Scientists Create First Full Map of Titanic Wreckage

It could shed new light on exactly what happened
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 9, 2012 4:34 PM CST
Scientists Create First Full Map of Titanic Wreckage
A small portion of the underwater debris field.   (AP Photo/Sonar Mosaic)

For the first time ever, researchers have constructed a complete map of the Titanic's underwater shipwreck site. When the Titanic sank in 1912, debris was scattered across an area measuring 3 by 5 miles. To draw a detailed map of the area, scientists dispatched robots to take more than 100,000 photographs and used sonar imaging technology to scour the seabed, reports AP. The History channel will air a two-hour documentary on the project on April 15, the 100th anniversary of the sinking.

"With the sonar map, it's like suddenly the entire room lit up and you can go from room to room with a magnifying glass and document it," said a Titanic historian. "Nothing like this has ever been done for the Titanic site." The precise map might help answer mysteries like how the ship broke apart and whether a flaw in its design contributed to the disaster. (More Titanic stories.)

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