A detailed 3-D scan of the Titanic has revealed new details about the famed wreck, which has lain since 1912 under two-and-a-half miles of frigid ocean off Newfoundland.
The location of the wreck was found in 1985 and has been explored by a number of expeditions with divers and devices, but no full exploration or photographs have been possible because there is no light at that depth.
The new pictures, which are startlingly sharp, were produced from 715,000 digital images captured by two remote-control submersibles which used scanning methods that don't require light. The scans take up about 16 terabytes of data.
Gerhard Seiffert, a 3D imaging specialist, said: "What we've created is a highly accurate photorealistic 3D model of the wreck. Previously footage has only allowed you to see one small area of the wreck at a time.
"This model will allow people to zoom out and to look at the entire thing for the first time. So, by capturing this 3D model, what we're able to do is visualize the wreck in a completely new way, there's all kinds of amazing small little details that you can see."
Researchers hope that the project may help fill in the unknown details of exactly where the ship struck the iceberg, and what damages led to its sinking. Up to now, the evidence has been too limited to be certain.
Some of the amazing images are available in an article in The Telegraph (UK).
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