Check out close-up images WHOI snapped of famous shipwrecks off Greenland

Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution completed highly detailed surveys of shipwrecks linked to two prominent Antarctic explorers. The WHOI team departed Falmouth last month for a three-week trip to the Labrador Sea off Greenland, using the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s support to capture 3-D imagery of Shackleton’s last ship, the Quest, and Scott’s Terra Nova. WHOI said the project produced the first comprehensive visual surveys of both vessels, creating digital renderings meant to help the public and support further study of how wrecks degrade and affect surrounding ecosystems. The work will also feed engineering simulations by combining data on chemical corrosion and biological decay. During dives on Alvin—WHOI’s submersible used to survey the Titanic in 1986—researchers observed Terra Nova’s heavy deterioration, including a hull split and collapsed structure. A remote-operated vehicle filled in hard-to-reach angles.