Deep-sea researchers have completed the first full-size digital scan of the Titanic, showing the entire wreck in unprecedented detail and clarity, the companies behind a new documentary on the wreck said Thursday. Using two remote operated submersibles, a team of researchers spent six weeks last summer in the North Atlantic mapping the whole shipwreck and the surrounding 3-mile debris field, where personal belongings of the ocean liner’s passengers such as shoes and watches were scattered.
Richard Parkinson, founder and chief executive of deep-sea exploration firm Magellan, estimated that the resulting data—including 715,000 images—is 10 times as large as any underwater 3-D model ever attempted before. “It’s an absolutely one-to-one digital copy, a ‘twin,’ of the Titanic in every detail,” said Anthony Geffen, head of documentary maker Atlantic Productions.
The Titanic was on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York when it hit an iceberg off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. The luxury ocean liner sank within hours, killing about 1,500 people.
The wreck lies some 12,500 feet under the sea, about 435 miles off the coast of Canada. Geffen says previous images of the Titanic were often limited by low light levels, and allowed viewers to see only one area of the wreck at a time. He said the new 3-D model captures both the bow and stern section, which had separated upon sinking, in detail—including the propeller’s serial number. A documentary on the project is expected to come out in 2024. —Associated Press
