Travelling on the research vessel Atlantis, a U.S. Navy ship operated by WHOI on behalf of the ocean science community, the team will spend three days exploring each wreck site. A remote operated vehicle will map the wrecks and their debris fields to produce exceptionally detailed digital twins — virtual replicas that can be used for further study. Team members will also have the opportunity to descend to the wrecks in the human-occupied vehicle Alvin, famously the first submersible to visit the wreck of Titanic. 

“Being in Alvin and looking at these wrecks that carried explorers during the Heroic Age, it’s a wonderful sort of juxtaposition,” says Geiger. “It shows how quickly we have advanced from sailing ships to this remarkable piece of technology in a relatively short time frame.”

Parallel journeys, historic rivals

The wrecks of Quest and Terra Nova lie off the coasts of Labrador and southern Greenland, respectively. Their final resting places are a testament to their primary purpose as sealing vessels, built to withstand the crushing ice floes of the Labrador Sea in pursuit of the pelts and blubber that were in high demand through the 19th and early 20th century. But between sealing seasons, it was common for ice-capable vessels to be hired or purchased for polar expeditions, and both Quest and Terra Nova had many adventures in both the Arctic and Antarctic.

As the 20th century dawned, reaching the poles became an obsession among Western explorers. The so-called Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was marked by a series of ambitious expeditions to explore and collect scientific data about the virtually unknown southern continent. Expedition parties travelled by steam, sail and sledge, risking their lives for the chance to make new discoveries.

Shackleton and Scott were two of the most towering figures of the age, initially united as colleagues on Scott’s Discovery expedition of 1901-1904, but thereafter to become bitter rivals.

“Shackleton was a very determined and charismatic guy, and he was able to get himself in a position to be not only a member of the expedition, but part of the South Polar party,” says Geiger. The three-man party, consisting of Scott, Shackleton and zoologist and expedition artist Edward Wilson, set a new “farthest south” record on their march to the pole, but were ultimately forced to turn back when Shackleton became seriously ill with symptoms of scurvy. Although Shackleton recovered upon their return to Discovery, Scott invalided him home early — a humiliation Shackleton never forgave.

The race to the pole was on. Shackleton attempted it again on his Nimrod expedition of 1907-1909, this time coming within 180 kilometres of the pole. With the party’s food running out, Shackleton made the difficult decision to turn back rather than risk the lives of any of his men, already demonstrating the leadership qualities for which he is celebrated today.

“Shackleton probably could have made the pole,” says Geiger, “but I doubt very much that all of them would have returned safely. So, he made the decision to put human life over glory.”