WHOI Hosts Public Talk – Titanic in 3D: An Archaeological Exploration

---

August 29, 2012

Titanic is an iconic shipwreck that has fascinated the public for a century.  But it also has a scientific and technological story to tell.

On Saturday, Sept. 8, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will host a public event entitled “Titanic in 3D: An Archaeological Exploration.” The free presentations will be held at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., & 3:30 p.m. in Redfield Auditorium, 45 Water St., Woods Hole. Reservations can be made online.

The program is an opportunity to hear first-hand from members of a 2010 expedition to Titanic, including Jim Delgado, a marine archaeologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Bill Lange, the director of WHOI’s Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab (AIVL), and his AIVL colleague Evan Kovacs. Their presentation will describe the effort to create the most comprehensive map of the wreck site and will include 3D video clips from their work to explore and “virtually” preserve Titanic.

The work contributes to an effort by NOAA and the National Park Service, two U.S. agencies developing a “site formation plan” to tell the story of how the ship broke apart and where pieces of the ship fell to the seafloor.  The stunning imagery they will show was collected by the WHOI AIVL during “Titanic Expedition 2010,” an effort funded by Premier Exhibitions, Inc., the parent company of RMS Titanic, Inc., and is part of RMST’s overarching work to advance ongoing efforts to preserve the wreck site as a cultural heritage site.

“There are very few places on the bottom of the ocean that we have more than a 25-year history of what’s happened there, and this study will help scientists and others understand the long term fate of wrecks,” says Lange. “Having a better understanding of the conditions and long-term changes that can occur to these shipwrecks from corrosion, microbial activity, and the pressure in the deep sea will give policymakers and environmental managers the tools and data they need.”

Special activities will also take place from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the WHOI Ocean Science Exhibit Center at 15 School Street, in Woods Hole, to highlight its Titanic exhibit, including hands-on radio controlled sub activities and a free merchandise raffle.

For reservations, see www.whoi.edu/events/titanic.  Questions can be directed to the WHOI Information Office at 508-289-2252 or information@whoi.edu.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the oceans and their interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the oceans’ role in the changing global environment.