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CyanideSkittles t1_j98lwlh wrote

Why did these go unreleased for so long?

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KawaiiPotato15 t1_j98r7xc wrote

Some of this footage was used in an 80s documentary about the wreck, so it isn't completely brand new. There's been hundreds of dives to the wreck and thousands of hours of footage has been recorded, but most of it never gets released publicly. We only get to see a small portion that manages to make its way into documentaries or photos in books and magazines. Most of it was recovered decades ago, so there wasn't really any way to make it easily available to the public, but then again most footage from recent dives isn't public either. I'm honestly not sure why they don't release it.

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cksc51 t1_j9az0f4 wrote

Shipwrecks are also underwater tombs for those that were trapped inside. Though they don't always get footage of bodies, when they do the more ethical crews won't make that footage public. Either out of respect for surviving family or because they don't want to make a spectacle out of a person's remains. Also there is most likely a large amount of boring footage that just isn't interesting to most.

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StrikingDegree7508 t1_j9c73tw wrote

I remember when they first found the Titanic, one of the survivors said something like “Please don’t disturb the wreck, that’s my father’s grave.” And that’s kind of how I’ve thought about it ever since, although it’s been 84 years since I’ve seen that interview and I can’t quite trust my memory.

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05110909 t1_j9cp51n wrote

When Ballard and crew found the wreckage they started yelling and celebrating in the sub. Then they realized they were literally dancing on a mass grave and everyone straightened up.

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StrikingDegree7508 t1_j9d9899 wrote

Yeah, Ballard has always been a decent and respectful person. He wants to make the whole thing into a museum and preserve it. I like that idea.

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licuala t1_j9cb14n wrote

I read that any corpses are estimated to have completely disappeared by the end of the 1940s.

In any case, no bodies have been found in or around the Titanic. Suggestive pairs of shoes is the closest we've got.

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05110909 t1_j9cp7ii wrote

I'm surprised they'd last that young. That's over 30 years.

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StampYoPassport t1_j9gjv54 wrote

No easy way to share hours and hours of footage to the world, easily and cheaply, in 1986.

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order_s1xty_s1x t1_j995rt3 wrote

Link to the footage.

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TravelDork t1_j99s9vu wrote

Quite hard to know what we’re looking at with raw footage hey?

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Accujack t1_j9bptxg wrote

If you want to identify what you're looking at, a deck plan is helpful.

Here's an easy to access set: http://ssmaritime.com/Titanic-3.htm

There are also full size plans available. You can buy some here: https://www.titanicdeckplan.com/shop

Or you can view deck plans online with an ID on Encyclopedia Titanica:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-deckplans/

Having watched the footage, I think a lot of it is right near the bow - that's where Alvin was sitting while they were running Jason Jr.

I was able to identify a winch, capstans, anchor chains, etc on the B deck in the video.

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Mugwumpen t1_j98yhbn wrote

Unseen footage is always interesting, but at this point I really want to see new footage of the wreck - I think the most recent pictures I've seen was from 2017?

The ship appears to be deteriorating fast now; how long before the bow buckles and caves in on itself, I wonder?

Edited to add this link, which might be the most recent footage available for now from 2021 & 2022. Looks like a new expedition is being planned for 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCwg2h7i4Ac

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stellvia2016 t1_j99aaed wrote

Yeah I was going to say, I heard it's decaying rapidly at this point, so I wonder how much is still left that looks like the documentaries we've seen from the 80s and 90s.

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Fireantstirfry t1_j99mnhu wrote

It's funny, you hear so much conflicting information these days with the Titanic. I've heard everything ranging from "she's going to completely collapse imminently and will be a pile of unrecognizable rust within decades" to "we overestimated how much she's degrading and while some recognizable landmarks have collapsed or disappeared, her superstructure is still sound and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future".

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Mugwumpen t1_j9awxx0 wrote

Yeah, there seems to be a significant disagreement in the academia how fast she's deteriorating - I just remembered how Ballard (or Cameron, but I believe it was Ballard) made a new documentary a while back, possibly for the 100 year anniversary for her sinking, where he observed how much or fast she had deteriorated compared to when he first discovered her. That while she's not in an immediate danger of turning into a heap of rust, she's deteriorating much faster now than 50 years ago and these damages or changes can easily be documented with each new dive.

