A crew from the Schmidt Ocean Institute discovered the Terra Nova whilst testing echo-sounding equipment aboard its flagship vessel - the R/V Falkor.
One of the scientists noticed an unidentified feature during sonar mapping of the sea bed.
Team members then noted that the 57m length of the feature matched the reported length of the Terra Nova.
Shrimp A camera package called Shrimp was sent down to film the wreck
Technicians dropped a camera package called Shrimp to just above the presumed wreck to film it.
Camera tows across the top of the target showed the remains of a wooden wreck lying on the seabed.
Footage from the Shrimp also identified a funnel lying next to the ship.
Taken together, the features of the wreck closely matched historical photos of the Terra Nova, leading to the identification.
Brian Kelly, an education officer from the Discovery Point museum in Dundee, where the ship was built, told the Daily Record newspaper: "The Terra Nova has such a story.
"She went through a lot in her lengthy history and really was the pinnacle of Scottish wooden shipbuilding.
"It is incredible that one of the most famous ships in history has been found 100 years after the race for the pole and in the year commemorating the event."
Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk