![]() ![]() The years before 1912 were characterized by mild winters in Europe and possibly the northern Atlantic. ![]() Schematic diagram of marine currents (blue= cold red = hot) around Greenland, probable region of origin (West Greenland) and hypothetical trajectory of the iceberg that sank the Titanic.Īpparently in 1912 icebergs were spotted remarkably often in this region and various hypotheses tried to explain this "anomaly". Only estimated 1 to 2% of large icebergs will, after a period of 1-3 years, reach latitude 45°N, crossing one of the most important route for ships of the entire Atlantic Ocean.įig.4. A more than 5.000 km long journey full of obstacles and incessant erosion by the sun, the water and the waves. Following first the coast of Greenland this current is diverted by the Canadian coast to the south, forming the Labrador Current that circumnavigates Newfoundland and delivers the iceberg to the warm Gulf Stream. Every year ten thousand of small and large pieces of ice drop from the front of the glaciers and are pushed by the West Greenland Currentslowly to northern latitudes, far away from ship routes. The icebergs encountered in the North Atlantic originate mainly from the western coasts of Greenland, where ice streams deliver large quantities of ice in the fjords which lead to the Baffin Bay. This iceberg has in fact some remarkable similarities to the iceberg as described by survivors of the disaster (image in public domain).ĭespite the question if one of the photos shows really the culprit iceberg, the remarkably number of spotted icebergs emphasizes the notion that in 1912 a quite impressive number of these white titans reached such southern latitudes. Photography taken from board of the ship "Birma" of the same iceberg as seen by the passengers of the "Carpathia" - the first ship to approach the scene of the disaster and save the surviving passengers of the Titanic - and published at the time in the "Daily Sketch". An authentic photography of the iceberg that sank the "unsinkable" Titanic was worth lot of money for the eager press.įig.3. Another iceberg, photographed five days later from board of the German ship "Bremen", claimed to be the Titanic iceberg based on the vicinity to the location of the disaster and the description of the iceberg according to survivors (image in public domain). The passengers on the ship "Prinz Adalbert", still unaware of the disaster of the previous night, reported later to have noted a "red smear" at the waterline of the white iceberg (image in public domain).įig.2. One of the many icebergs photographed in the morning of April 15, 1912. However most surviving Titanic testimonies described later the infamous iceberg with a prominent peak or even two.įig.1. The crew found debris and bodies floating in the vicinity and the captain assured that this was the only iceberg near the point of the collision. One famous photography taken from board of the cable ship " Minia", one of the first ships to reach the area in search for debris and bodies, shows a tabular iceberg, an unusual shape for icebergs in the northern Atlantic. The tragedy of the "unsinkable" Titanic - lost in the cold water of the Atlantic - became part of history and pop culture, but the story of the main culprit that caused the disaster is mostly forgotten and only vague descriptions and some photos exists of the supposed iceberg(s).
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