One of Franklin's North-west passage ships located

[TarJak]

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-10/canada-locates-british-explorer-ship-lost-in-1846/5732292 Great news about this find.
They are not sure if it's the Terror or the Erebus that has been located. Will be interested to see how far explorations will go and whether they will be any attempts to recover artefacts from the ship to aid identification.

[Eichhörnchen]

That was fascinating... thanks

[Aktungbby]

Fascinating! I had just posted something about the lead in the canned food solder that may have abetted the expedition's disaster. Erebus, a Hecla class bomb ship built in Wales, is at 105 ft with a 29 ft beam; Terror a Vesuvius class, built in Devon, is slightly smaller at 102 ft with a 27 ft beam- the slight dimension differences should aid in identifying the vessel's identity. Great post Tarjac! A little more detail: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/ship-from-lost-franklin-expedition-found-in-arctic (http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/ship-from-lost-franklin-expedition-found-in-arctic) Vessel found in Queen Maud Gulf map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/68%C2%B019'58.8%22N+101%C2%B019'58.8%22W/@70.7533698,-102.9809512,1295054m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0?hl=en (https://www.google.com/maps/place/68%C2%B019'58.8%22N+101%C2%B019'58.8%22W/@70.7533698,-102.9809512,1295054m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0?hl=en)

[Jimbuna]

Some video footage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm4Oq-HDWcY

[August]

This might go a long way in helping to clear up the lead poisoning mystery.

[TarJak]

That is why I'm interested in finding out how far the intend to go with recovering artefacts. Would be interesting to know a bit more about what really happened.

[Buddahaid]

It seems likely as it stated the wreck was in only eleven meters of water.

[Stealhead]

Being in cold water most artifacts should be fairly well preserved.

[Dread Knot]

This sounds right up James Cameron's and Robert Ballard's alley. I'd be very surprised if one of them doesn't have a submersible down there by next summer. :D

[Stealhead]

Not deep enough for those guys. This one lies at a mere 11 meters/36 feet. Cameron would make a 2 hour long movie showing him jump in the water in scuba gear and then swim the 36 feet down. after that he would make Avatar 25.

[Dread Knot]

Not deep enough for those guys. This one lies at a mere 11 meters/36 feet. Cameron would make a 2 hour long movie showing him jump in the water in scuba gear and then swim the 36 feet down. after that he would make Avatar 25.

:rotfl2:

Well, with that Arctic experience as inspiration I guess I now know why the Na'vi are blue. :)

[August]

I wouldn't have thought that 36 feet was deep enough to avoid being damaged by icebergs but it looks pretty intact.

[TarJak]

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jan/26/lead-poisoning-polar-sir-john-franklin

Interesting article on the question of lead poisoning.

[Admiral Halsey]

I gotta admit I was hoping they'd have been found together frozen in an iceberg just needing to be thawed out. Still doesn't look to bad compared to how bad she could be.

[Aktungbby]

The weird thing is the ship made it further( Queen Maud Gulf) than the wretched crew did after abandoning the trapped vessels and attempting to trek it out. Be interesting if they could refloat it like the Swedish Vasa, as it's so shallow and cold, and the ships were initially selected because of their heavy timbered mortar-gun recoil reinforced "ice-crush proof" structure with added iron plating reinforcement. "Some tried to haul a ship’s boat loaded with supplies across land to the south, baffling historians until lab analysis showed they had sky-high levels of lead in their bodies. Lead, a neurotoxin, can interfere with a person’s ability to think."

[Aktungbby]

The vessel found is identified as the HMS EREBUS-the dimensions did make the difference! http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/10/01/franklin_expedition_ship_identified_as_hms_erebus. html (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/10/01/franklin_expedition_ship_identified_as_hms_erebus. html) http://globalnews.ca/video/1593826/franklin-shipwreck-identified-as-the-hms-erebus/ (http://globalnews.ca/video/1593826/franklin-shipwreck-identified-as-the-hms-erebus/)