Did Weather Sink the Titanic?
MET 1010 E Portfolio Assignment
Danielle L Magera
September 23, 2014
The Titanic, which embarked at noon on Wednesday, April 10, 1912, from Southampton, England to New York, experienced fine weather on its route. Despite the intense high pressure and otherwise crystal-clear conditions the crew and passengers noticed what would later be described as a strange “haze” looming all around them on the horizon.
In the James Cameron love story the early morning hours of April 15, 1912 were met with the sinking of the great ship Titanic and the loss of 1,514 passengers. The blame has always been that a huge iceberg hit the starboard side ripping a huge hole sinking what was said to be the great, unsinkable ship.
According to the meteorology service of Canada the Titanic tragedy is ranked as the third biggest weather story of the 20th century and has caused meteorologists to question for decades what happened weather-wise on that fateful trip.
Perhaps one of the greatest questions in history what caused this iceberg? For years people have believed that the disaster can be blamed on a very common illusion. The Titanic was sunk by weather or to be more accurate what is known as a mirage. When very dense air moves down near the surface of the water the result is a mirage. While the most common mirages are found in the desert where the ground surface is so hot, light bends upwards towards the sky and produces a visual reflection of the sky on the ground that resembles the surface of water. This was not the case more than a century ago because the exact opposite occurred, when the surface of the Earth is extremely cold as it was that ill-fated April day the Titanic sank.
A US Coast Guard report in 2001summaries that ice bergs in the North Atlantic Ocean originate mainly from the 100 tidewater glaciers of west Greenland which it is estimated, account for 85% of the icebergs that reach the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
Land topography along the Greenland coast governs the general form, size and rate of production of icebergs. It also shows the day to day movement of an iceberg is controlled by its size and shape, present and past winds, wind-driven sea surface current, and the general ocean current.
The main causes of iceberg deterioration are: melting, bith by heat exchange with the sea and by isolation, erosion, mainly by sea wave motion; and by calving/splitting up or breaking off of overhanging ice sheets formed by waterline wave erosion. Synoptic pressure patterns at sea level around the time of the disaster area. History shows Titanic in an area a little north of a cold front slowly receding southwards-probably a diffuse type of front as is often associated with fairly high pressure.
Many scientists believe the weather conditions on that night also created another weather phenomenon. Instead of light bending upwards, it bends downwards towards the curvature of the Earth raising up a false horizon known as a superior mirage blocking the iceberg from the Titanic’s view. This prevented nearby ships from coming to the Titanic’s rescue. That ship the SS Californian had radioed a warning to other ships in the area including the Titanic. The other ship was said to be 19 miles north, close enough for the crew to see the massive Titanic even on a moonless night.
Historians say the Titanic’s distress rockets appeared low because they were exploding into warmer air normally refracting air high up, while Titanic was looming in the freezing air lower down.
At 20 minutes before midnight the ship struck the iceberg tearing open its hull. It was said there were too few life boats for all the passengers aboard added to the freezing temperature of the water it was a recipe for disaster. Because of the salt in the water it was very cold. Salt has been shown to help lower the freezing point of water and the North Atlantic Ocean on that night was a frigid 28 degrees- 4 degrees below freezing.
One would think calm seas would be a good sign when on a ship. Unfortunately for the Titanic this was the great ship’s demise. In the film many passengers remark often of the calm ocean waters. This is one of the main reasons the ship’s speed was increased to full capacity.
The climate caused more icebergs because weather conditions in the North Atlantic were particularly conducive for corralling icebergs at the intersection of the Labrador Current and the Gulf Stream, due to warmer –than-usual waters in the Gulf Stream. Richard Norris of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography told Physics World. “Oceanography, the upshot of that was icebergs, sea ice and growlers were concentrated in the very position where the collision happened.” (National Geographic, December 1985)
In normal wind conditions with wave motion and advection the net result would be that both ocean surface temperature and sea surface salinity surrounding an iceberg would not be appreciably affected by the presence of the iceberg.
Tides sent icebergs southward. Last month, astronomers at Texas State University at San Marcos noted that the sun, the moon and Earth were aligned in such a way that could have led to unusually high tides in January 1912. They speculated that the tides could have dislodged icebergs that were one trapped in the Labrador Sea, sending more of them towards the waters traveled by the Titanic a couple of months later.
In the James Cameron love story the early morning hours of April 15, 1912 were met with the sinking of the great ship Titanic and the loss of 1,514 passengers. The blame has always been that a huge iceberg hit the starboard side ripping a huge hole sinking what was said to be the great, unsinkable ship.
According to the meteorology service of Canada the Titanic tragedy is ranked as the third biggest weather story of the 20th century and has caused meteorologists to question for decades what happened weather-wise on that fateful trip.
