{"id":2414,"date":"2024-07-08T07:07:58","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T07:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/?page_id=2414"},"modified":"2025-02-28T02:34:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:34:48","slug":"the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sinking of the RMS <em> Titanic <\/em>(1912)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>What happened?<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_2415\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2415\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2415\" src=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"876\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large-300x205.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large-1024x701.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large-768x526.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large-624x427.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2415\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Willy St\u00f6wer, German, 1864-1931. Titanic sinking, 1912. Oil on canvas. Die Gartenlaube.<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On April 14, 1912, the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a British steam-powered luxury cruise liner, sank in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada (image above). The ship, which was previously deemed \u201cunsinkable\u201d due to its size and cutting-edge technology, sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, U.S.A. Although 700 people survived the event, over 1,500 passengers and crew members perished in the tragedy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sank several hours after colliding with an iceberg. The iceberg created a 300-foot (91-meter) rupture in the ship\u2019s hull, below the water. This caused the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to quickly fill with water.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the ship was taking on water, passengers and crew members were evacuated on lifeboats. The White Star Line company which owned the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, however, equipped it with only enough lifeboats to accommodate one-third of the passengers. Upper-class patrons were given priority, leaving many middle and lower-class passengers behind.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several factors contributed to the sinking of the <i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Titanic<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For one, the vessel was traveling at full speed when it struck the iceberg, most likely because Captain E.J. Smith was attempting to beat the record for the fastest crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean. Historians also note that the <\/span><i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Titanic<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2019s radio operator failed to pass on an iceberg warning from a nearby ship.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How is this related to climate?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Historians attribute climate systems and conditions to the sinking of the RMS <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The icebergs, like the one that the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> collided with, form in the Labrador Sea off the coast of western Greenland and are first transported northwest by the West Greenland Current, and then southeast by the Labrador Current (map below). The Gulf Stream, a warm water current that flows from the equator along the east coast of North America, acts as a barrier preventing these icebergs from reaching lower latitudes (map below).\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For this reason, not many icebergs travel as far south as where the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sank (map below). However, climate scientists and historians suggest that icebergs were prevalent in this part of the North Atlantic Ocean in the winter and spring of 1912 due to unusual Arctic climate conditions. Several years of warm weather in the Arctic before the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> set sail increased rates of glacial melt in Greenland. The resulting meltwater functioned as a lubricant, allowing chunks of ice to break or calve from the glaciers and float into the ocean as icebergs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2634\" style=\"width: 1082px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2634\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2634\" src=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2025\/01\/Greenland_Labrador-Map.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1072\" height=\"705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2025\/01\/Greenland_Labrador-Map.png 1072w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2025\/01\/Greenland_Labrador-Map-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2025\/01\/Greenland_Labrador-Map-1024x673.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2025\/01\/Greenland_Labrador-Map-768x505.png 768w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2025\/01\/Greenland_Labrador-Map-624x410.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1072px) 100vw, 1072px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2634\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of the North Atlantic Ocean and Labrador Sea with labeled currents (from Bressan, 2017). Icebergs form off the west coast of Greenland and are transported in a counterclockwise direction within the Sea of Labrador and into the North Atlantic Ocean. Cyclical climate conditions in 1912 increased the amount of icebergs off the coast of Labrador, contributing to the sinking of the Titanic. The white star at the bottom of the map marks the site where the Titanic struck an iceberg and later sank.<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The sinking of the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has also been attributed to the phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), an atmospheric circulation system. In the winter before the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> set sail, the NAO was in the positive phase (image below right). During the positive phase of the NAO, low air pressure (L) in Iceland and high pressure (H) in the Azores (Atlantic islands off the west coast of Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula), strengthened the jet stream that intensified a narrow band of strong winds that blow from west to east across the Atlantic Ocean. This allowed icebergs to be more easily transported out of the Labrador Sea and into the North Atlantic Ocean to where the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sank (map above).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_2419\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2419\" class=\"wp-image-2419 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/NAO_Schematic_0-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/NAO_Schematic_0-1.png 620w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/NAO_Schematic_0-1-300x154.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2419\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of the North Atlantic Oscillation, an atmospheric circulation and pressure system in its negative phase (to the left) and positive phase (to the right). Surface air pressure is typically low (L) near Iceland and high (H) west of the Iberian peninsula. During the positive NAO phase, the pressure difference increases, creating a western jet stream that pushed icebergs from the Labrador Sea to the North Atlantic Ocean (from Lindsey and Dahlman, 2009).<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to weather records from 1912, a high atmospheric pressure system formed above the North Atlantic Ocean, causing calm weather conditions. The tranquil seas and clear skies made spotting icebergs increasingly difficult. Iceberg spotters identified icebergs by searching for breakwater around the bases of floating ice in the water. As a result, the still conditions on the night the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sank diminished spotters\u2019 ability to notice icebergs from a distance.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Furthermore, atmospheric weather conditions caused super refraction, a visual phenomenon that distorts light, making objects in the water more difficult to spot. The <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> was crossing warm Gulf Stream waters and had begun to enter the colder Labrador Current (map above). These conditions created layers of warm air above cold air, a phenomenon called thermal inversion (image below). Thermal inversion distorts light, causing a false horizon, where objects in the distance are obscured by a hazy mirage. This could have also contributed to why lookouts were unaware of the iceberg before it was too late.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_2420\" style=\"width: 641px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2420\" class=\"wp-image-2420 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/Titanic-Optical-Illustion-1-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"631\" height=\"631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/Titanic-Optical-Illustion-1-Large.jpeg 631w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/Titanic-Optical-Illustion-1-Large-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/Titanic-Optical-Illustion-1-Large-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/Titanic-Optical-Illustion-1-Large-624x624.