RCGS Unveils 3D Models of 2 Polar Wrecks More Than 1,000 Feet Deep
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 15
RCGS Unveils 3D Models of 2 Polar Wrecks More Than 1,000 Feet Deep
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 15
Summary
A 21-day Royal Canadian Geographical Society expedition has released detailed 3D “digital twins” of Shackleton’s Quest and Scott’s Terra Nova after surveying the wrecks in the Labrador Sea.
More than 1,000 feet below the surface, the team used Alvin and Voyis imaging systems to capture thousands of high-resolution scans and stitch them into models meant to preserve the ships before the ocean fully reclaims them.
Quest, Shackleton’s final ship, was found only in 2024, while Terra Nova carried Scott’s 1910 Antarctic expedition and later sank in 1943 after service in the Newfoundland seal fishery.
The dives also documented heavy trawling nets partly covering the wrecks and gave marine biologists new data on wildlife and decay around the wooden hulls.
RCGS says improved submersible technology is opening a new era of deep-ocean exploration, with the project aimed as much at inspiring future explorers as at solving historical mysteries.
As technology maps historic shipwrecks, could it also accelerate the exploitation of fragile Arctic seabeds through deep-sea mining?
Is the 'golden era' of shipwreck discovery masking the growing environmental risks from increased shipping in the rapidly melting Canadian Arctic?
2026 Heroic Age Expedition: International Team Creates 3D Models of Terra Nova and Quest Shipwrecks
Overview
In July 2026, the 'Heroic Age Expedition' launched from Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on a 21-day mission to document and preserve the shipwrecks of Terra Nova and Quest. Using the research vessel Atlantis as their base, the team deployed the crewed submersible Alvin and the ROV Falcon to reach and survey these deep-sea wrecks. Advanced Canadian Voyis 3D imaging technology played a key role, allowing the creation of detailed digital models. Careful planning and the use of sophisticated technology helped the team overcome the tough challenges of deep-sea exploration in remote polar regions, marking a new era in marine archaeology.