Google Ocean: Exploring the rest of the Earth

By Ellen Silk
NEWS EDITOR

Imagine flying along the Mariana Trench or tracking a white shark off the coast of Santa Cruz — that and more is possible with Google’s new application Google Ocean, which debuted Feb. 2 at the California Academy of Science in San Francisco.

The new layer of the interactive map covers the 72 percent of the earth’s surface previously not addressed by Google Earth, an interactive map with different search criteria.

Searching for a specific address, the map spins to a specific location and lets the user zoom in from satellite to street view. “Layers” map out neighborhoods and find restaurants, churches, dry cleaners, etc.  In “places,” the user can also download tours of Asia, fly to Disneyland and other locations.

Sylvia Earle, a marine biologist, oceanographer and National Geographic magazine’s explorer-in-residence, first addressed the missing chunk of the planet to John Hanke, director of Google Earth, at a conference in Spain. “You [Earle] were there and said some very nice things about Google Earth, but we really hadn’t done anything for the oceans,” Hanke said in a YouTube introduction to Google Ocean.

Google Ocean is a subcategory of Google Earth with extra features, like the “ocean sports” tab that finds the best surf, dive and kite surfing spots around the world, and an overview tour by Earle.

Joe Cannon, an ecology teacher at City College, said he uses Google Earth and Sky in his classes. “Google Earth is a great tool. I use it in my classes to give students a sense and overview of landscape,” Cannon said.

Biology instructor Peggy Lopipero-Langm has posted a link to Google Earth Outreach on her Introduction to Environmental Studies class Web site. Google Earth Outreach allows non-profit organizations such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center,  Greenpeace, or SeaFood Watch to add layers to the application. Clicking on the oceans tab will let you tour Web sites of these organizations or explore marine protected areas.

Google Earth is plain, but the water on the oceans layer appears shimmery and you can dive below the surface to explore the terrain of the ocean floor.

A flight along the Hawaiian Islands is a good example of what Google Ocean can do: Along with surf spots on the coast, you can click on the “shipwreck layer” to see pictures of the USS Utah or other shipwrecks under the ocean’s surface. There are ARKive sites, which explore species like the green turtle with videos, pictures and additional text. “Explore the Ocean” shows a spot of the coast off the island of Maui with information and pictures of humpback whales feeding and mating, as well as a quiz from National Geographic magazine to test your knowledge of the animal.

A more laid-back explorer can cruise along Hawaii’s hot spots in Jimmy Buffet’s tour of the islands. Complete with a Margritaville soundtrack, Jimmy’s tour highlights the best of Google Ocean – the only thing missing is the smell of the surf.