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 631px) 100vw, 631px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2420\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diagram of the oceanic and atmospheric conditions on the night the Titanic sank. Layers of hot air sat above cold air, a phenomenon known as thermal inversion, which caused super refraction, making icebergs in the water harder to spot (from Smithsonian Magazine, 2012).<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Further exploration<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today, the sinking of the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Titanic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is seen as a lesson in the dangers of human hubris, or exaggerated self-confidence. The tragic event serves as a reminder of the consequences of overestimating our technology\u2019s ability to rise over the laws of nature. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">The sinking of the <i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Titanic<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has also been used as an <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/titanic-rising-by-weyes-blood\/\">analogy to anthropogenic climate change<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The disastrous fate of the <\/span><i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Titanic<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> reflects the consequences of ignorance and unpreparedness. White Star Line believed its ship was unsinkable, and intentionally equipped it with fewer lifeboats than necessary. Even after the <\/span><i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Titanic<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> struck the iceberg, passengers and crew members failed to act quickly, and some people still believed the vessel was unsinkable. Similarly, with climate change, scientists have warned about the effects of climate change for decades, yet governments and corporations have been slow to act in response.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>References and additional resources<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bressan, D. \u201cThe Climate Science Behind The Sinking Of The Titanic.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Forbes Magazine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. April 2017. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidbressan\/2017\/04\/12\/the-climate-science-behind-the-sinking-of-the-titanic\/?sh=7fee5ca84c09\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidbressan\/2017\/04\/12\/the-climate-science-behind-the-sinking-of-the-titanic\/?sh=7fee5ca84c09<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cDid the Titanic Sink Because of an Optical Illusion?\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smithsonian Magazine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. March 2012. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/did-the-titanic-sink-because-of-an-optical-illusion-102040309\/#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/did-the-titanic-sink-because-of-an-optical-illusion-102040309\/#<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ferrell, J. \u201cWeather maps from the night the Titanic sank.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AccuWeather<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. April 2022. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accuweather.com\/en\/weather-blogs\/weathermatrix\/weather-maps-from-the-night-the-titanic-sank\/1173542\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.accuweather.com\/en\/weather-blogs\/weathermatrix\/weather-maps-from-the-night-the-titanic-sank\/1173542<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lindsey, R. Dahlman, L. \u201cClimate Variability: North Atlantic Oscillation.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Climate.gov<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. August 2009. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.climate.gov\/news-features\/understanding-climate\/climate-variability-north-atlantic-oscillation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.climate.gov\/news-features\/understanding-climate\/climate-variability-north-atlantic-oscillation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Linkin, M. \u201cIcebergs: How Weather Doomed the Titanic.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Weatherwise<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. September 2007.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pruitt, S. \u201cWhy Did the Titanic Sink?\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">History.com<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. June 2023. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/why-did-the-titanic-sink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/why-did-the-titanic-sink<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Readfearn, G. \u201cScientist\u2019s theory of climate\u2019s Titanic moment the \u2018tip of a mathematical iceberg.\u2019\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Guardian<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. December 2019. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2019\/dec\/01\/scientists-theory-of-climates-titanic-moment-the-tip-of-a-mathematical-iceberg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2019\/dec\/01\/scientists-theory-of-climates-titanic-moment-the-tip-of-a-mathematical-iceberg<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rosenberg, J. \u201cSinking of the RMS Titanic.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ThoughtCo<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. March 2020. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/sinking-of-the-titanic-1779225\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/sinking-of-the-titanic-1779225<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stover, D. \u201cWhat we can learn about climate change from the Titanic.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. February 2019. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/2019\/02\/64136\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/2019\/02\/64136\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cSurvivors struggle to get away from the Titanic in this artist\u2019s conception.\u201d <i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Library of Congress<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. n.d. <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/pictures\/item\/96508497\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/pictures\/item\/96508497\/<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cTitanic.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">History.com.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> June 2023<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/early-20th-century-us\/titanic#aftermath-of-the-titanic-catastrophe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/early-20th-century-us\/titanic#aftermath-of-the-titanic-catastrophe.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How to cite this page<\/h3>\n<p><em>The Sinking of the RMS Titanic (1912)<\/em>. (2025, February 7). Climate in Global Cultures and Histories: Promoting Climate Literacy Across Disciplines. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\/\">https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What happened? On April 14, 1912, the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic, a British steam-powered luxury cruise liner, sank in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":293,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2414","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Sinking of the RMS  Titanic (1912) - Climate in Arts and History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Sinking of the RMS  Titanic (1912) - Climate in Arts and History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What happened? On April 14, 1912, the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic, a British steam-powered luxury cruise liner, sank in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Climate in Arts and History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-28T02:34:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Sinking of the RMS Titanic (1912) - Climate in Arts and History\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/97\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-08T07:07:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-28T02:34:48+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/the-sinking-of-the-rms-titanic-1912\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/97\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.science.smith.edu\\\/climatelit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/97\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/GettyImages-517357578-5c4a27edc9e77c0001ccf77d-Large.jpeg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":876,\"caption\":\"Willy St\u00f6wer, German, 1864-1931. Titanic sinking, 1912. Oil on canvas. 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