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Bob Ballard – Deep Sea Explorer Extraordinaire
By Neil Peterson | December 16, 2009
Explorer Bob Ballard knows that there’s more to our world than meets the eye. From discovering the existence of creatures living in total darkness to developing the technologies that enable deep-sea exploring, he has uncovered a world that has been mostly unknown to even the brightest scientific minds. And, after a career spent revealing some of the most famous shipwrecks in modern history – he is now turning his sights on the undersea relics of ancient civilizations.
Though his name may be unfamiliar, his most notable discovery is not. In the early morning hours of April 14, 1912 an iceberg ripped a fatal hole in the hull of the grandest ship ever built – the RMS Titanic. The ship sank in just under three hours, causing the death of over 1,500 of the 2,223 passengers aboard. It was a disaster of colossal proportions – prompting significant changes in accepted maritime law and causing extraordinary challenges for treasure hunters and explorers alike in the ensuing decades.
Torn in two and resting on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 2.3 miles, it had already been the objective of three previous expeditions – but it wasn’t until Ballard’s experienced team of experts embraced a new approach that the Titanic’s final resting place – and its underwater fate – would be revealed.
Titanic Wreckage Video
Ballard, a former Navy commander, had been intrigued by the potential discovery of the Titanic for much of his career but the severe financial limitations inherent in deep-water exploration had stalled all but the most enthusiastic of adventurers. Under an agreement with the Navy, Ballard would have the funds necessary to continue his search, but only if he first uncovered the wreckage of two U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines that sank in the 1960′s. The Navy had contacted Ballard to locate the vessels and determine what – if any – environmental impact the remaining radioactivity was causing on the surrounding area. But the contract would come with a significant caveat – Ballard could tell no one of his mission, as it was feared that the Russian government would track the search effort using satellite imagery.
Due to massive deep-sea pressure the sub hulls had imploded, resulting in the littering of thousands of pieces of debris across the ocean floor. This debris created a tail, one whose large size meant that Ballard’s team would have a much easier time locating it using sonar technologies (as opposed to searching solely for the hulls themselves). Utilizing Argo, an unmanned submersible able to dive up to 20,000 feet and outfitted with advanced cameras and lighting capabilities, the subs were located and the mission completed, freeing Ballard and his team to use the same tactics to locate the long-lost Titanic wreck.
The RMS Titanic was found on September 1, 1985 – 73 years after it sank beneath the frigid waters. It was a momentous occasion, but the true reasons behind the expedition would be shielded from public knowledge for two decades. Since that time, Ballard and his team of engineers, archaeologists and scientists have traveled the world’s oceans aboard his research vessel, the Nautilus. In addition to the discovery of 6-foot tall tube worms living in complete darkness in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Islands, the team has also begun hunting for the sunken artifacts of bygone civilizations in the Black Sea. These ancient ships might not have the prestige of the Titanic – but as this underwater archeologist believes, by discovering our history we may better understand the complexity of life, and loss, on our small blue planet.
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