Map the Titanic: Big Ship, Big Job

"Titanic Wreck Mapping Begins"
Tech News, Discovery News (August 27, 2010)

"A high-tech expedition that aims to create a detailed map of the wreckage of the Titanic has begun exploring the ocean floor where the ship sank nearly 100 years ago, the crew said Thursday.

"Sonar onboard an automated submersible vehicle combined with high-resolution video will be used to create three dimensional images of the fabled oceanliner.

"The expedition, organized by the American group RMS Titanic, which holds exploration rights for the wreck, arrived on Wednesday aboard the scientific vessel Jean Charcot and started by laying flowers on the water's surface to commemorate the 1,500 victims of the shipwreck...."

Discovery News has another page about the mapping mission: www.expeditiontitanic.com.

The Titanic's may be the best-known shipwreck in recent history. The huge ocean liner went down on April 15, 1912, taking about 1,500 people with it. The notion that the Titanic was assumed to be "unsinkable" seems to have been more common after the colossal ship sank, than before. And that's another topic:

• "Sinking the Unsinkable"
  Snopes.com

The current mapping expedition uses robot submersibles, sonar and a video camera: and is trying to make "the most detailed portrait of Titanic's wreck site to date."

Viewed strictly as an archeological site, there's going to be a great deal of valuable data gleaned from the wreckage: and, given the Titanic's position as a cultural landmark, a lot of popular interest, too.