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anally_ExpressUrself t1_j9bx8o8 wrote

Why is it deteriorating faster?

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TheSchlaf t1_j9cbj5i wrote

Rusticles have eaten away supporting sections of the ship causing other parts to collapse.

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05110909 t1_j9cpfjc wrote

As small sections collapse they put strain on other weakened parts, which makes them collapse faster, etc. It's a cumulative effect.

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Mugwumpen t1_j9cfvbg wrote

What TheSchlaf said.

Rusticles (an iron eating bacteria) have weakend the iron over time, combined with currents and wear and tear from visiting submarines, escpecially those who seek to retrieve stuff from the wreckage.

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ANALOGPHENOMENA t1_j995ney wrote

It won’t. The ship is deteriorating, but the overall hull structure will still be around for a very very long time. What we know as the white part that’s all the decks above the waterline–the superstructure–will disappear within a few decades, but the hull will continue to exist for much much longer.

EDIT: used the wrong terms.

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amehatrekkie t1_j99lm2j wrote

From what I've read, even if the exploration and taking artifacts and machines damaging the wreck, etc all stopped, the structure itself is still deteriorating from bacteria eating the iron in the body, etc.

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Powerful_Artist t1_j99f275 wrote

I've heard otherwise. Do you have a source for this?

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ANALOGPHENOMENA t1_j99s9vb wrote

It was in one of James Cameron’s many Titanic documentaries, one where there’s a huge scale model of the wreck.

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MithridatesX t1_j9c3mdm wrote

Your comment doesn’t make sense.

The “superstructure” of a ship is the decked structure above the waterline/shell. So the white upper decks are the superstructure.

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Working_Rip6436 t1_j99n2ne wrote

Remarkably the swimming pool is still full

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COCKBALLS t1_j9cvc0e wrote

Interestingly enough, it's entirely possible that there is no water in the pool. It was behind air-tight doors, which dropped before the ship went under (which is when the water that was originally in the pool spilled out into the rest of the room). . .

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macreviews94 t1_j9l72zq wrote

Well the watertight bulkheads only went to about 11 feet above the waterline on average, so that room is definitely flooded now. Also given the amount of deterioration at this point doubt it would matter much anyway

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reformed_colonial t1_j9995cl wrote

Bob Ballard made a deal with the US Navy - they asked him to study the wrecks of USS Thresher and Scorpion, which he agreed to so long as he could use some of the technology/funding to find Titanic as well.

https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticutmagazine/news-people/article/Two-Fallen-Nuclear-Submarines-and-Their-17044586.php

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amehatrekkie t1_j99mbw0 wrote

I thought the Titanic search was an afterthought.

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CrasVox t1_j9a6rqi wrote

I think it was more of a cover story.

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eljefino t1_j9b3e9d wrote

We know the Thresher and Scorpion are gone. It would be nice to occasionally monitor their resting sites, making sure the reactors are intact, etc.

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Accujack t1_j9bpz6t wrote

They've been monitored continuously since they sank by the US Navy.

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reformed_colonial t1_j9cs3nm wrote

They are checked periodically for radiation leaks, and to be sure other countries aren't sniffing around. These days, the threat of someone making off with a rusty old Mk 45 nuclear torpedo aren't really a concern, but back during the Cold War it was.

I would imagine that Scorpion/Thresher survey visits are good training for current generation crews on Seawolf-class et al. to brush up their skills.

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nondescriptzombie t1_j9afq5w wrote

Like Hughes "oil exploration" trip where they tried to raise the K-129?

Was so depressing when the Glomar Explorer was scrapped.

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eljefino t1_j9b39ak wrote

Glomar was supposedly "mining manganese nodules."

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panzerkrau t1_j9bk92h wrote

is there any more info or footage about this wreck?

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reformed_colonial t1_j9crmgw wrote

The wreck of Scorpion? Tons of information about it, but a lot still classified as she carried two Mk 45 nuclear torpedoes.

