http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/sh/tixaWyQzFX/what-lies-beneath/

What lies beneath

Three summers ago, divers found the first wreck of the Franklin Expedition. Using state-of-the-art technology, they're now piecing together what led to the tragedy

In the murkiness shrouding the wrecks of the Franklin Expedition, the mysteries are endless.

How did HMS Erebus and HMS Terror end up where they did in the mid-19th century, meeting a sad demise in the icy depths off the coast of what is now Nunavut?

What about John Franklin and the 128 men who set out with him from England on their quest for the elusive Northwest Passage? What did they do as their grim fate became apparent?

And who were the last survivors?

In the face of so many unknowns, Parks Canada underwater archeologists and researchers are bringing many high-tech underwater tools and techniques to bear. And in that hunt, they've already latched onto some tantalizing discoveries, from DNA inside a boot to pewter buttons they think belonged to two Royal Navy sergeants on the expedition.

There is a certain irony in using cutting-edge technology to explore the Franklin ships. When Erebus and Terror set sail from Greenhithe in 1845, the wooden warships had been reinforced with iron sheeting for polar exploration and were renowned for the scientific and naval innovations on board.

Still, none of that staved off the tragic end of Franklin and his men after the ships were beset in ice off King William Island in 1846 and deserted two years later, according to a note left by the crew in a cairn.

The wrecks were found in 2014 and 2016, respectively, and state-of-the-art technology is being martialed to aid in their exploration. But beyond probing what remains within their wooden timbers, there is the hope that what researchers find will help them get inside the heads of the men on that expedition as disaster struck.

See the rest at the link.