Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News 2 Feb 09;
Exploring the oceans no longer requires a wetsuit.
Ocean in Google Earth, which launched today, builds on the free, popular 3-D mapping software Google Earth by allowing users to navigate underwater in unprecedented clarity.
New "layers" to the satellite-based software include topographic maps of the seafloor; locations of shipwrecks and algal blooms; and even maps of the tiny phytoplankton that provide the bulk of the ocean's food chain.
Within the layers, users can explore multimedia features that combine data and maps with videos, quizzes, and other interactives.
The new fish-eye view—accessible via a free upgrade—aims to provide a public platform for users to talk about the oceans, said John Hanke, director of Geo Products at Google.
"It really is a means... [of] raising geographical awareness of oceans and … the pressures that are being put on life in the ocean," he added.
Into the Blue
The idea first came to well-known marine biologist Sylvia Earle at a conference in Madrid a few years ago, when she addressed Hanke during a presentation.
"I just blurted it out," Earle, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, recalled. (National Geographic News is owned by the National Geographic Society.)
"I said, I hope someday, John, you'll finish [Google Earth]. You've done a great job with the dirt, but there's all that water out there—the world is blue."
Seventy-two percent of the Earth is covered by oceans.
Hanke said that Earle's comments "got under our skin—it doesn't make sense that the information stops at the coastline."
Earle, who narrates the introductory video, suggested from the start that the program go beyond maps: "You need to be able to touch and dive in and see what's there," she said.
The resulting product is a vibrant panorama, from videos of bluefin tuna on the hunt to quizzes about sea life—from leopard seals to nudibranchs.
Clicking on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean layer, for instance, combines maps of the region with videos and Web links showing reefs' colorful denizens.
In addition to National Geographic, several well-known marine institutions and initiatives, such as the Census of Marine Life (a ten-year effort to catalog marine organisms), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have contributed data.
Why the Ocean Matters
For Earle, Google Earth's high-tech porthole to the oceans has an urgent import: The seas' health is declining, and less than one percent of the world's marine waters are protected.
"This is another major breakthrough in showing the people of the world why the ocean matters," Earle said.
For instance, "the ocean provides the oxygen we breathe, much of the food the world eats, and drives the climate we need to survive—but it is still largely a mystery," Tom McCann, spokesperson for the nonprofit organization Ocean Conservancy, said in an email.
"We hope the addition of Ocean in Google Earth will inspire more people to explore the seas they depend on every day," added McCann, whose organization has provided Google data about marine reserves in the Pacific Ocean.
The new program will also make on-the-ground conservation work easier, added Enric Sala, a marine ecologist and National Geographic fellow.
"It allows us to [get] critical information … in almost real time, in a way that is so much more exciting than dry written reports," Sala said.
"We are now using a jet instead of a bicycle. ..."
Google Earth allows web users to explore world's oceans in 3D
A new Google Earth tool will enable internet users to embark on a virtual, three-dimensional tour of the world's oceans.
Claudine Beaumont, The Telegraph 2 Feb 09;
The Ocean tool combines renderings of underwater terrain with expert content from marine biologists and oceanographers, allowing web surfers to swim around virtual underwater volcanoes, watch videos about exotic marine life, read about nearby shipwrecks, and contribute photos and videos of their favourite diving spots.
Google said that humans had only ever explored around five per cent of the world's oceans, which cover more than 70 per cent of the earth's surface and contain 80 per cent of all life.
Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said the launch of Ocean in Google Earth provided an opportunity to change people's perspective about the importance of the oceanic ecosystem in the overall health of the planet.
"In discussions about climate change, the world's oceans are often overlooked, despite being an integral part of the issue," he said. "Biodiversity loss in our oceans in the next 20 to 30 years will be roughly equivalent to losing an entire Amazon rainforest, but this goes unnoticed because we can't see it."
The Ocean feature is included in the newest version of Google Earth. As users zoom in on the ocean they will see a dynamic water surface, which they can then "dive" beneath to navigate the sea floor. Areas available for exploration include the Mid-Ocean Ridge, the world's longest underwater mountain range, which stretches 50,000km around the globe.
Many of the world's leading scientists, researchers and ocean explorers have contributed to the fact files, videos and information sheets within the tool. There is even new and unseen footage from the archives of Jacques Cousteau, as well as the ability to track satellite-tagged sea animals, such as whales.
Sir David Attenborough hailed the launch of Ocean in Google Earth, describing the ability to explore the seas as a "privilege".
The latest version of Google Earth includes a new "time travel" feature that allows users to observe recent changes to areas or landmarks that have previously been captured by the search giant's satellites.
It means internet users can watch sports stadiums used in the recent Olympics and World Cup taking shape, as well as monitor the rapid melting of the Grinnell Glacier in Montana, and the desertification of Lake Chad in Africa.