Really fascinating to read about how the search area was determined and conducted, and then the investigations in to why it sank. Long story short, Bayesian search functions let them find a very small needle in a very large haystack quite quickly; the same method used after the B-52 crash at Palomares.

"Blind Mans Bluff" is a good starting point.

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/uss-thresher-and-scorpion-the-uss-lost-nuclear-submarines

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Accujack t1_j9bq2q2 wrote

More like they told him "Look over about here at coordinates XYZ and you'll see something very interesting".

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marketrent OP t1_j989jtx wrote

Excerpt from the linked release^1 by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:

>WHOI is debuting 80 minutes of rare video footage from the 1986 expedition to explore the famous wreck.

>The newly released video highlights the remarkable achievement by the team to bring iconic images of the ship back to the surface.

>On September 1, 1985, a team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) led by Dr. Robert Ballard in partnership with Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer (IFEMER) discovered the final resting place of the ship.

>In July 1986, nine months after the discovery, a team from WHOI returned to the wreck site, this time using three-person research submersible Alvin and the newly developed remotely operated vehicle Jason Jr.

>The trip marked the first time that humans laid eyes on the vessel since its ill-fated voyage in 1912.

Video highlights include:

>• Captured in July 1986 from cameras on HOV Alvin and ROV Jason Jr, most of this footage has never been released for public viewing.

>• Footage begins with Alvin approaching Titanic exploring the bow and parking on its deck.

>• Split screen views syncing camera feeds from Alvin and Jason Jr. as the smaller vehicle leaves Alvin to explore the wreck.

>• Interior shots of Titanic from Jason Jr

^1 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution releases rare video footage from the first submersible dives to RMS Titanic, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/woods-hole-oceanographic-institution-releases-rare-video-footage-from-the-first-submersible-dives-to-rms-titanic/

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amehatrekkie t1_j99m7fj wrote

Something that was revealed a few years ago was that the expedition was paid for by the us navy and they were looking for a submarine wreck from WW2. After they found the submarine, the Argo crew figured they can look for the Titanic as well since they're near the estimated probable location. They got permission from the navy and were given a time frame (idr how long). They found the Titanic on the last day on the western edge of the search area. The submarine search was declassified a few days before the information was released.

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martinborgen t1_j99x359 wrote

I believe it was a cold war nuclear sub USS Scorpion, lost in 1968, not a WW2 boat.

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Accujack t1_j9bq739 wrote

They also weren't trying to find it, they know exactly where it is. They wanted someone to survey the wreck to evaluate its condition.

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listyraesder t1_j9blzpe wrote

This is inaccurate. The Titanic expedition was always planned - it was the ostensible reason for Ballard to be out there. The Titanic portion was a joint WHOI/IFREMER expedition, and the French ship was searching for Titanic while Ballard was searching for the Cold War nuclear submarine Scorpion. Ballard arrived at Titanic search grid in time to take over from the IFREMER team.

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Fireantstirfry t1_j99mfud wrote

I have a terrible fear of shipwrecks. I can't overstate how much they bother me. I've had recurring dreams of shipwrecks since I was a child (often the Titanic itself). But I always watch new Titanic footage...I don't know why, it's just a compulsion at this point. Fascinating seeing so much footage of the Titanic in the best condition we've seen her in since her sinking. I hate it...but also, fascinating.

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petriscorncob t1_j9a8k1u wrote

Could you possibly be like me and have a case of r/submechanophobia

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Fireantstirfry t1_j9ehbxs wrote

oh 100%. Shipwrecks are the worst for me, but anything human-made underwater does it for me.

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greygreenblue t1_j9hjfn5 wrote

How do you feel about trees and logs underwater? Those also freak me out tbh

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DC-DE t1_j9ar39r wrote

How would you feel about being locked in a small closet of a state room or trapped in a small space between steel structures in the boiler room... while the Titanic sank.

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flearhcp97 t1_j9abmuh wrote

You don't have to explain what the Titanic is. We know.

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panzerkrau t1_j9bkipq wrote

yeah but if you dont keep retelling its tales it will be newer generations wont care for it

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GabeDef t1_j991gii wrote

Are the skeletal remains not near the wreck?

