Essenhigh believes a smoldering fire in a pile of stored coal resulted in staff actions that led to the ship increasing speed as it navigated dangerous, iceberg-laden waters.
Together, the two findings may reveal more information about the ship's final hours, why the iceberg collision occurred, and how the vessel eventually broke apart.
The newly discovered debris field, which includes objects associated with life onboard the ship, as well as several decks, levels and portholes of the hull, paints a picture of decadence that stands in sharp contrast to the silt-covered wreckage of the hull.
Arnie Geller, president of R.M.S. Titanic Inc., told Discovery News, "The found section of the hull is a huge, pie-shaped piece of the ship that broke off from the middle of the Titanic. It weighs over 100 tons."
The discovery confirms speculation that the ship did not merely break in half, but split apart in sections as it sank. Geller and his team hope to raise the hull and they have targeted it for future recovery projects.
While the decked section once would have housed first, second and third class passengers, Geller said he and his crew have never found any human remains.
"Most of the passengers and crew had lifejackets and were off the ship at the time it sank," he explained. "Engineers who kept the lights on, however, might have gone down with the ship."
Geller added that at the wreckage site, 6,000 pounds of water pressure exists per square inch, so it is unlikely that any human remains would be left.
Robotic Diver
Expedition 2004, which led to the hull's discovery and concluded early last month, allowed the salvagers for the first time to rely exclusively on a deep ocean Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) with robotic arms. Geller explained that the ROV requires at least two workers to operate it — one to control the overall robot, and another to control its arms.
The ROV enabled the team to find delicate objects within the debris field, such as an intact champagne bottle and a Cantrell & Cochran soft drink bottle from Ireland. These objects, and many others, came out of the ship's first class A La Carte Restaurant, which was modeled after a restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Paris.
"We found an absolutely spectacular wall sconce, gilded in gold, that includes three French light fixtures," said Geller. "It provides an elegant representation of what diners would have seen as they descended the grand staircase."
An electric milk scalder that was very high tech for its time and would have been used at the restaurant's buffet also was found during this latest expedition, along with a crystal decanter, pieces of Turkish bath tiles, parts of beds and possible leather luggage fragments.
All of these objects, and the rest of the vessel, sank less than three hours after the White Star Line's steamship hit an iceberg with its starboard bow.
New Theory
According to Essenhigh's new theory, the impact occurred because workers may have heightened the speed at which coal was removed from its storage bunker in an attempt to increase the rate of drawdown to put out a smoldering fire, which is common even today for stored coal.
Essenhigh said there are records proving that fire control teams were present at the ports of Southampton and Cherbourg because a fire was reported to have been burning onboard the Titanic.
An increase in the amount of coal fueling the ship's steam engine boiler would have raised the amount of steam, which in turn could have led to a sudden, faster cruising speed, according to the new theory.
"It's very speculative," Essenhigh admitted. But he then added, "This (a coal storage fire) was a chronic problem. If the fire is there you know it's there and it's very difficult to get it out."
Essenhigh will present his theory this Sunday in Denver at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.
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