Perhaps one of the greatest questions in history what caused this iceberg? For years people have believed that the disaster can be blamed on a very common illusion. The Titanic was sunk by weather or to be more accurate what is known as a mirage. When very dense air moves down near the surface of the water the result is a mirage. While the most common mirages are found in the desert where the ground surface is so hot, light bends upwards towards the sky and produces a visual reflection of the sky on the ground that resembles the surface of water. This was not the case more than a century ago because the exact opposite occurred, when the surface of the Earth is extremely cold as it was that ill-fated April day the Titanic sank.
A US Coast Guard report in 2001summaries that ice bergs in the North Atlantic Ocean originate mainly from the 100 tidewater glaciers of west Greenland which it is estimated, account for 85% of the icebergs that reach the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
Land topography along the Greenland coast governs the general form, size and rate of production of icebergs. It also shows the day to day movement of an iceberg is controlled by its size and shape, present and past winds, wind-driven sea surface current, and the general ocean current.
The main causes of iceberg deterioration are: melting, bith by heat exchange with the sea and by isolation, erosion, mainly by sea wave motion; and by calving/splitting up or breaking off of overhanging ice sheets formed by waterline wave erosion. Synoptic pressure patterns at sea level around the time of the disaster area. History shows Titanic in an area a little north of a cold front slowly receding southwards-probably a diffuse type of front as is often associated with fairly high pressure.
Many scientists believe the weather conditions on that night also created another weather phenomenon. Instead of light bending upwards, it bends downwards towards the curvature of the Earth raising up a false horizon known as a superior mirage blocking the iceberg from the Titanic’s view. This prevented nearby ships from coming to the Titanic’s rescue. That ship the SS Californian had radioed a warning to other ships in the area including the Titanic. The other ship was said to be 19 miles north, close enough for the crew to see the massive Titanic even on a moonless night.
Historians say the Titanic’s distress rockets appeared low because they were exploding into warmer air normally refracting air high up, while Titanic was looming in the freezing air lower down.
At 20 minutes before midnight the ship struck the iceberg tearing open its hull. It was said there were too few life boats for all the passengers aboard added to the freezing temperature of the water it was a recipe for disaster. Because of the salt in the water it was very cold. Salt has been shown to help lower the freezing point of water and the North Atlantic Ocean on that night was a frigid 28 degrees- 4 degrees below freezing.
One would think calm seas would be a good sign when on a ship. Unfortunately for the Titanic this was the great ship’s demise. In the film many passengers remark often of the calm ocean waters. This is one of the main reasons the ship’s speed was increased to full capacity.
The climate caused more icebergs because weather conditions in the North Atlantic were particularly conducive for corralling icebergs at the intersection of the Labrador Current and the Gulf Stream, due to warmer –than-usual waters in the Gulf Stream. Richard Norris of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography told Physics World. “Oceanography, the upshot of that was icebergs, sea ice and growlers were concentrated in the very position where the collision happened.” (National Geographic, December 1985)
In normal wind conditions with wave motion and advection the net result would be that both ocean surface temperature and sea surface salinity surrounding an iceberg would not be appreciably affected by the presence of the iceberg.
Tides sent icebergs southward. Last month, astronomers at Texas State University at San Marcos noted that the sun, the moon and Earth were aligned in such a way that could have led to unusually high tides in January 1912. They speculated that the tides could have dislodged icebergs that were one trapped in the Labrador Sea, sending more of them towards the waters traveled by the Titanic a couple of months later.
Documented scientific evidence exists that Earth is warming and that it has warmed 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past decade mainly due to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by the burning of fossil fuels. While 1 degree may not seem like such a big deal the fact is that such an increase has had a profound impact on global sea levels due to the melting of Artic, Antarctic, and Greenland ice. Greenhouse gasses that become trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere act like a blanket and work preventing outgoing terrestrial radiation from escaping back into space. The result is average air temperatures rise and the secondary effect is an increase in water temperatures.
When scientists speak about abrupt climate change they mean within five or ten years up to a century. For on screen drama these events are compressed into a couple days to a few weeks.
The absence of evidence of air temperature rise aboard the Titanic on the approach of the final iceberg was possibly because of Titanic’s massive size and high speed which caused excessive air mixing below thermograph level, or due to the ship’s high speed having caused any measurably warmer air to be pushed behind the ship’s path as it forged ahead.
Icebergs were known to be in the region, but the calm winds made spotting them difficult. To spot icebergs during the night lookouts searched for wind driven waves breaking around their bases.
The film shows Titanic in an isolated sea but she was in fact on a major shipping route surrounded by the other vessels and in this case icebergs.
