News sonar images of the Titanic on the Ocean floor - slideshow
New sonar images show the sunken Titanic 12,500 feet below sea level. The April edition of National Geographic Magazine will feature these images for the first time to honor the centenary of the tragic ship’s sinking.
Previously, images of this nature, taken far under the Atlantic Ocean’s surface, were dark and dim but these images reveal the full extent of the wreckage. They also show the five by three-mile field of debris surrounding the wreck as well as the staircases at the stern of the boat.
The surrounding area on the seabed is also pitted with craters, from boulders from the iceberg sinking to the ocean floor.
These images, created by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in Massachusetts, took months to create.
Bill Lange of WHOI said "Now we know where everything is. After a hundred years, the lights are finally on."
News sonar images of the Titanic on the Ocean floor - slideshow
The project sent three robots down to the Titanic. They moved along the length of the ship and captured thousands of images with optical cameras and sonar devices.
James Selgado, the expedition’s chief scientist, said, “This is a game-changer. In the past, trying to understand Titanic was like trying to understand Manhattan at midnight in a rainstorm, with a flashlight.
“Now we have a site that can be understood and measured, with definite things to tell us. In years to come this historic map may give voice to those people who were silenced, seemingly forever, when the cold water closed over them.”
The commemoration of the ship’s sinking will begin on 10th April, the date of the ship’s departure. On 15th April 1912 the Titanic sunk. More than 1,500 people died in the tragedy.
News sonar images of the Titanic on the Ocean floor - slideshow
4 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.SingleDonald | Mar 24, 2012, 03:36 PM EDT
Remember the movie, "Raise the Titanic"? It came out in 1980. At the time, it was estimated that $20 million would be needed to accomplish this, in real life. Now, the figure would probably be about $35 million! Besides, there is a moral dilemma, as the ship is the gravesite of most of the 1,500 who perished. I would like to see it raised, with decent land burials given to John Jacob Astor, and all the rest.
Murph46 | Mar 23, 2012, 06:16 PM EDT
Lighten up Von Liebenitz it ain't like you are reading the NYTimes!
VonLiebenitz | Mar 23, 2012, 02:10 AM EDT
Ever notice how the media focus on meaningless trivia when there are far more important things happening in the world.The news should,nt be about entertainment.Just informative and well written articles about real issues of significance at the present time.Lets keep the news and entertainment separate like we are trying to keep the church and state separate hmm?Less dumbing down more Quality reportage.Now that,s not too much to ask now is it?
citizen69 | Mar 22, 2012, 03:57 PM EDT
Amazing photograph!