A comprehensive digital scan of the Titanic has revealed unprecedented details of the final moments before it sank, highlighting the heroism of its crew and the delicate circumstances that led to one of the worst maritime disasters in history.
The survey, conducted using underwater robots at a depth of 3,800 meters at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, produced a precise 3D model of the doomed ship, based on more than 700,000 photographs taken to create a "digital twin" of the wreck.
The findings revealed details that corroborate eyewitness accounts, including that engineers worked until the last minute to keep the lights on, in a desperate attempt to secure the launch of lifeboats amid the chaos.
Computer simulations indicate that small holes in the ship's hull, the size of an A4 sheet of paper (the same dimensions as a standard printer's paper), may have been the primary cause of its sinking. A series of holes opened along the ship's hull as a result of its collision with an iceberg in 1912, killing around 1,500 people.
Among the most notable discoveries was a hole in the roof of one of the cabins, likely the result of the collision with the iceberg. This is consistent with the testimony of some survivors who confirmed that ice entered the passenger cabins during the accident.
"The ship is the last eyewitness to the disaster, and its wreckage still holds untold stories," said Titanic analyst Parks Stephenson. "It's like a crime scene; to understand what happened, you have to see the evidence in its full context."
Although the ship's manufacturers advertised it as "unsinkable," the iceberg ruptured six watertight compartments, gradually submerging the ship.
Experts confirm that the boiler room, which was located in the section of the ship that split, shows signs that some of the boilers were still operating. They appear concave, and an open valve was observed, indicating that steam was still flowing to power the electrical system.
These details highlight the sacrifices made by the engineers who remained in their posts until the very end, preserving the lighting that helped the crew and passengers leave the ship.
"The difference between the Titanic sinking and not sinking probably lay in very small margins, like tiny holes the size of a piece of paper," said Simon Benson, an associate lecturer in marine engineering at Newcastle University. He asserted that water seeping through these tiny holes was what ultimately led to the compartments flooding and the ship sinking.
Scientists warn that the shipwreck is rapidly deteriorating underwater and could disappear completely within the next 40 years.
This survey was conducted for a National Geographic and Atlantic Productions documentary, Titanic: Digital Resurrection, in an effort to reconstruct what happened with unprecedented accuracy.