PMore than 110 years after the sinking of the titanic, which killed nearly 1,500 people, scientists and historians are still wondering about the circumstances behind the tragedy. France Inter has looked into the subject, and recalls that specialists identify three main factors: the excessive speed of the liner, errors on the part of watchmen on the lookout and poor organization during the evacuation of passengers.
The second point is particularly questionable: how could the men on the lookout see an iceberg several tens of meters high so late when the weather conditions were excellent? The archives of Météo-France note this without difficulty: on the evening of April 14, 1912, “the titanic is at the center of a large anticyclone. The weather is very nice, there is no wind, no clouds, the weather is perfect, ”explains Marie-Hélène Pépin, head of the documentation department of Météo-France, to France Inter.
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Too good weather and mirages
As counter-intuitive as it may seem, it was probably this fine weather that was partly the cause of the error of the lookout men. First, because it was the mild temperatures of the winter of 1912 that led to the proliferation of icebergs. In addition, the temperature difference between water and air could create mirages: “In the polar region, the surface of the sea is very cold, but the air above is warmer. This generates a higher mirage, that is, the object is seen above the horizon. A boat, the sea are found in height”, details Xavier Popineau, author for France Info of the file devoted to the sinking of the Titanic.
This type of phenomenon is frequent in the polar regions, explain the meteorological experts. Called “Fata Morgana” or “Fata Bromosa”, it tricks those who fall victim to it into believing that a thick layer of fog hangs over the sea, effectively creating a “false horizon” above the real horizon. “It’s not a mist, it’s not the fog, it’s a mirage of mist”, sums up Xavier Popineau. An optical illusion that would have been enough to hide the fatal iceberg long enough, preventing the huge ship from maneuvering quickly enough to avoid it.