 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Ocean Eddies and the Titanic Disaster

   April 14, 2021

    MILA eddy2

    Mila_MODIS_e11 (002)

   Photographer:  Mila Zinkova
   Summary Author:  Mila Zinkova

    Eddies, or circular currents, play an important role in  the
   ocean's circulation. They can be meters in diameter, as shown above on
   the top photo, or hundreds of kilometers across (bottom photo), a
   satellite image that shows  plankton blooming in the north Atlantic
   Ocean, around the area where the Titanic sunk. Note that the plankton
   outlines currents as well as tongues of water having different
   temperatures.

   Today is the 109^th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking. Eddies were a
   significant element in the  Titanic's disaster. Not only were
    eddies responsible for transporting the icebergs and sea ice to the
   wreck site, but they could have played a decisive role in the inaction
   of the California, a nearby steamer. Californian's second officer,
   Herbert Stone, testified that the steamer he was watching was changing
   her bearing and eventually steamed away. During the Titanic inquiry,
   Stone stated:  "A steamer that is in distress does not steam away from
   you, my Lord."

   On the other hand, the fourth officer of the Titanic, Joseph Boxhall,
   who was watching the Californian from the sinking Titanic, testified
   that at first the Californian was approaching and later leaving the
   stricken liner. For many years, authors writing about the Titanic and
   Titanic disaster investigators have struggled to figure out how it was
   possible for two stopped steamers to move towards and/or away from each
   other. In 2018 I published an  article, in which I suggested that
   the Californian could have drifted in an eddy. In fact, both Titanic
   and Californian could have drifted in different sets of currents and/or
   different eddies. Eddies are very common in the area where the Titanic
   went down, and it's possible they were present on that fateful night.
   Here's a  video to see the eddies in motion.

   Another confirmation of an unusual drift comes from the position of the
   Carpathia (the rescue ship). When the Californian's officers first saw
   the Titanic she was located south-southeast of the Californian.
   However, in the morning the Carpathia was located south of the
   Californian. If the Californian, the Titanic and the Titanic's
   lifeboats were drifting in the same set of currents, the Carpathia
   should have been located south-southeast of Californian, just as the
   Titanic was a few hours before.

   Top photo taken on September 8, 2018. Bottom photo is a MODIS satellite
   image taken on March 9, 2002.


     * Titanic Disaster Coordinates:  41.72555, -49.94694

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Applied Sciences Links

     *  BBC: World Water Crisis
     *  Indoor Air Quality
     *  Mathematics in Nature
     *  A Mathematical Nature Walk
     *  NASA: Applied Earth Sciences
     *  Remote Sensing Tutorial

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