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The passenger steamer Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank on the night of 14–15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic. Of the approximate 2,200 people on board, over 1,500 did not survive. After the disaster, there was interest in the iceberg itself to explain the circumstances of the collision and the resulting damage to the supposedly unsinkable ship. Because of the Titanic disaster, an International Ice Patrol was founded whose mission was to reduce the dangers of ice to shipping. The iceberg played a role in the cultural reception of the disaster. As the counterpart to the luxurious ship, it stands for the cold and silent force of nature that cost the lives of so many people. The iceberg became a metaphor in various political and religious contexts. It appears in poetry as well as in pop culture. The most important sources for the iceberg are reports from surviving crew of the Titanic and passengers of the Titanic. There is also historical data on the weather and currents in the North Atlantic that may help to shed light on the disaster. Ships took photographs of icebergs near the spot where Titanic's lifeboats were found. The iceberg is purportedly visible in one of these photographs. Origin and fate It can only be speculated where and when the Titanic iceberg calved from its glacier. Olson, Doescher, and Sinnott suspect the origin of the fatal iceberg in the Jakobshavn Glacier near Disko Bay on Greenland's west coast. It may have formed in 1910 or 1911 and could have drifted north with the West Greenland Current into Baffin Bay, from where it would have drifted south again thanks to the Labrador Current. An iceberg can, for example, be washed up on the coast or run aground. There it melts, or it comes free again and continues its journey south. The authors also address the question of whether a certain constellation of the Sun, Earth, and Moon may have had an influence. On 4 January 1912, there was a spring tide at the same time that the Moon was closer to the Earth than usual. This could have influenced the calving of icebergs. However, such an iceberg would hardly have reached the site of the Titanic disaster in April of the same year. But the spring tide may have played a role in refloating a stranded iceberg. Bigg and Wilton doubt that the solar arrangement of the Moon, Earth, and Sun in question was significant. A few days around 4 January would not have had much influence on calving; in winter, moreover, many fjords were blocked by sea ice. There was also increased iceberg formation in other years. When it comes to calving, they tend to think of factors like the water surface temperature of the Labrador Sea. For their part, Bigg and Wilton have tried to show a possible path of the fatal iceberg with the help of computer simulations. To do this, they assumed that icebergs at that time originated mainly in the south or southwest of Greenland, whereas today they originate more from the northwest of the island. In 1912, more icebergs were sighted than on average in the 20th century, but it was not an extreme iceberg year. The warm and wet year 1908 created the conditions for a huge iceberg to travel in the early autumn of 1911 near southwest Greenland. This would have traveled west towards Canada and been transported south by the Labrador Current – along the Canadian coast including Newfoundland, the so-called Iceberg Alley. Because of the systematic observations of icebergs at the time (even before the Ice Patrol was established), it is even very likely, according to Bigg and Wilton, that the later fatal iceberg was sighted in the process. From 10 to 15 April, there was a high-pressure area over most of the North Atlantic. It remained there for the first three days of the Titanic voyage, ensuring calm seas and clear skies. On 13 April, a depression over Greenland with cold polar air and winds from the northwest drove icebergs south into the shipping lanes. Because of the calm sea, the icebergs hardly created any breakwaters, making them difficult to see at night. On its way into the Atlantic and also after the collision, the iceberg melted because of the water temperature. An iceberg exists for about two to three years. Accordingly, if the fatal iceberg calved in 1910 or 1911, it may not have disappeared until the end of 1912 or even during 1913. However, considering that the iceberg may have been three years old at the time of the collision, it probably existed for only a week or two after the April 1912 accident, because it may soon have reached the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream. Ice warnings in April 1912 Captain Edward Smith and his officers knew before they left Southampton that the drift ice field was larger in extent and more southerly than in previous years. In addition, several radio reports ("marconigrams") were received from other ships during the voyage, warning the Titanic of drifting ice fields and icebergs. The first report came on 12 April at 17:46 from the French ship La Touraine, stating that it had sighted thick field ice itself, and that there were ice warnings from the Paris as well, which had seen field ice and two icebergs. On 13 April, Titanic encountered the Furness-Withy steamer Rappahannock, which was heading east. Whether the steamer actually reported an ice field to the Titanic by Morse lamp (as some authors claim) is disputed. It was later reported in a newspaper that the Rappahannock had been damaged in an ice field, but the chief officer of the Rappahannock did not mention that he had reported this to the Titanic. On the day of the disaster, 14 April, the first information about ice came from the Caronia. First, at 09:12 (Titanic's board time), the Caronia radioed the Titanic that westbound steamers had reported icebergs, growlers (smaller pieces of ice), and field ice along the 42nd parallel. Smith from the Titanic had the marconigram sent to him answered with thanks. Secondly, the Dutch ship Noordam radioed a message to the Titanic via the Caronia at 11:47. The Noordam informed about an area north of the 42nd parallel: "much ice reported". Smith also thanked her for this message less than an hour later, via the Caronia. Captain Smith showed this marconigram to Second Officer Charles Lightoller, and he had it hung up in the chart room (where it remained the only one). Later, at 13:49, there was a report from the German steamer Amerika. It had passed two large icebergs. This message was sent to the Hydrographic Office in Washington. With its weak radio equipment, the Amerika itself could not reach the radio station at Cape Race, Newfoundland. However, Titanic's radio cabin received the message and forwarded it to Cape Race (at 21:32). From there, Cape Race telegraphed it on. There is no evidence that the Titanic's bridge received this information. At around 13:54, the Titanic received a marconigram from the Baltic. It was addressed to Captain Smith and reported: The Baltic itself has had fine weather with mode.... Discover the Richard Rankin Russell popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Richard Rankin Russell books.