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Google to launch next big update to Google Earth

Summary: On February 2nd, Google is presenting a new version of Google Earth at the California Academy of Sciences, an aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum in San Francisco. This is the perfect location for them to unveil what I suspect will be what people are calling "Google Ocean".

Garett Rogers

By Garett Rogers for Googling Google |

On February 2nd, Google is presenting a new version of Google Earth at the California Academy of Sciences, an aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum in San Francisco. This is the perfect location for them to unveil what I suspect will be what people are calling "Google Ocean".

If you look at maps in Google Maps, or Google Earth, you can see that they have already updated imagery for the ocean floor -- but it could be so much better.

Many suspect that we could be days away from seeing a 3D ocean view -- the ability to fly across the ocean floor is something that researchers would absolutely love to be able to do.

It's very unlikely that we're going to see much high resolution imagery (but I would be surprised if there was none), because that information simply does not exist yet, and it's difficult and expensive to obtain. It would take 100 ships a whole year to get the type of information needed.

"We hope that one of the outcomes of Google Ocean will be an understanding of how much remains to be explored," said Miller of Scripps. "We know far more about the surface of Mars from a few weeks of radar surveying in orbit than we know of the bottom of the ocean after two centuries." -- CNET

Google Earth is becoming an excellent tool for researchers to collaborate on anything from space to the depths of our oceans.

Topics: CXO, Google

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  • Higher resolution of Google Earth images

    Higher resolution of Google Earth images may lead to lots of problems for countries hit with terrorism. Images may be used by persons with nefarious designs.
    Edunetsys
    Reply Vote

    • nefarious designs???

      Yeah, and your point is what? In an open society we thrive on information. If someone uses it to no good, do we hide everything for the 'just in case' scenario? NO, we don't. Everything we do or have available can be used in bad ways. We can't hide ourselves or our ideas. That's not what a democracy or open society is about.
      kevmark58@...
      Reply Vote

    • Images, whether they come from Google or no,

      may indeed be used by persons with ?nefarious designs? - as may telephones, snail mail, or whatever level of technology is available. Considering the amount of damage and destruction that can be the consequences of misuse, rather than working against better resolution in Google Earth images, Edunetsys might be better advised to work for a complete nuclear disarmament, as envisaged in Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (http://tinyurl.com/k24ke) which, despite formally entering into force some 39 years ago, has never been put into practice....

      Henri
      mhenriday
      Reply Vote

    • Images are available anyway

      Google uses only commercially available imagery anyway -- and now that the terrorists are sensitized to its value, they would obtain it via legal, commercial means if Google were to stop providing it anyway. To "fix" this issue (if it really deserves fixing, and I'm not sure it does) would take more fundamental control of the distribution of the imagery from the commercial providers.
      daboochmeister
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Google to launch next big update to Google Earth

    I'd settle for greater implementation of high-res land imagery and street views. Until these are available for all land areas where people live, I don't see the point in worrying about oceans.
    ParrotHeadFL
    Reply Vote

    • Greater implementation of high-res land imagery

      AMEN! All for that and of course more current images instead of 5 year old imagery currently available.
      mavr1c
      Reply Vote

  • Swimming through plastic bags

    [b][u]The Great Pacific Garbage Patch[/u][/b]


    The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Eastern Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash Vortex is an area of marine debris in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly in an area between 135? to 155?W and 35? to 42?N. The patch is characterised by exceptionally high concentrations of suspended plastic and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre.
    graham.lv
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Google to launch next big update to Google Earth

    The New release from google is very nice to hear. i use only google components for my browsing.i hope the new relese will be more advantagious for all. thanks for google.
    bvaravindhraj
    Reply Vote

  • Better resolution for oceanic islands?

    Rather than being able to see the ocean floor, I'd rather have better resolution images for many small oceanic islands that can only be seen as a blur, if at all. This is one of Google Earth's biggest flaws today, even though it has already improved. Formerly, you wouldn't see anything if you look at the celebrated Brazilian eco-resort of Fernando de Noronha Island, 200 miles off the country's northeastern coast - now the island is there, with acceptable resolution. Same for Pitcairn and Easter Island (but don't expect to see the moai). Still, only half of St. Helena appears, and many Pacific and Indian Ocean atolls and even some off-the-track Caribbean islands like Aves are still blurred or can't be seen at all. I hope to see some improvement there.
    goyta
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Google to launch next big update to Google Earth

    You should leave your house doors unlocked and the keys to your car in your car.
    t0mmyt@...
    Reply Vote
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