Titanic’s mirage, part 2: Did a mysterious mirage‐associated haze camouflage the iceberg?

Abstract

The Titanic saga has mystified people for more than a century. One of the most debated questions is why the iceberg was spotted too late to avoid the collision. A recent theory declares that the lookouts could not have seen the iceberg earlier because a mirage‐associated haze camouflaged it. Many Titanic researchers do not believe the haze was real. Lord Mersey, British Wreck Commissioner, said, I mean the evidence before and after the accident is that the sky was perfectly clear, and therefore if the evidence of the haze is to be accepted, it must have been some extraordinary natural phenomenon. This article (the second of four articles that look into the Titanic mirage theory) discusses the hazardous nature of icebergs, examines the testimonies of the Titanic’s lookouts and other eyewitnesses in regards to the haze, and offers some arguments regarding a few natural phenomena that could explain the origin of the haze. The article argues that the haze could very well have been real – and not due to some extraordinary phenomenon, nor a mirage, but rather due to a relatively common phenomenon known as ‘sea smoke’.

Titanic’s mirage, part 4: How might currents have affected visibility and the rescue operation?

“…In the second part of the series, Zinkova () linked the haze reported by some eyewitnesses to sea smoke. Andrew Young subsequently drew the author's attention to a paper by Ives () titled Recurrent mirages at Puerto Peñasco .…”

“…If there was a temperature inversion above it, it would have probably been too elevated to produce a Fata Brumosa (a mirage of the sea surface), which Maltin () alleges was the cause of the haze developing at the Titanic ’s wreck site. Of course, it might have developed somewhere else, and in the first two parts of the series (Zinkova , b) the author did not exclude the possibility of the presence of a temperature inversion or a super‐refraction. However, very few temperature inversions end up producing Fata Morganas, and there is no evidence there was a temperature inversion capable of producing a Fata Morgana and/or a Fata Brumosa anywhere near the Titanic .…”

“…In communication with Siebren van der Werf, van der Werf raised the question of the sea smoke theory and its implications for visibility between the Titanic and the Californian . In Zinkova () I note that sea smoke is the most localised type of sea fog. It can manifest itself in an amazing variety of forms – for example, as a ‘wall’ with the appearance of a tsunami at the horizon (Figure 11(a)) or as airy and wispy fog (Figure 11(b), inside back cover).…”

“…This article is the fourth of four articles that discuss the Titanic mirage theory. In the previous parts we discussed the synoptic situation, the mysterious haze, low‐lying distress rockets and ‘miraging’ star glitters amongst other topics (Zinkova, ,b,c).…”

Titanic'smirage, part 3: A case of mistaken identity, low‐lying distress rockets and ‘miraging’ star glitters

“…In the first part of the series, we discussed the synoptic situation on the night of the disaster (Zinkova, ), and in the second part we discussed the iceberg hazards and the possible causes of the haze reported by the lookouts (Zinkova, ).…”