But our model allows us to use the winds and currents of the time to give the likely origins and routes for icebergs reaching the vicinity of the Titanic sinking in mid-April 1912. There is no way to say from which point along this long journey the infamous iceberg might have originated – it suddenly appeared out of the night and then disappeared after colliding with the Titanic. Route taken by Arctic icebergs toward Atlantic shipping lanes. Following it, they flow south along the east Greenland coast and then north along the west Greenland coast, finally circling Baffin Bay and heading south along the Labrador coast towards the Atlantic shipping lanes. The longstanding view of iceberg movement in the northwest Atlantic is that icebergs from successive glaciers feed into the ocean current. Our iceberg-ocean model also allows us to suggest a likely origin for the iceberg that collided with the Titanic. The iceberg risk in 1912 then, was significant, but not unprecedented, and has been much greater in recent decades. But there are several years in surrounding decades with similar numbers, including five years with at least 700 icebergs crossing the region between 19. In a record that varies between no icebergs and well over two thousand a year, this qualifies as a significant number. In 1912, 1,038 icebergs were reported crossing this latitude circle. This recording has continued since 1913, and ship reports prior to this gives data reaching back to 1900 of ice in the area that the Titanic sank. One way they measure the iceberg hazard is by reporting the number of icebergs seen south of 48°N, a latitude extending out into the Atlantic from the south of Newfoundland. We’ve found that the number of icebergs in the region was neither exceptional nor unprecedented.įollowing the Titanic disaster, the International Ice Patrol was established to monitor ice hazards and warn ships in the northwest Atlantic. Indeed, ships travelling through the northwest Atlantic in the days leading up to the tragedy did exchange a number of reports of ice.īut our recent research, using the iceberg records of the International Ice Patrol and an iceberg-ocean model, counters this accepted view. Theories linking exceptional iceberg numbers to effects such as sunspots or extreme tides on the coast of Greenland have perpetuated the idea that 1912 was an exceptional year for icebergs, stacking the cards against the Titanic on her maiden voyage. And whether or not there was a greater risk from the number of icebergs in 1912 has been a major cause for debate. The dramatic and sudden sinking of the ship that was touted to be unsinkable provoked a great search over the next 100 years to understand how the fateful crash happened. In little more than two and a half hours the Titanic sunk, taking with her 1,514 lives. Despite quick action, the iceberg still struck the ship aft of the bows and water flooded into the ship across several compartments. At 11.40pm local time on the cold, moonless night of 14 April 1912, the crow’s nest lookouts on board the RMS Titanic sighted a large iceberg only 500m ahead.
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