How long does a human corpse last in a sunken sub ?

[Sixpack]

OK, Ile briefly xplain my 'morbid interest':


Sunken ww 2 subs ('isolated' tombs)
Diving expeditions (rather shallow waters; no implosion)
No large sea animals such as sharks involved
If any, what human remainings can be expected?
I figure at least teeth if not parts of bones

[baggygreen]

good question.

with the recent discovery of so many wrecks, i too had wondered as to the answer to this question..

[KevinB]

I remember when they showed the first pictures from the Titanic the expedition team were asked if they could see any human remains, and they said they didn't see any.
I guess it kept the fishes in food for many months.

[jumpy]

The Blue Planet recently had a section about deep sea life feeding on dead sperm whales- many animals eat the flesh, but as the cold slows decomposition things like the bones can last for quite some time but eventually even these are eaten away by bacteria and algae colonies.

I always think of the sailors boots from the Bismark/Hood programs with Bob Ballard... they look suspiciously like they were attached to a body judging by their position on the sea bed, yet there are no remains visible. The leather of the boots survives for so long due to polish soaked into it apparently.

[fatty]

I believe it comes down to a couple of factors, namely temperature, salinity, currents, exposure, and acidity. You might find bodies still rigid at their posts or you might find nothing at all.

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Typically decomposition from a water corpse occurs around two weeks after death, assuming the water is neither very cold or very warm. In very warm waters, the decomposition process would occur faster, the opposite for colder temperatures.

Assuming the body is completely submerged, there is a chance that some traces still exist, maybe bones and other organic material (assuming of course no sea life has access to the sunken submarine) and all this of course also depends on cause of death.


(I watch too much CSI, but thats what I think)

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Some facts:

The speed with which decomposition occurs varies greatly. Factors such as temperature, humidity, and the season of death all determine how fast a fresh body will skeletonize or mummify. A basic guide for the effect of environment on decomposition is given as Casper's Law (or Ratio): when there is free access of air a body decomposes twice as fast than if immersed in water and eight times faster than if buried in earth.
The skeleton itself is not permanent; acids in soils can reduce it to unrecognizable components; this is one reason given for the lack of human remains found in the wreckage of the Titanic , even in parts of the ship considered inaccessible to scavengers.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposition

[Linton]

There was a programme about the Hunley on C5 the other week,which showed the exhumation of a relative of a crew member.The corpse had been interred for 80 years but was suprisingly intact!The coffin had been in a concrete box.Other burials of similiar vintage had completely decomposed.

[Letum]

If a corpse becomes trapped in oxygen depleted, alkaline soil it can last for thousands of years with soft organs still intact.
I don't know if there are such soils or deposits under the sea. How acidic is sea water?

[Linton]

Decomposition website:http://www.deathonline.net/decomposition/decomposition/index.htm

[geetrue]

One more thought: What if the boat sank in shallow water with the boat rigged for dive,
all compartments sealed tight with the only damage say foreward of control.

Now you have ghost still playing card games and telling sea stories.

[joea]

*WARNING-THREAD CONTAINS LINKS NOT RECOMMENDED TO THOSE ABOUT TO HAVE A MEAL. - OR THOSE SICK WITH FLU (like myself)*

Cool stuff though, I mean I loved Quincy as a kid and CSI now, though at times I get naseous. :p

[CCIP]

Yea, I'm sure there's very little in the way of actual corpses left in WWI and WWII wrecks for example, but I sure hope they stay classified as grave sites and completely off limits. I think it's really a matter of respect in this case.

And ah, I had a few discussions with people where I completely grossed them out about decomposition and my views on it. Perhaps because of my negative views on normal post-death procedures (funerals/burial/cremation), I always wished that when I die, I do so in a way that doesn't require subsequent procedural disposal :p

[sunvalleyslim]

I bet Scott Peterson wishes he knew the answer to that question............:yep::rock:

[flyingdane]

Kinda boney topic. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/flyingdane/1130.gif

[August]

I dove on the U-853 a few years ago and didn't see any human remains, but the divemaster did tell us that occasionally people still find them scattered in and around the wreck.