The Titanic at 100

Examining a photo of the Titanic wreckage

Exactly a century ago yesterday, the Titanic sunk, taking the ship and almost 1,500 passengers to a watery grave 2-and-a-half miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. But, today, 100 years later, great fascination with the fate of the supposedly unsinkable vessel continues. In fact, there is a contention that after God and Coca Cola, Titanic is the 3rd most recognized title around the world.

Today, a panel of 3 Titanic experts, 2 of whom have actually visited the ocean-bottom wreckage site, appeared at an Inside Media edition at the Newseum to discuss why the event and its aftermath continue to hold such importance.

"I think it's funny that  after 100 years we can still say we are learning about the Titanic," said James Delgado, the first archeologist to dive to the ship and the chief scientist for the most recent mapping of the Titanic site. "It's not just about history, it's about science, it's about culture, it's about underwater archeology."

"The sea really is the final frontier," Delgado added. "We know more about the surface of the moon and Mars than we do about the deep."

Captain Craig McClean, who led a mission in 2004 to study the site, said that viewing the site first-hand is "awe inspiring and almost magical."

Looking out at the sunken ship through a tiny portal in a cramped diving submarine is "like describing the high school you went to at night in the rain with a flashlight," McLean said. "It's like a ghost town."

A boot from an  unknown victim rests on the ocean bottom

Near the ship are vivid reminders of the human cost of the tragedy. A boot.  A piece of luggage. "These are little time capsules that give voice to those people who are forever silenced in those cold waters," Delgado said.

The site was first discovered in 1985. Since then there have been a dozen scientific expedition to the site, each one made more significant with technological improvements. For example, as recently as 2004, human divers could only spend 10 hours at the site before being brought back to the surface. Today, using robotics, that time for up-close study has been increased to more than 3 days. Scientists are not only learning about the ship, but also about a new environment. For example, there is a previously undiscovered bacteria that is literally eating the ship and makes the bow and stern sections appear that they are covered in "rusticles."

Perhaps the most disturbing finding is the fact that divers have discovered modern debris dumped from passing vessels at the Titanic site. The panel showed a video picture of a beer can. Plastic waste has also been discovered. "Why would you throw garbage away at the site? In fact, why would you throw garbage into the ocean at all?" Delgado said. "It's another reminder to keep care of all our planet. Those plastic cups could be there long after the Titanic has rusted completely away."

Ole Varmer, the 3rd member of the panel, is an attorney who has been actively overseeing the legal aspects of the Titanic site and any salvage efforts. To date, about 5,500 artifacts from the Titanic have been brought to the surface, a figure that represents about 1% of 1% of what is actually there.

Varmer said international maritime legal efforts have been put in place to make certain that the artifacts are only used for scientific study or museum exhibitions. The law specifies that the site itself is considered an underwater memorial to the massive tragedy. McClean said the Titanic legal experience is providing "the rule of how we can manage deep sea history."

"The Titanic really belongs to no one and it belongs to everyone," McClean said

Delgado agreed. "It's not a book. It's not a movie. It's the place where it happened," he said. "The journey ... the discovery continue."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Although today marked the actual 100th anniversary of the sinking, the Titanic story continues to unfold here in Washington. The Newseum is temporarily displaying actual front pages describing the tragedy in its front-page display cases outside the facility. Nearby, the National Archives has its own display of Titanic-related items. And the National Geographic Museum here is featuring an exhibition on the Titanic that will run until July 8.