NOAA EXPLORES THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

June 14, 2004 — Nearly 20 years after the sunken remains of the R.M.S. Titanic were first found, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Dr. Robert Ballard — the marine explorer who first discovered the ship — returned to study the condition of the Titanic, now resting at the bottom of the ocean more than 300 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. A total of 11 days (May 30 through June 9) were spent mapping the wreck and conducting scientific analyses of its deterioration.

Capt. Craig McLean, director of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, directed the “Return to Titanic” expedition in cooperation with Dr. Robert Ballard, chief scientists of the cruise and director of the Institute for Archaeological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. Also participating were the National Geographic Society and the National Geographic Channel. Lt. j.g. Jeremy Weirich, of the NOAA Commissioned Corps and marine archaeologist with the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, oversaw the expedition's marine archaeology component. Catalina Martinez, a marine scientist with the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, also participated in the expedition. Throughout the expedition, members of the scientific team were in direct contact with their colleagues on shore, as well as students and the general public during live broadcasts, using state-of-the-art satellite broadcasting technology.

Simultaneous with the expedition, the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration’s Immersion Project allowed thousands of U.S. children to experience portions of the mission in real time — as did the JASON Foundation for Education, which also created a new middle school math curriculum based on this Titanic expedition. The NOAA Ocean Explorer Web site also features a series of related lesson plans, Web logs, images and video footage.

The team worked aboard the NOAA research vessel Ronald H. Brown and used Dr. Ballard's state-of-the-art remotely operated vehicles to conduct a detailed (yet delicate) documentation of the state of Titanic — something that was not possible at the time of its initial discovery. This “look, don’t touch” approach succeeded in collecting high definition video and still images to provide an updated assessment of the wreck site. This expedition was Dr. Ballard's first on a NOAA ship and he said he was very impressed with the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown and her crew. (Click on NOAA image to the right for a larger view of a model of the R.M.S. Titanic in a lab aboard the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown. Please credit "NOAA.")

"As the nation's ocean agency, NOAA has an interest in the scientific and cultural aspects of the Titanic," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "The science of this mission is to learn more about why and how quickly natural and human factors are contributing to the deterioration of the Titanic. The knowledge gained will be applied to the study and protection of other shipwrecks and submerged cultural resources," he added.

NOAA Observes Changes on the Titanic
The Titanic is of course changing, but we don't know enough to say this rate of change is alarming, slow or normal," said McLean, who along with Weirich led NOAA's first expedition to the Titanic in 2003. On that trip, McLean said NOAA examined the Titanic and looked at the effects of iron-eating microbes and other marine organisms feasting on the wreck's wooden structures. Some of the changes seen can be attributed to man. Since Titanic's discovery in 1985, more than 6,000 artifacts have been lawfully salvaged from the wreck site, and tour companies have repeatedly visited the site. Of the damage noted, NOAA researchers, scientists and other visitors reported that parts of the ship have fallen apart and the crow's nest has disappeared. "We just know so little about the deep sea, but turning to Titanic as a laboratory is an economical solution," said McLean. "What we learn here we apply to other shipwrecks, plus we accomplish goals set out for NOAA by the Congress.

NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
There are several advantages to running this expedition from the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown.

