February 2009
Google is giving the inquisitive more interaction with the earth. In its recent release of version 5.0 of Google Earth, Google introduces a new feature ‘ocean’ to let users dive into the deep and explore 3D underwater terrain and browse content about the ocean that is contributed by leaders in ocean science and advocacy.
With this release comes additional new features that include: ‘Historical Imagery,’ ‘Touring’ and ‘Google Mars 3D.’ These new aspects of Google Earth allow users to travel back in time through archival satellite and aerial imagery, create a narrated tour of the earth and share it with other users and visit the planet Mars through high resolution imagery.
"With this latest version of Google Earth you can not only zoom into whatever part of our planet’s surface you wish to examine in closer detail, you can now dive into the world’s oceans that cover almost three-quarters of the planet and discover new wonders that had not been accessible in previous versions of this magical experience," said The Honorable Al Gore at the launch event in San Francisco.
"Moreover, with the new historical imagery feature, you can look back in time and see for yourself the unprecedented pace of change taking place on the Earth—largely because of human influences. For example, you can watch the melting of the largest glacier in Glacier National Park—the Grinnell Glacier—image by image, for the last decade."
"In discussions about climate change, the world's oceans are often overlooked despite being an integral part of the issue," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.
"About one-third of the carbon dioxide that we emit into the atmosphere ends up in the oceans. Furthermore, biodiversity loss in our oceans in the next 20-30 years will be roughly equivalent to losing an entire Amazon rainforest, but this goes unnoticed because we can't see it. This is why today's launch of Google Earth 5.0 is so important–it gives us an opportunity to change everyone's perspective."
Ocean in Google Earth
This combination of sea floor terrain and expert content provides users with an opportunity to explore some of the most difficult-to-reach parts of the world.
Virtual travelers to Hawaii, for example, can examine underwater volcanoes, see videos about the exotic marine life of the region, read about nearby shipwrecks and contribute photos and videos of favorite surf spots.
The ocean feature is on by default in the newest version of Google Earth.
As users zoom in on the ocean they will see a dynamic water surface, and once they dive beneath the surface they can navigate 3D sea floor terrain. The feature includes 20 content layers, containing information contributed by the world's leading scientists, researchers, and ocean explorers.
"What this project helped me begin to understand," said John Hanke, Director of Google Earth and Maps, "is the role the ocean plays in global climate change and the impact that humans are having on the oceans and the creatures that live in it.”
“It was a serious omission on our part not to include a better treatment of the oceans when we launched Google Earth, and I'm very happy that we've been able to address that. We now have a good substrate for publishing and exploring data about the 'other' two-thirds of the planet."
The new feature was developed in close collaboration with oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle and an advisory council of leading ocean advocates and scientists.
"I cannot imagine a more effective way to inspire awareness and caring for the blue heart of the planet than the new ocean in Google Earth, " said Earle.
"For the first time, everyone from curious kids to serious researchers can see the world, the whole world, with new eyes. In a stroke, Google Earth brings life and character to the blue part of the planet, and makes obvious the many ways land, water, atmosphere and living systems connect. Many 'aha!' moments are sure to come as people discover new patterns, new correlations, and countless personal discoveries while vicariously diving into the waters of the world."
Google Earth 5.0 is now available in 41 languages, previously just 26.
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