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Paintsnifferoo t1_j992qzc wrote

Very doubtful that there’s skeletal remains but not impossible.

Bodies nearly always float in salt water, and most of the ones from the Titanic were still on the surface a few days later. Any that didn't certainly would have been carried away by currents/turbulence well before the wreckage reached the bottom of the ocean. Which means the only bodies that might still be in the wreckage are those belonging to people who were trapped in the lower decks, of which there were very few. And given the fragility of the wreckage, we can't actually reach those areas to see if there's anything left after over a hundred years of predation (somewhat unlikely, given that the local microorganisms have done such a thorough job eating people's abandoned luggage.)

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czartaylor t1_j999053 wrote

That is actually not true. Whale falls exist so it's entire conceivable that bodies fell to the bottom intact and never refloated. In fact we have a couple photos of the wreck that indicate that some bodies did make it all the way down (there's a photo of two shoes side by side where a body landed, and everything else was eaten away but the shoes remained). Your buoyance as a human corpse is largely driven by a combination of the air in your lungs and post-death gas release. But at certain low temperatures and pressures (found in deep ocean), the death and pressure removes the air from your lungs, decomposition slows down significantly so there's no gas release, and thus you sink instead of float. The cold and pressure would actually in a vacuum do a better job of preserving your body than you'd think.

There is however no chance that any skeletal remains exist unless there's a room on the titanic that somehow miraculously was not flooded since the ship sank (no evidence to suggest this is true, but it's technically possible) , because anywhere water can get fish, crustaceans, and microorganisms that consume every single part of a human body can get. Some organisms can eat through bone. Organic material (bodies, wood, etc) was eaten away by ocean life long, long before the wreck was discovered.

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theeighthlion t1_j99civg wrote

if there were an unflooded room on the titanic what would it look like now? How deteriorated would it be?

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Sdog1981 t1_j99hief wrote

It’s impossible due to the pressure at that depth.

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amehatrekkie t1_j99mq2j wrote

The pressure is equivalent to the weight a 747 per square inch, that's the size of a postage stamp.

Nothing on the Titanic would have handled that.

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czartaylor t1_j99iabu wrote

the practical answer is 'it would look like it's underwater'. Between the sheer force of the impact of hitting the sea floor, the weight of everything above it, and a century of pressure, water, and sea life, nothing of the time could survive that.

If you hypothetically had a room that was airtight when the ship sank and could survive that long, what it would look like would depend on what organisms were alive in there before the ship sunk, so mild decomp most likely.

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Shalamarr t1_j9anpr7 wrote

The closest they came to finding bodies was pairs of shoes on the ocean floor, side by side, as if the owners were still wearing them.

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Accujack t1_j9bqet9 wrote

All human remains not protected deep inside the wreck are gone, including skeletons. Some clothing and possessions remain.

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Deepdiver666 t1_j98y58b wrote

I'm very lucky to have met the guy that found it. Very interesting conversations.

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TequilaB t1_j98omuy wrote

I appreciate your commitment to providing information, but it may be safe to assume we all know what the Titanic, the British passenger liner that sank 14-15 April 1912 and remains about 4,000 meters undersea in the Atlantic, was at this point.

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big_duo3674 t1_j9a4fsv wrote

The wreck was re-discovered almost 40 years ago, in case anyone who remembers it happening isn't feeling old enough today

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Diarygirl t1_j9b4neb wrote

My youngest just turned 29. I feel very old.

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_ovidius t1_j9c9407 wrote

Was only a toddler when they found it but remember being fascinated by a photobook on the wreck when I was about 10. It's deteriorating rapidly throughout my lifetime everytime I see a new doc on it, looks in decent shape here.

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SnipinSnit t1_j9abmm6 wrote

There's more footage of the submersibles than there is of the titanic. Stupid narcissistic submersibles.

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CTRexPope t1_j9cl74m wrote

Thanks for sharing!

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azad_ninja t1_j9d7uzp wrote

86 was a good year. Haley’s Comet and the Titanic dive.

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NO_NOT_THE_WHIP t1_j99l6s6 wrote

4000 hwat now? I'm gonna need this translated to a unit Americans can understand such as number of football fields or how many Rhode Islands

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