Google Oceans (x 2) - Oceana USA
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February 2, 2009

Google Oceans (x 2)

At long last! After two-and-a-half years, starting tomorrow, Google Earth will live up to its name by including the oceans in its maps, a very exciting step forward for ocean mapping. The move comes a few months after Google unveiled an ocean tool at the IUCN conference. And coincidentally, today we are launching our very own extra special Oceana Google map, too. The new version of Google Earth, which you can download for free at earth.google.com will include views of the ocean and portions of the seabed. As the New York Times’ Andy Revkin points out, the tool will be useful for ocean scientists, who can better share their data, as well as any curious web user, who can click on a new function called “Touring” to create narrated tours above and below the sea surface, or go on a virtual dive at the Great Barrier Reef. The creators of Google Ocean — and we at Oceana — are also hoping it will encourage the public to support marine conservation. AND, as if that wasn’t exciting enough, we are also unveiling our own map here at Oceana — the Oceana Google Map. You can take a gander at where in the world we work, along with some of the most noteworthy and at-risk places in the sea. Just click on one of the colored pins to find out more, and if the pins are overlapping, zoom in to the areas you are interested in. Check it out and let us know what you think — we welcome constructive feedback.