Searching for Titanic's Human Scale
May 30, 2004
Capt. Craig McLean, Director of NOAA-Ocean Exploration stands in front of remotely operated vehicle Little Herc and discusses NOAA's participation in the Titanic revisit led by Dr. Robert Ballard, the discoverer of the Titanic shipwreck.
Photograph by Bert Fox © National Geographic Society
The NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown is expected to reach the site of the Titanic shipwreck at about 10 a.m. ET Sunday, just in time for the worst weather of the voyage so far.
The ship got a boost from the Gulf Stream and increased its speed over ground to more than 13 knots Saturday, which moved forward the estimated arrival time.
Ship's Capt. Tim Wright said the forecast calls for eight-foot seas and 30-knot winds Sunday morning.
"I've put equipment over the side in weather worse than that, but this is much more expensive," Wright said of Argus and the remotely operated vehicles designed to explore and photograph Titanic. The sea is expected to grow calmer Sunday evening as a low-pressure system moves out.
Dr. Robert H. Ballard, leader of the expedition to revisit Titanic, said he intends to wait patiently and decide after arrival about the best time to try a launch.
He spent Saturday afternoon listening to a Vladimir Horowitz recording and working on a Titanic jigsaw puzzle in his cabin.
"The sea is the only place where I'm patient," he said.
Earlier Saturday, when control van navigator Katy Croff asked how he was doing, Dr. Ballard shook the rainwater from his clothes and said, "I'll tell you in three days."
Dr. Ballard's team completed a pre-dive check Saturday and declared Argus and the ROVs ready for action.
When the vehicles descend to Titanic, they will follow what Craig McLean, director of NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration, calls a "look but don't touch" exploration plan.
McLean, who is on board the Ron Brown, said NOAA decided two weeks ago that in order to minimize the risk of damage to Titanic, the ROVs would not enter the deteriorating vessel. The hands-off policy reflects the federal government's interest in preserving shipwrecks and respects the rights of salvors, said McLean, a NOAA captain.
The decision means Little Hercules, the smaller of the two ROVs, will play a limited role. Dr. Ballard originally had expected "Li'l Herc" to travel down Titanic's Grand Staircase and explore the interior. Instead, Li'l Herc will pass most duties to "Big Herc," its seven-foot-tall brother, which weighs nearly 5,000 pounds in air but will hover and fly weightless along Titanic's exterior.
However, Dr. Ballard said only Li'l Herc is designed to aim a camera straight down, so it may be called upon to do an overflight.
Dr. Ballard said he wants to use lights on Big Herc and Argus, the towed sled that relays ROV signals to the surface, to create breathtaking "sunrises" over the wreck.
"We'll do a lot of ?reveals,' like the sun coming up. It'll look like the skyline of New York City," he said.
Dwight Coleman, oceanographer and assistant chief scientist, took advantage of quiet time Saturday morning to train first-timers on their roles in the ROV control van on the stern. The van two shipping containers fastened to the main deck and filled with computers, communication gear, and video monitors will be the ?round-the-clock home to Dr. Ballard's team once Argus and the ROVs are in the water.
Coleman divided the science team into three shifts. Each will have four hours on station and eight hours off. Control van stations include watch leader, Hercules pilot, Argus pilot, navigator, video operator, and data logger.
The science team's work will appear live on Return to Titanic at 9 p.m. ET/PT Monday, June 7, on the National Geographic Channel.
(Note: nationalgeographic.com does not research or edit dispatches.)
(Note: nationalgeographic.com does not research or edit dispatches.)
