Undersea Titanic reconstructed with ‘largest underwater scan ever done’ – CNN.co.jp
The Titanic’s hull has been recreated in great detail using new underwater scanning technology. /Atlantic Productions/Magellan
2023.05.20 Saturday 20:00 JST release
(CNN) An underwater scan of the luxury liner Titanic, which sank in 1912, has been digitally reconstructed.
When the Titanic sank, more than 1,500 people died. Historians hope a new underwater scanning project will answer some lingering questions.
Researchers have used deep-sea mapping techniques to create the first accurate “digital twin” of the Titanic wreck, according to deep-sea research firm Magellan and filmmaker Atlantic Productions.
The statement said that by conducting “the largest underwater scanning project in history”, the research team succeeded in clarifying the details of the accident. Interesting information has emerged about what happened to the crew and passengers on the fateful night of April 14, 1912.
The scan of the wreckage was carried out in the summer of 2022 by a dedicated vessel docked 700 kilometers off the coast of Canada, according to a statement. Strict rules prohibit team members from touching or moving the wreckage.
As a result of mapping the approximately 4.8 km area where the wreck was spread out, we managed to capture the entire wreck, including the bow and stern that separated when the ship sank.
Titanic expert Park Stephenson, who has studied the Titanic for 20 years, hailed the project as “groundbreaking”, revealing previously unseen details.
The survey collected approximately 715,000 images and 16 TB of data. According to Magellan’s estimates, this is “roughly 10 times larger than any previous underwater 3D model attempted.”
Optical images of the Titanic taken so far have been limited by the lack of light and poor light quality on the 3,800-meter seabed where the hull is submerged. The new mapping technique “has almost the same effect as removing water and letting in light,” the statement said.
Sinking Titanic wreck recreated in ‘largest underwater scan ever’