Question about the skeletons from the Titanic?

Question

I might have thought that the salt water could have preserved the skeletons from the Titanic for at least a hundred years. The bodies may even have stayed well for a bit longer, since in water...but was the salt water enough, and the water weight, enough to decompose the bodies AND bones?

Answer 1

one word...

sharks

Answer 2

The skeletal remains could very well be still intact. Sea water does not disolve bone. The bone could be encrusted with various sea creatures remians that attached to them. I have seen a photo of remains form WWII in a plane being encrusted by coral. The article below tells of remains from the Civil War of the US. Remains were found in a ship of Spain's from 300+ years back excavated on the Texas coast. It was in the sand but had been in water and water seeps through sand on the shore.

Answer 3

icky

Answer 4

maybe that was one of there mistakes in Titanic who knows!!

Answer 5

Skeletons dissolve at a depth of greater than 9000 feet. Titanic is at 12,000 feet, so there are no skeletons.

Answer 6

No at leat not the water pressure but the salt would decompose the bodies and maybe the bones as well, hope this helped!

Answer 7

I might have no idea what I am talking about, but salt water I thought can erode things VERY quickly.  You know, stones and the sides of mountains and things, much less some bones.  I never heard of it preserving anything... also, there are crabs and fish and all kinds of things down there that aren't going to let bodies decompose naturally.

Answer 8

I thought everyone knows water destroys tissue and bone rapidly. If anything salt would draw out any moisture in the bones causing them to decompose very quickly. Have you ever heard the line  "cross me and you'll be swimming with the fishes" fast way to get rid of evidence as long as the body doesn't float!!!!

Answer 9

Most of the people who died on Titanic died in the water. Either carried away by currents, or sank. the currents would have simply scattered the bones till they were unrecognizable and completely decomposed.

   There were maybe a few hundred bodies that would have been inside the hulk, some of those "tossed" when the ship split, suffering the fate above. Out of any remaining, the flesh would have eventually been worn away. The bones would likely have stayed together. But yes, the salt water would have most likely worn them away into nothingness. Still, I suspect every time someone lowers a camera into the main wreck, there is an anticipaton and fear that they might come across an intact skeleton. The pairs of shoes and boots found throughout the debris field is creepy enough. Not to mention the porcelin doll's face...

Answer 10

sadly the fish would have helped with the decomposition

Answer 11

I have a relative who died in the Titanic that day.

Answer 12

No, there are no skeletons left on the Titanic; hagfish, squat lobsters, crabs and sea cucumbers eat the flesh and red tubeworms eat the skeletons.

We know this from studying dead whales that sink to the deep seafloor which are totally consumed after a few years, the event is called a whale fall.

Answer 13

Probably.

Answer 14

actually, they are decomposing just not as quickly as you think it is.

Also, the ship is slowly disappointingly going, so they are trying to preserve it

Answer 15

the titanic is way too deep for sharks, and there are still bacteria which would decompose the bodies