On Wednesday, a search team called Endurance 22 announced that it had located the wreck (沉船) Endurance. The Endurance was found 1. 87 miles below the ocean's surface, about four miles south of its last known location near Antarctica. The ship sank after it got trapped in the ice in the Weddell Sea in 1915.
The discovered ship is still in excellent shape. The name can be clearly read on the back of the ship. Its wheel looks ready to be turned. Even though the ship is made of wood and is over 100 years old, it has survived with little damage. Scientists say that the small organisms (微生物) that normally break down wooden objects underwater don't live in cold water around Antarctica.
The Endurance 22 is led by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. The team ran the project from an ice-breaking ship which was able to handle the difficult conditions of the Weddell Sea. To locate the Endurance, the team used two underwater robots called Sabertooths, which were especially useful, since they could travel under the ice and go where the ship could not. The robots were looking for anything sticking up above the seafloor. For the last two weeks, the Sabertooths robots have been scanning the seafloor in a 150-square mile area around the Endurance's last known location. Last Saturday, the ship was found. After the ship was located, the Sabertooths used high-quality cameras and scanners to record the Endurance in detail.
The Endurance is expected to remain untouched. Antarctica's waters are protected by an international agreement
which means the ship can't be disturbed. The Endurance 22 team plans to create a digital 3D model of the wreck site, using a careful scan they made. This will allow scientists to study the ship in detail without disturbing it.
