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Titanic Exploration
| Anatoly Sagalevitch of the former Soviet Union
has headed the Russian deep submersible exploration program
since before the MIR’s were built and introduced to the
Keldysh in 1988. In 1991 the MIR’s were fitted with 70mm
IMAX film cameras and advanced deep lighting systems for a feature
IMAX presentation in-depth film of the wreck site. Since then
the Keldysh has made 8 expeditions out to the wreck site. As
senior pilot Sagalevitch and Evgeny ‘Genya’ Cherniev
have become the worlds most foremost and experienced Titanic
explorers. It must be said that neither |
Evgeny 'Genya' Cherniev
in MIR 2 June 2003 |
| would have such status had it not been for the incredible
team that works together aboard the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh
to launch and recover the submersibles from the mother ship
itself. In 1995 filmmaker James Cameron converged with the Russians
to produce the 1998 motion picture Titanic, the largest grossing
film of all time. In 2001 Cameron and his team returned to Titanic
with the Russians to produce the 3D motion IMAX picture ‘Ghosts
of the Abyss’. Using cameras specially designed by Vince
Pace and ROV’s by Jim’s brother Mike Cameron the
team were able to make the first true penetrations deep into
the wreck to bring back images that had never been seen before.
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Fibre optic ROV used for serious penetration
during the Ghosts of the Abyss expedition / Lori Johnston |
Using fibre optics the small ROV’s were
able to explore inside cabins along D deck and into the deep
forward cargo holds where an automobile was loaded. Working
on the Ghosts project Cameron employed Titanic historians Don
Lynch and Ken Marshal whose expertise proved second to none
when it came to navigating the tiny bots (ROV’s) through
the wreckage. The results of this advanced Titanic expedition
is available in the Ghosts of the Abyss hardback publication
as well as at IMAX theatres and DVD. Titanic's wreck was originally
discovered by Dr Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institute in Sept 1985. |
| Ballard worked on the project with a French team –
headed by IFREMER oceanographer Jean-Louis Michel and operations
leader Jean Larry. Through painstaking research Michel had determined
the approx. position where the wreck probably lay. At the institute
Francais de Recherche pour l’Exploitation des Mers (IFREMER)
the French Navy’s Oceanographic agency scientists developed
advanced sonar side san capabilities and constructed a large
unmanned, deep-towed submersible device to explore the wreck
should they find it. Fitted with state of the art video and
lighting systems they would work with the Americans during the
summer of 1985 in search of the Titanic. |
| The side scan sonar device known as SAR would
be towed 600ft above the ocean seabed and scan search areas
in passes three-fifths of a mile wide, the team would analyze
high resolution images of black and white frames of the ocean
seabed. A separate magnetometer would distinguish between rocks
and metal objects as they observed the seabed. Once the wreck
was located the plan was to then use the Americans video based
search system, under a U.S. navy grant to photograph the wreck.
During July/ August of 1985 21 days were spent in heavy sea
conditions searching for the wreck with no sign. Eventually
geologist Dr. Robert Ballard resorted to a visual search of
the seabed which again then went on for another 14 days examining
nothing but endless images of sand dunes and rat tailed fish.
Titanic was eventually discovered as time began to run out towards
the tail end of the planed expedition, in the early hours of
September 1 a monitor in the control room began to display images
of one of Titanic’s giant boilers fallen from the liner
as she sank. The wreck had been lost in total darkness 12,460ft
below the North Atlantic for 73 years, as pieces of wreckage
became visible on the monitor aboard the research vessel Knorr,
Michel watched in awe as the first images of Titanic began to
unfold. A crew member instantly called for Ballard who was asleep
in his cabin to inform him of the dramatic discovery. |
Argo is launched during the search for Titanic
photo Emory Kristof |
| On a clam night as the stars shone above the team members
assembled on the stern hoisted a white star flag as a tribute
to the once great ship and her lost passengers. The following
days were spent photographing and filming the wreck which was
discovered to be upright on the seabed although broken in two
sections almost 2000ft apart. The bow section on impact of the
seabed had driven itself into the mud bottom and lodged itself
deep almost up to the anchor line in height. To acquire more
detailed images of the site the team utilised an Acoustically
Navigated Geophysical underwater survey system which weighed
in excess of 2 tons. The system abbreviated as ANGUS was equipped
with 35mm colour cameras which in turn took over 12,000 images
over three separate dives. The images taken showed an area of
almost a square mile of littered debris from the wreck including
artefacts such as porcelain navigational equipment huge lumps
of coal thrown from the boiler rooms bottles of wine and stained
glass windows. |
| Dr. Robert Ballard returned to the wreck the following summer
with a team of 56 personal aboard the US Navy’s vessel
Atlantis II. This time the team used a more sophisticated imaging
tool a 28-inch long, tethered, robotic deep exploration vessel
called Jason Jr. The team were able to operate the ROV known
as Jason Jr. from the three man titanium submersible Alvin.
Over a period of 12 days the team made 11 manned dives to the
wreck and using the advanced ROV were able to penetrate the
grand staircase the first few decks where images of broken Chandeliers
still hung in position. All told the team explored the bridge
section of the wreck the entire foredeck and the huge holes
where the funnels were once positioned. They could peer into
stately quarters which once occupied millionaires; across the
seabed they could see everyday objects.
|
Double bed deep inside Titanic photo Earthship
2001 |
15 years later James Cameron’s ROV’s
in 2001 were so advanced and so sophisticated that they could
be operated by careful hands to penetrate deeper and further
inside the wreck than anyone had done before. Like Ballard Cameron
did not disturb the wreck site neither did he or his team recover
or attempt to recover any of Titanic’s Artifacts that
lay scattered across the Atlantic Ocean floor. In Ghost of the
Abyss by Ken Marshal & Don Lynch Cameron admits to his own
working habits and performs best in ‘Crisis’ mode
(which on occasions ‘Genya’ solved) and that for
him everything else is ‘sleepwalking’.
|
He always sets his goals above what can be achieved, anything
less may make him stop once his goal is reached. By setting
his sights too high he has a better chance of reaching the limits
of his abilities.
Ultimate Titanic exploration -DI |
Titanic pages on deep
image are here
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