February 3, 2009 by James Oliver
Yesterday Google released a new version of the popular Google Earth mapping service that lets users explore the ocean floor as well the continents. For the fists time users are able to see the canyons and volcanoes that exist thousands of metres below the surface of the sea.
The new version is available for download now and contains a wealth of information, images and videos of fish and other sea life to water temperature information and model shipwrecks.
Obviously Google didn’t do this alone, their talents don’t quite extend to marine geology (yet), they were helped by numerous different partners such as the National Geographic Society, the Scripps Oceanographic Institution to name but a few.
The point of the project is to provide a unique learning resource and to foster the spirit of conservation in the world population – it also just happens to be really good PR for Google.
Back on dry land, the new update of Google also allows users to access historical images so that they can, for example, see cities changing over time or exactly how much the ice field is melting.
Environmental campaigner Al Gore was at Monday’s launch, he had this to say.
“My hope is that people around the world will use Google Earth to see for themselves the reality of the climate crisis,” – Al Gore
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