• Home ported in Charleston, S.C., it was built for NOAA in 1997 and is one of the most technologically advanced oceanographic research ships in the world. This multi-purpose, seasoned research vessel has sailed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans conducting scientific studies that have increased understanding of the world's marine environment.
• The five laboratories aboard the ship provide nearly 4,000 square feet of dedicated mission space, with additional space on deck to support up to nine laboratory vans.
• The ship is equipped with a suite of scientific sensors, including a multibeam mapping system, sub-bottom profiler, acoustic Doppler current profiler and acoustic positioning system — all of which were needed to safely navigate the ship to and collect vital data from the Titanic site. For example, the multibeam mapping system was used to create bathymetric (underwater topography) charts, as well as detailed 3-D images of the sea floor, both around and en route to and from the Titanic.
• The ship’s superior stability and maneuvering capabilities are attributed to its dynamic positioning system, which enhances the ship's station-keeping abilities. These qualities were critical to deploying, maneuvering and recovering the remotely operated vehicles, which were tethered to the ship by a 2.5 mile fiber optic cable throughout the mission.
• Ships of the NOAA fleet, including the Ronald H. Brown, are under the command of highly skilled commissioned officers in the NOAA Corps, one of the seven U.S. uniformed services.
• In addition to the Ron Brown’s involvement in the Titanic mission, other NOAA vessels have been involved in high profile expeditions, such as locating the wreckage of EgyptAir Flight 990, TWA Flight 800 and John F. Kennedy Jr.’s aircraft.

Remotely Operated Vehicles
Dr. Ballard brought the tandem ROV team of Argus and Hercules, underwater robots that were steered and manipulated by operators aboard the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown (floating more than two miles directly above the wreck site). High tech imaging equipment aboard the ROVs was used to map the Titanic's entire wreck site and will create color mosaics of the bow and stern, along with the vertical hull surfaces of the bow section. The images also allowed forensic experts and biologists to examine the ship’s condition. Scientists will now compare these images to images from Ballard’s previous Titanic expeditions — including a photo mosaic of the Titanic published in a 1986 issue of National Geographic magazine — to determine the level of deterioration that has occurred over the last 18 years. Footage and still images from the expedition were shared with scientific communities and audiences using sophisticated satellite telecommunication systems, advanced Internet technology and digital imagery. Live footage was even viewed at the G8 Summit in Savannah, Ga., on June 8 — World Ocean Day. (Click on NOAA image above right for a larger view of the control room jointly staffed by the Institute for Exploration and NOAA aboard the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown. Please credit "NOAA.")

NOAA Science
Part of the expedition focused on the deterioration of the Titanic due to natural causes:

• Microbiologist Roy Cullimore studied the natural deterioration of the ship's hull caused by tiny microbes that feed on iron and create icicle-shaped formations called "rusticles." While rusticles have been observed for many years, little is known about them. Cullimore also examined metal samples he submerged near the wreck in 1998 to determine the extent and rate of rusticle growth on different metals. Understanding how quickly these structures form could reveal how long the Titanic will last.
• NOAA researcher Catalina Martinez said that the Titanic wreck is now home to several species of deep sea fish, crustaceans, sponges, corals and invertebrates (such as brittle stars and crinoids).
• The ROV Hercules and the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown used sensors to measure environmental conditions, such as water temperature, salinity, pH and oxygen levels around the wreck — all variables that can affect the rate at which the wreck degrades.

Other Expedition Goals
While assessing one of the world's most famous shipwrecks is important, the expedition's ultimate goal extends across the world's oceans. "NOAA's focus was to build a baseline of scientific information from which it can measure the scientific processes and deterioration of the Titanic and apply that knowledge to many other shipwrecks and submerged cultural resources," said McLean. Likewise, decision makers can use this information to better plan for the future management and preservation of the Titanic.

Others would like to use evidence of the Titanic's deterioration as justification for international support to protect shipwrecks around the globe. The United Kingdom has already signed an international agreement to protect this wreck as a memorial to those who died when the ship sank in 1912, and the United States is close to doing the same. Since only two signatures are needed to officially activate the agreement, the world may soon be marking yet another milestone toward preserving the Titanic (and other submerged cultural resources) for future generations. (Click on NOAA image above right for a larger view of many of the individuals who worked aboard the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown during the Return to Titanic mission. Please credit "NOAA/Bert Fox, National Geographic.")

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Ocean Explorer

NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration

NOAA Ocean Service

NOAA CORPS: OFFICERS OF THE NATION'S SMALLEST UNIFORMED SERVICE

Media Contact:
Fred Gorell, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, (301)713-9444 x181