The weather log was registered in the early evening of April 14, 1912 as daylight till about 6:3-=7:00 pm. After which temperatures reached an uninviting 43 degrees Fahrenheit and falling quite noticeably. By the 9:00 evening hour the air temperature had fallen to a cold 33 degrees Fahrenheit a drop in temperature of 11 degrees in a mere two hours. At 10:00 pm the air temperature was at freezing point while the water remained clear and absolutely still, the Dead Sea calm. (Titanic a Night Remembered, 2009)
The pleasant evening as seen for miles would prove to be a sharp contrast to the following early mornings icy, keen, knife-like blast and lashing seas tossing and lashing the lifeboats helplessly about with ice and water and screams everywhere.
Through studying maps of the route of Titanic it is assumed that the ship’s first and only voyage probably had nice weather. The passengers more than likely enjoyed light winds and mild temperatures on the first three days at sea. On the last night a cold front blew in from Canada. The temperature would have dropped from about 43 Fahrenheit to temperatures near freezing. The northwest winds behind the front also helped to steer a giant ice field right in the path of the ill-fated ship.
At the Ocean surface, in the absence of wave motion and wind, the low salinity, sub-zero water would be forced to spread laterally from around the iceberg into the not yet iced-up disaster area, where it would inhibit vertical mixing and continue to cool both the ocean surface and the adjacent atmosphere.
When scientists speak about abrupt climate change they mean within five or ten years up to a century. For on screen drama these events are compressed into a couple days to a few weeks.
The absence of evidence of air temperature rise aboard the Titanic on the approach of the final iceberg was possibly because of Titanic’s massive size and high speed which caused excessive air mixing below thermograph level, or due to the ship’s high speed having caused any measurably warmer air to be pushed behind the ship’s path as it forged ahead.
Icebergs were known to be in the region, but the calm winds made spotting them difficult. To spot icebergs during the night lookouts searched for wind driven waves breaking around their bases.
The film shows Titanic in an isolated sea but she was in fact on a major shipping route surrounded by the other vessels and in this case icebergs.
The weather log was registered in the early evening of April 14, 1912 as daylight till about 6:3-=7:00 pm. After which temperatures reached an uninviting 43 degrees Fahrenheit and falling quite noticeably. By the 9:00 evening hour the air temperature had fallen to a cold 33 degrees Fahrenheit a drop in temperature of 11 degrees in a mere two hours. At 10:00 pm the air temperature was at freezing point while the water remained clear and absolutely still, the Dead Sea calm. (Titanic a Night Remembered, 2009)
The pleasant evening as seen for miles would prove to be a sharp contrast to the following early mornings icy, keen, knife-like blast and lashing seas tossing and lashing the lifeboats helplessly about with ice and water and screams everywhere.
Through studying maps of the route of Titanic it is assumed that the ship’s first and only voyage probably had nice weather. The passengers more than likely enjoyed light winds and mild temperatures on the first three days at sea. On the last night a cold front blew in from Canada. The temperature would have dropped from about 43 Fahrenheit to temperatures near freezing. The northwest winds behind the front also helped to steer a giant ice field right in the path of the ill-fated ship.
At the Ocean surface, in the absence of wave motion and wind, the low salinity, sub-zero water would be forced to spread laterally from around the iceberg into the not yet iced-up disaster area, where it would inhibit vertical mixing and continue to cool both the ocean surface and the adjacent atmosphere.
If it is assumed that weather conditions did not cause the disaster did they contribute to the plight of potential survivors? Most would have to agree in both positive and negative ways. Positive because the ocean was calm for those aboard lifeboats being lowered to safety. Passengers stood a chance at survival without having to fight choppy, rough waters as they awaited the rescue ship. On the flip side many “survivors” perished before they were picked up because the air and ocean temperatures were so cold. Others died shortly after being rescued from exposure to the elements.
Perhaps the most stand out scene is where Rose and Jack return to the top deck, the lifeboats have all departed and passengers are falling and jumping to their deaths. The two take refuge on the stern as the ship sinks bow first until they are ultimately pulled into the icy waters of the ocean. Jack somehow finds Rose in the frigid water and leads her to a wall panel. He then helps her climb onto the panel that will only support the weight of one person. As he hangs onto the panel still in the cold water he assures her that she will not die there and will instead live to be an old woman, warm in her bed. Jack eventually dies from hypothermia.
The film does an excellent job of portraying the effect of the elements on the passengers. They are all bundled up when waiting for the life boats. You can see their breath in the air and see the ice crystals forming on their skin and in their hair.
