Ghosts of Scapa Flow | Karolina Jacobsson​ | TEDxAbertayUniversity

Ghosts of Scapa Flow is a talk that explores the different methods of digitally preserving underwater wrecks, for non-divers to be able to experience them, as well as for documentation purposes. These, sometimes century old, monuments are slowly degrading and rotting away on the bottom of seas, oceans and lakes, and without a digital preservation, soon enough, even divers won’t be able to visit them. These wood and steel giants carry hunting stories of human triumph and tragedy, so often forgotten in today’s world.

I am a 4th year Computer Arts BA (Hons) student with the University of Abertay Dundee. My passion for diving goes back over a decade, to when I tried diving, for the second time, in the frigid and murky waters of Scapa Flow. The following year I came back and, at the age of eleven, I passed all the tests and became a certified diver. From then on I kept pushing the boundaries, gaining certification after certification till I became a scuba diving instructor at the age of 19. On the way I became an avid fan of wreck diving and a big advocate for their preservation. Thanks to my studies at Abertay I have been able to understand and participate in the digital preservation of these, often forgotten, historical monuments.