A 21-day deep-sea expedition, which departed from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts on 2 July, has successfully documented the final resting places of two iconic vessels from the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. Funded by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), the project utilized advanced underwater imaging technology from the Canadian firm Voyis to generate highly detailed 3D digital twins of the wrecks of the Quest and the Terra Nova.
The Quest, used by Ernest Shackleton, was located more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) below the surface of the Labrador Sea. Shackleton, a titan of polar history, died of a heart attack aboard the ship in 1922 while exploring the high Arctic. The vessel later sank in 1962 and remained undiscovered until 2024. John Geiger, the head of the RCGS and leader of the expedition, described the experience of viewing the largely intact ship in the abyss as a powerful and moving encounter.
The expedition also explored the remains of the Terra Nova, the wooden-hulled vessel that carried Robert Falcon Scott and his crew during their 1910 expedition to the South Pole. Scott reached the pole on 17 January 1912, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had arrived a month earlier. Scott and his party perished on the return journey, and the Terra Nova, which eventually sank in 1943, later served in the Newfoundland seal fishery. Benen ElShakhs, the pilot for the Alvin submersible used during the mission, noted the surreal experience of observing a century-old ship resting over 500 feet below the surface.
The project highlights a significant advancement in shipwreck investigation. By knitting together thousands of high-resolution 3D images on the spot, researchers are able to preserve these sites digitally as they are slowly reclaimed by the ocean. Geiger emphasized that the mission serves to inspire future exploration, noting that vast areas of the ocean, particularly in the Canadian Arctic, remain unmapped.
Beyond the historical preservation, the team observed the impact of natural decay and human activity, including heavy fishing nets left by trawlers on the wrecks. While modern technology like the upgraded Alvin submersible—now capable of exploring depths up to 21,300 feet—drives these discoveries, Geiger maintains that the human element remains essential. He argued that while robots and automated vehicles will define future missions, the core of exploration remains rooted in the human capacity for wonder, poetry, and connection to the past.
Moments after devouring the final glimmers of light, the seafloor offered nothing but darkness and silt. Then the bow appeared.
“There’s so little of the ocean that’s mapped,” he said. “The territorial waters of Canada are largely unmapped in the Arctic. There’s so little we know and I’m staggered at the ignorance we have about the oceans and about ocean life.”