According to the U.S National Weather Service Marine Climatological Atlas of the World indicates that in ocean temperatures of 0-negative five degrees Celsius. A person overboard in ordinary clothes and a life preserver may be expected to reach exhaustion or unconsciousness in 15-30 minutes and to survive for 30-90 minutes. For the reported marked lower ocean temperature at the sinking of the Titanic of -2 degrees Celsius the corresponding times are reduced to less than 15 minutes and survival for less than 15 to 45 minutes. The passengers immerged and crew who were lucky enough to board a lifeboat or other floatable would more than likely have suffered from wind-chill as a result of the increasing northern wind that appeared late in the night especially when compounded by wet clothing and skin. (usnationalweatherservice.com)
All of this confirms that a very deep northerly flow of cold artic air persisted over eastern North America. This wind would drive cold Labrador Current water further south carrying the icebergs with it. The cold air reduced above water ablation of the icebergs. Confluence of the cold artic water and warm tropical water make the region of south Newfoundland the foggiest region in the world. Conditions in 1912 enhanced the fog potential that would further hinder the lookouts. This was the final even in a sequence of weather conditions that resulted in the horrible maritime disaster.
The actual suspense of the encounter between the gigantic ship and the huge iceberg that destroyed it is greatly enhanced in the movie despite the lessened attention to historical detail by leaving the viewer with no more information that the crew actually had at the time. It focuses fully on the closing distance between the iceberg and the ship and its sudden urgency to avoid collision. While the movie leaves the viewer with the impression that there was a minute before the collision in all reality there was a mere 32 seconds before contact was made.
The mystery of the sinking of the Titanic will go down in history as one for the books. Regardless of what happened on that cold night weather definitely played a role in the ship’s demise.
References
“Five Titanic myths spread by film.” BBC News, April 4, 2012
Barczewski, Stephanie L. (2004). Titanic: A Night Remembered. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 30. ISBN978-1-85285-434-8. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
National Geographic, December 1985, vol. 168, No.6 page 172
“British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry: Day 6”. Titanic Injury Project. 1999
Perhaps the most stand out scene is where Rose and Jack return to the top deck, the lifeboats have all departed and passengers are falling and jumping to their deaths. The two take refuge on the stern as the ship sinks bow first until they are ultimately pulled into the icy waters of the ocean. Jack somehow finds Rose in the frigid water and leads her to a wall panel. He then helps her climb onto the panel that will only support the weight of one person. As he hangs onto the panel still in the cold water he assures her that she will not die there and will instead live to be an old woman, warm in her bed. Jack eventually dies from hypothermia.
The film does an excellent job of portraying the effect of the elements on the passengers. They are all bundled up when waiting for the life boats. You can see their breath in the air and see the ice crystals forming on their skin and in their hair.
According to the U.S National Weather Service Marine Climatological Atlas of the World indicates that in ocean temperatures of 0-negative five degrees Celsius. A person overboard in ordinary clothes and a life preserver may be expected to reach exhaustion or unconsciousness in 15-30 minutes and to survive for 30-90 minutes. For the reported marked lower ocean temperature at the sinking of the Titanic of -2 degrees Celsius the corresponding times are reduced to less than 15 minutes and survival for less than 15 to 45 minutes. The passengers immerged and crew who were lucky enough to board a lifeboat or other floatable would more than likely have suffered from wind-chill as a result of the increasing northern wind that appeared late in the night especially when compounded by wet clothing and skin. (usnationalweatherservice.com)
All of this confirms that a very deep northerly flow of cold artic air persisted over eastern North America. This wind would drive cold Labrador Current water further south carrying the icebergs with it. The cold air reduced above water ablation of the icebergs. Confluence of the cold artic water and warm tropical water make the region of south Newfoundland the foggiest region in the world. Conditions in 1912 enhanced the fog potential that would further hinder the lookouts. This was the final even in a sequence of weather conditions that resulted in the horrible maritime disaster.
The actual suspense of the encounter between the gigantic ship and the huge iceberg that destroyed it is greatly enhanced in the movie despite the lessened attention to historical detail by leaving the viewer with no more information that the crew actually had at the time. It focuses fully on the closing distance between the iceberg and the ship and its sudden urgency to avoid collision. While the movie leaves the viewer with the impression that there was a minute before the collision in all reality there was a mere 32 seconds before contact was made.
The mystery of the sinking of the Titanic will go down in history as one for the books. Regardless of what happened on that cold night weather definitely played a role in the ship’s demise.
References
“Five Titanic myths spread by film.” BBC News, April 4, 2012
Barczewski, Stephanie L. (2004). Titanic: A Night Remembered. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 30. ISBN978-1-85285-434-8. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
National Geographic, December 1985, vol. 168, No.6 page 172
“British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry: Day 6”. Titanic Injury Project. 1999