In 2010, scientists looking at samples of rusticles from the wreck of the Titanic have said that a recently discovered species of bacteria called Halomonas titanicae is consuming the metal on the ship itself, and as this bacteria feeds on the ship's iron, it causes high rates of deterioration.
They may be familiar from underwater photographs of shipwrecks, such as the RMS Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck.
RMS Titanic | Titanic | RMS Lusitania | Titanic (1997 film) | RMS ''Titanic'' | RMS Queen Mary | Sinking of the RMS Titanic | RMS ''Lusitania'' | RMS Carpathia | ''Titanic'' | RMS Olympic | RMS Queen Mary 2 | RMS Queen Elizabeth | The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald | RMS ''Queen Mary'' | RMS ''Olympic'' | Wreck of the RMS Titanic | Titanic's | Titanic II | RMS Leinster | Fat Wreck Chords | United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic | The Sinking of the Titanic | Starship Titanic | Sinking ships for wreck diving sites | RMS Trent | RMS ''Leinster'' | RMS ''Carpathia'' | RMS Britannia | RMS Aquitania |
Presented in conjunction with the discoverer of the wreck of Titanic, Dr Robert Ballard, the gallery illustrates his expeditions to the ship through footage, audio and images.