The exhilarating thrill of diving beyond depths imaginable, beyond sunlight, into the dark abyss of the North Atlantic to greet what is now the sunken vessel RMS Titanic. The intermingling of a dream state, tragedy, triumph over technology and science, encompasses this iconic like wreck. There is more life on Titanic now, then when she sailed from South Hampton on her fatal voyage. The life on Titanic, as it is found today, consist of rusty coloured icicles called rusticle's. These rusticle's consists of a thriving community or consortia of micro organisms, bacteria. It was not that long ago that common science textbooks refer to the depths of the ocean as sterile. The abyss is too cold, dark and generally inhospitable for anything to survive.

Research has been undertaken since 1971, beginning in ground water microbiology with the initial primary focus being on the detection and control of biofouling water wells. Involved in the plugging and corrosion of water wells were a range of iron bacteria recognized and described in 1978 as being of primary concern. Through the period from 1974 to 1992, it became evident that the growths in water wells were frequently concretious and there was a steady growth in the understanding of these events. At the University of Cranfield, UK, in 1990 a two day symposium addressed issues including the formation of microbial growths and the manner in which these can seriously affect water flow and quality from a well. This kicked off the first time that the idea that the microbiology surrounding wells and water quality and quantity were universally accepted. To this end, a number of text books and monograms were published, including a general guide to the principals of well rehabilitation, a survey of the US Army Corp of Engineers findings, a revised general text book and the beginnings of a new approach to the identification of bacterial consortia using, in part the BART™ techniques.

During the development of the science of water well failures due to microbially initiated plugging and corrosion, test system referred to as the biological activity reaction testers (BART™) were developed and commercialized for microbiological monitoring of these events. In 1991, an expedition was planned to the RMS Titanic to determine the reasons for the deterioration as a part of an IMAX sponsored project. The BART testers were effectively used on the recovered rusticle's from that expedition. It became apparent during the 1988 to 1995 period that, from the video logs taken down biofouled water wells and the images from the RMS Titanic of rusticle's that there were many morphological and chemical parallels. In 1996, as a part of the Discovery channel expedition to the ship, rusticle's were recovered and BART testers were set down upon the ship and these did indicate microbiological activity at the site. Parallels between the rusticle's on the ship and some of the concretious growths down well bore holes were quite striking. This comparison formed a part of the discussions relating to well rehabilitation. This led to a number of publications relating to: the potential impact of rusticle's on the integrity of the RMS Titanic conceptual development of a major new group of microorganisms that function in consortia, the manner in which the iron from the ship is being recycled through natural processes, generates a range of antimicrobial and cell function modifiers, and also can generate a measure of the proteolytic function that can be argued to be more art than science. Because of the intense public interest in the rusticle's as a part of the RMS Titanic’s compelling story, this research was incorporated in the Maryland Science Center Titanic Science exhibition that is currently touring the U.S.A. with sponsorship from the NSF and various science centers. Display design for a part of the exhibition was under at Droycon Bioconcepts Inc (sq. ft per item in brackets): walk-through a rusticle's (192), growing rusticle's in an aquarium (18), experiments that had been down at the ship (16), bacterial etching (24) and drawing showing the rate of deterioration (16). Collection and studies of rusticle's has now expanded to other sites (Table one).

Fundamentally a rusticle is a biological concretion. It is formed by the layering of bio-accumulates (such as iron, manganese, calcium, and silicon) around the cells in a manner that provides structural integrity, large surface areas, and abilities for water transfer through the structures for the purposes of growth and survival. Microorganisms appear to synthesize the structures as extra-cellular polymerically supported structures that are distinct and replicable in form. These microorganisms appear to function in consortia (communities with specific functionality) within the bioconcretion but divorced from each other.

Rusticle's, Classification

Rusticle's grow mainly in water saturated environments that are oxidative (oxygen present), have reduced or no ambient light, and are more vigorous in highly saline conditions. Most of the rusticle's studied to-date has been observed on sunken steel vessels but they have also been observed in the vents at the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Table two lists the four major types of rusticle's presently recognized. Propagation appears to be by the releases of clouds of red dust (size commonly 4 to 16 microns) out of the ducts or when the rusticle structures collapse. This red dust contains elements of the microbial consortia necessary for the formation of a new rusticle at a fresh site.

Chemically, the rusticle is very much a reflection of its habitat that would normally be mildly oxidative or at the redox front with the ORP commonly between -5 and +50 millivolts. In surface area, the rusticle's are commonly at about a third of that for granulated activated charcoal which means that there is a high absorption potential for the rusticle's to accumulate iron and other chemical from the water. Table three lists gravimetrically the ranges of some elements that have been found in rusticle's.

There is a growing recognition that the rusticle's can be classified by the standard mineral guide that would place most red-brown rusticle's in the pig iron grouping while the white rusticle's resemble bauxites or calcites. It should be remembered that the observed rusticle's are matured and reflect the completion of the life cycle that now reflects reducing organic content and an overburdening of the metallic accumulates.