Overview
- Expedition teams used the three-person submersible DSV Alvin to enter and closely image the Terra Nova wreck on the seabed off southern Greenland, confirming intact exterior features such as the rudder, propeller, two masts and the ship’s double helm.
- Scientists identified navigation artifacts on the wreck including a binnacle and a taffrail log and photographed smaller items such as ceramic mugs that remained on the decks, providing direct links to the vessel’s use in Scott’s 1910–13 expedition.
- A planned second manned dive was cancelled when a roughly 120‑foot iceberg moved toward the site, temporarily curtailing operations but not the ongoing remote imaging work from the research vessel.
- Teams are using Voyis/Kraken subsea imaging and ROV surveys to assemble high-resolution 3‑D ‘twins’ of Terra Nova and the recently surveyed Quest for research, public display and classroom use.
- Built in Dundee in 1884 and later used in sealing and wartime supply runs, Terra Nova sank after ice damage in 1943 and the new digital record aims to capture its condition now so scientists can study decay, habitat formation and preserve historical material for future generations.