New Version of Google Earth Simulates Details of Ocean Floor

The latest version of Google Earth includes a vast area missing from earlier versions of the software — the undersea world. The popular software, which enables users to scan satellite photos of the earth in minute detail, now takes readers on a virtual tour of the world’s oceans. Viewers can watch animated videos of deep ocean canyons, click on images of rare sea life, and visit a 3D model of Aquarius, the world’s only underwater laboratory. A partner in compiling the new version of the software is ocean explorer Sylvia Earle, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In a video released as part of the launch of the new undersea version, Earle recalls that in 2006 she said to Google Earth’s John Hanke, “You’ve done a great job with the dirt. But what about the water?” The new software can be downloaded at earth.google.com.