WORLD

Scientists have challenged the idea that the Titanic was unlucky for sailing in a year when there were an exceptional number of icebergs in the North Atlantic. (BBC)

Find more Titanic resources than you could ever possibly use.

Discussion Ideas

• Read through our short, terrific media spotlight on the “Sinking of the Titanic.” Work through the first two questions in the “Questions” tab.
  • What was the sea surface temperature in the area where the Titanic sank?
    • The temperature where the Titanic sank was slightly above freezing.
  • Was the current that pulled the iceberg into Titanic‘s path a cold or a warm current?
    • The current that pushed the iceberg into the Titanic‘s path was a cold current called the Labrador Current.

• The BBC article outlines how scientists used computer modeling to “trace the likely origin of the iceberg that sank the Titanic to southwest Greenland.” You can do the same (with only slightly less sophisticated technology) using our MapMaker Interactive and information from our Titanic collection.
  1. Find the location of the Titanic wreck site. Explorer-in-Residence Bob Ballard has already done the heavy lifting for you—he actually found the Titanic, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of Newfoundland, in 1985. Use one of the markers in the “Markers” tab of the MapMaker Interactive to mark the approximate location of the site.
  2. Find the southwest coast of Greenland, “the Arctic’s premier iceberg nursery,” according to our media spotlight “Icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean.” Mark this region as the birthplace of Titanic‘s fatal iceberg.
  3. Trace the iceberg’s likely path to the collision with the Titanic. Use two resources here.
     • Read about Iceberg Alley in “Icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean.”
     • Activate the Ocean Surface Currents layer in the MapMaker Interactive. (Find that map layer under “Physical Systems – Water” in the Themes tab.) Find the telltale Labrador Current, running off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

• The title of the BBC article says the new iceberg modeling research presents a “challenge” to the Titanic sinking theory. What is the challenge? Does the new research change the way you think about the sinking of the Titanic?
  • The new research provides evidence that North Atlantic’s 1912 iceberg season was unusually active and dangerous, but not the most active or the most dangerous in recorded history.
  • The familiar model of the way the Titanic sank has not been challenged. The ship collided with an iceberg (probably the one shown on this page), broke in two, and sank to the bottom of the ocean. National Geographic might have to update the statistical information on its “Icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean” chart, but it’s a minor tweak, not a major change. It’s not like saying rats weren’t responsible for spreading the Black Death or something . . .