SCIENTISTS TO ASSESS CONDITION OF TITANIC

A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS WILL LAUNCH AN EXPEDITION TO THE TITANIC NEXT MONTH TO ASSESS THE DETERIORATING CONDITION OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS SHIPWRECK AND CREATE A DETAILED THREE-DIMENSIONAL MAP THAT WILL 'VIRTUALLY RAISE THE TITANIC' FOR THE PUBLIC. THE EXPEDITION TO THE SITE 2½ MILES BENEATH THE NORTH ATLANTIC IS BILLED AS THE MOST ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC MISSION TO THE TITANIC WRECK SINCE ITS DISCOVERY 25 YEARS AGO. THE 20 DAY EXPEDITION IS TO LEAVE ST JOHN'S NEWFOUNDLAND UNDER A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN RMS TITANIC INC WHICH HAS EXCLUSIVE SALVAGE RIGHTS TO THE WRECK, AND THE WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION IN MASSACHUSETTS. THE EXPEDITION WILL NOT COLLECT ARTIFACTS BUT WILL PROBE A 2 BY 3 MILE DEBRIS FIELD WHERE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ARTIFACTS REMAIN SCATTERED. ORGANIZERS SAY THE NEW SCIENTIFIC DATA AND IMAGES WILL ULTIMATELY BE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC. THE TITANIC STRUCK ICE AND SANK ON ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS ON 15.APRIL.1912, LEAVING 1,522 PEOPLE DEAD. SINCE OCEANOGRAPHER ROBERT BALLARD AND AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM DISCOVERED THE TITANIC IN 1985, MOST OF THE EXPEDITIONS HAVE EITHER BEEN TO PHOTOGRAPH THE WRECK OR GATHER THOUSANDS OF ARTIFACTS, LIKE FINE CHINA, SHOES AND SHIP FITTINGS. RMS TITANIC MADE THE LAST EXPEDITION TO THE SITE IN 2004. THE COMPANY, A SUBSIDIARY OF PREMIER EXHIBITIONS INC OF ATLANTA, CONDUCTS TRAVELING DISPLAYS OF THE TITANIC ARTIFACTS, WHICH THE COMPANY SAYS HAVE BEEN VIEWED BY TEN MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.