The mysterious 1912 sinking of the luxury passenger liner, the Titanic, has long served as a source of fascination for many.
Historians now believe that a new underwater scanning project may provide answers to some of the unanswered questions regarding the tragedy that killed more than 1,500 people.
A team of scientists have used deep sea mapping to create “an exact ‘Digital Twin’ of the Titanic wreck for the first time,” according to a press release Wednesday from deep sea investigators Magellan and filmmakers Atlantic Productions.
By carrying out the “largest underwater scanning project in history,” scientists have managed to “reveal details of the tragedy and uncover fascinating information about what really happened to the crew and passengers on that fateful night” of April 14, 1912, the press release said.
Scans of the wreck were carried out in the summer of 2022 by a specialist ship stationed 700 km (435 miles) off the coast of Canada, according to the release. Tight protocols prohibited team members from touching or disturbing the wreck which investigators stressed was treated with the “utmost of respect.”
Every millimeter of its three-mile debris field was mapped in minute detail, the press statement said. The final digital replica has succeeded in capturing the entire wreck including both the bow and stern section, which had separated upon sinking in 1912.
One such example can be found on the propeller where the serial number can be seen for the first time in decades.
Roughly 715,000 images and 16 terabytes of data were gathered during the expedition – which Magellan estimates to be “approximately ten times larger than any underwater 3D model that’s ever been attempted before,” Magellan CEO Richard Parkinson said.
Parkinson described the mission as “challenging,” referencing the team’s fight against “the elements, bad weather, and technical challenges.”
Whereas previous optical images of the ship were limited by low light level and the poor light quality 12,500 feet below water, the new mapping technique has “effectively taken away the water and let in the light,” the press release said.
According to 3D capture specialist Gerhard Seiffert, the “highly accurate photorealistic 3D model” has enabled people to zoom out and look at the entire wreck “for the first time.”
“This is the Titanic as no one had ever seen it before,” Seiffert added.
Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before
Titanic departing Southampton on 10 April 1912
By Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis
BBC News Climate and Science
17 May 2023
The world's most famous shipwreck has been revealed as never seen before.
The first full-sized digital scan of the Titanic, which lies 3,800m (12,500ft) down in the Atlantic, has been created using deep-sea mapping.
It provides a unique 3D view of the entire ship, enabling it to be seen as if the water has been drained away.
The hope is that this will shed new light on exactly what happened to the liner, which sank on 15 April 1912.
More than 1,500 people died when the ship struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
"There are still questions, basic questions, that need to be answered about the ship," Parks Stephenson, a Titanic analyst, told BBC News.
He said the model was "one of the first major steps to driving the Titanic story towards evidence-based research - and not speculation."
The Titanic has been extensively explored since the wreck was discovered in 1985.
But it's so huge that in the gloom of the deep, cameras can only ever show us tantalizing snapshots of the decaying ship - never the whole thing.
The new scan captures the wreck in its entirety, revealing a complete view of the Titanic.
It lies in two parts, with the bow and the stern separated by about 800m (2,600ft). A huge debris field surrounds the broken vessel.
The scan was carried out in summer 2022 by Magellan Ltd, a deep-sea mapping company, and Atlantic Productions, who are making a documentary about the project.
Submersibles, remotely controlled by a team on board a specialist ship, spent more than 200 hours surveying the length and breadth of the wreck.
They took more than 700,000 images from every angle, creating an exact 3D reconstruction.
Magellan's Gerhard Seiffert, who led the planning for the expedition, said it was the largest underwater scanning project he'd ever undertaken.
"The depth of it, almost 4,000m, represents a challenge, and you have currents at the site, too - and we're not allowed to touch anything so as not to damage the wreck," he explained.
"And the other challenge is that you have to map every square centimetre - even uninteresting parts, like on the debris field you have to map mud, but you need this to fill in between all these interesting objects."
The scan shows both the scale of the ship, as well as some minute details, such as the serial number on one of the propellers.
The bow, now covered in stalactites of rust, is still instantly recognisable even 100 years after the ship was lost.
Sitting on top is the boat deck, where a gaping hole provides a glimpse into a void where the grand staircase once stood.
The stern though, is a chaotic mess of metal. This part of the ship collapsed as it corkscrewed into the sea floor.
In the surrounding debris field, items are scattered, including ornate metalwork from the ship, statues and unopened champagne bottles.
There are also personal possessions, including dozens of shoes resting on the sediment.
Parks Stephenson, who has studied the Titanic for many years, said he was "blown away" when he first saw the scans.
"It allows you to see the wreck as you can never see it from a submersible, and you can see the wreck in its entirety. You can see it in context and perspective. And what it's showing you now is the true state of the wreck."
He said that studying the scans could offer new insight into what happened to the Titanic on that fateful night of 1912.
"We really don't understand the character of the collision with the iceberg. We don't even know if she hit it along the starboard side, as is shown in all the movies - she might have grounded on the iceberg," he explained.
Studying the stern, he added, could reveal the mechanics of how the ship struck the sea floor.
The sea is taking its toll on the wreck, microbes are eating away at it and parts are disintegrating.
Historians are well aware that time is running out to fully understand the maritime disaster.
But the scan now freezes the wreck in time and will allow experts to pore over every tiny detail.
The hope is that the Titanic may yet give up its secrets.
it's 2023 and i'm still bitter about how kuroshitsuji, a complex slow burn mystery manga, got absolutely massacred by its shitty semi-episodic shota/fujobait anime adaptation
“Rooted in the 17th century world of the Salem Witch Trials, (the same story found in Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ among other famous works including operas and films) this production revisits history and tells the story from the perspective of a young Caribbean slave, Tituba.” -
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Abigail (2024)
Date de sortie : 19/04/2024
Réalisateur : Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Scénario : Guy Busick, Stephen Shields
Avec : Kathryn Newton, Dan Stevens, Kevin Durand