left.
How would you feel Heather then if someone took pieces from Ground Zero, put them in a show and charged money so that people could look at them? Oh and those profits are not going to any of the families of those that perished... It isn't about preserving history, that's a crock.
A huge ship for it's time, made with what we now know were inferior materials, hit an iceberg and sank. It is a tragedy to be sure. But, our ships today are no longer built like this and the "scientific" explorations don't further our knowledge of what we need to do today to improve passenger safety.
If they truly want to do something to help the people travelling today, send those same ships and scientists further south into the Atlantic to find the plane that crashed last summer that was never found.
Does anyone even remember it? Air France flight 447, June 2009. Big plane, Airbus A330,trans-Atlantic flight, 216 passengers, 12 crew. Sure, they looked for it, but it was so far out that they couldn't get there in time to rescue anyone. They found some oil in the water and some floating seats. Find out what happened there and improve the safety of air travel for all of us.
well we had better quit digging in egypt ...mummies were people...the artifacts in the museums were someones personal posessions at a point in time just much further back.
museums are full of graveyard artifacts and we still go to see them.
Seriously, it's different and you know it. A great civilization vanishes, that holds historical significance.
We know what happened to Titanic. Maybe not all of the details of how it broke apart, but we have a good picture. Now they are making money.
Study something that happened a year ago, to an aircraft still in use today, and save lives.
I would lean more on the side of bringing up the artifacts so they don't perish...but I understand the arguments to the contrary, that it's crass to make money off the tragedy of others. I would prefer that these artifacts are placed into a museum or traveling display with permanent free admission to the public...one supported entirely by benefactors, one designed only to educate and increase our connection to the people of the past.
I saw the traveling exhibit on the Titanic that is mentioned in this article! And it was one of the most FABULOUS "museum" exhibits I have ever experienced. As you entered the exhibit, you were given a "boarding pass" with the name of one of the passengers on the Titanic and a very brief background on the person....and after going through the entire exhibit (including a huge glob of ice to give the impression of the tip of the iceberg maintained at the temperature of the ice that fateful night) at the exit you found out if your passenger survived or not. It was absolutely amazing the emotional buy-in that bringing the Titanic down to the individual person had. The day I went, several people were teary-eyed, having learned that their passenger had perished.
I say - bring whatever you can up ...this is more than history ...the artifacts are the legacy of 1,517 unsuspecting people who made history and who were sacrificed by a failed philosophy that man could conquer science.
I have very mixed feelings about this issue. On the one hand I went to see one of the exhibitions of Titanic's artifacts. It was amazing to see the china, wine bottles, cutlery and furnishings still intact after such a catastrophic event. But then conversely....I remember when Dr. Ballard found the remains of Titanic. He said for a moment there was much jubilation over the success of finding her after all those years....but the celebrations soon grew quiet as the members of the expedition team realized the epic proportions of the tragedy they were viewing on monitors.
I suppose if some items could by chance be given to relatives of victims to in some way show this person really did live and had hopes and dreams....then maybe that would make things a bit more palatable to me. But mostly it's just a site of great sadness. We need to take care at that place and show respect for the souls whose grave is in those cold deep waters.
I agree with you...couldn't have said it better.
If my loved ones had perished in this ship, I would want personal effects to be brought up in hopes of recovering something from that loved one, and for posterity. Otherwise I would want the ship left there as a gravesite.