Titanic Sinking - Ocean Temperature?

Question

I've heard that the water temperature of the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912 was -2°C (28°F) which is *just* above sea water's freezing point. Why was it still so cold in the middle of April? Is this normal? What would the sea temperature have been in February? If it had been any colder, wouldn't it be frozen? But the Atlantic never freezes at that latitude.

Answer 1

Yes, it would be that cold. April is still very cold in those waters. The Atlantic does in fact freeze at that latitude. Open waters do not get much seasonal ice do to wave action, but bays can and do freeze up. The seals breed on seasonal ice which is drifting out to sea by the time they whelp, and a few years ago an icebreaker had to be used to keep Boston harbour open

Answer 2

The ocean is so cold in this area due to the labrador current.

"The Labrador Current is a cold current in the north Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia. It is a continuation of the West Greenland Current and the Baffin Island Current.

In spring and early summer, this current transports icebergs from the glaciers of Greenland southwards into the trans-Atlantic shipping lanes".

taken from Wikepedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labrador_Current

This link:

http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/labrador_3.html

shows the temperature distributions of the labrador current during all seasons. Note the colder water temps during Jan/Feb/March as compared to April. Unfortunately, it doesn't give a temperature scale.

Answer 3

Actually, the real temperature was 6-9 C, researchers can't say for sure so they gave us this range. Why the water was so cool? Because at this time the cold Labrador current is very strong it hits warm Gulf stream and due to mixture of hot and cold waters the very thick fog is created which was the reason they didn’t see it coming. Now the cold Labrador created the fog (what happens each year) and it cools the waters. It is estimated that that an average human can stay in 6-9 C water for 2-4 hours maximum before the end comes.

Answer 4

basically salt water has a lower freezing point compared to pure water. also, the great body of water do have a higher capacity to retain heat. another reason is that ocean usually carries with them warm currents from other region and couple with wave action, it makes freezing a wee bit more difficult.

i believe these are the reasons why it did not freeze. however, should there be a drastic temperature change that results in a great drop of temp in the region, i do believe it will freeze.

Answer 5

Well, parts of it do freeze, hence the big damn iceberg that they struck. Besides, water always takes longer to warm up than the air does, which is why it's better to go swimming in the ocean in August instead of July, even though the air temperature's about the same.