San Francisco — Online search titan Google Inc. on Monday unveiled the latest beta version of Google Earth 5.0, which promises to empower virtual tourists to explore the depths of the world’s oceans, to Mars, and back in time to explore the past through historical data from the comfort of their homes on dry land.
The stars shined out Monday morning at San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences to reveal Google Earth 5.0 beta, the latest version of Google’s geospatial mapping application allows enthusiasts and explorers alike to dive beneath the seas, explore the effects of climate change, and view high-resolution NASA images of Mars.
The “Ocean in Google Earth” feature appropriates users to virtually dive beneath the water surface, explore 3D underwater terrain and browse ocean-related content contributed by marine scientists.
As expected, Google introduced the complement to what Sylvia Earle, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, called “Google Dirt”. Google Ocean not only highlights the surface of the sea and its wonders, but also will map the sea floor, down to the Mariana Trench, five miles down.
Addressing a packed audience in one of the museum’s assembly hall, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, and popular recording artist Jimmy Buffett took turns describing Google’s new world. They were joined by scientific luminaries like oceanographer Sylvia Earle, explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.
“When you think about Google Earth and oceans in general, there is a problem: we do not know much about it,” Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said during a Monday press conference.
There is more variety in the ocean than there is in the Amazon — a fact that Schmidt said he did not know until he was involved in the project.
John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Maps, wrote in a blog post today that the popular Google Earth has long displayed users the ocean — but mostly sort of a big blue patch with some basic shading to show depth. “But beginning today we have a much more detailed bathymetrical map (the ocean floor), so you can actually drop below the surface and explore the nooks and crannies of the sea-floor in 3D,” wrote Hanke. “While you are diving there, you can more closely explore thousands of data points, including videos and images of ocean life, details on the best surf spots, logs of real ocean expeditions, and much more.”
Almost four years after Google Earth introduced users to zoom in to view streets, and later explore galaxies in the sky, the latest version of the software allows virtual travelers to cross miles of unchartered territory underwater.
Ocean in Google Earth was launched formally at the San Francisco Academy of Sciences by former vice president Al Gore, acclaimed oceanographer Sylvia Earle and Google executives.
“With this version of Google Earth… you can now dive deep into the world’s oceans that expands to almost three quarters of the planet and discover new wonders,” said Gore, a champion in the battle against climate change.
Gore mentioned a history feature at Google Earth that allows people to see how parts of the planet are changing over time, often due to human influences.
“This is an extremely powerful educational tool,” Gore said. “My anticipation is that people around the world will use Google Earth to see for themselves the reality of the climate crisis.”
Google Earth 5.0 includes several significant new features.
Caroline Dangson, an analyst at IDC, said the inclusion of ocean views in the new version of Google Earth is significant for users.
“Google is a market leader because it does not see limits to what its services can do,” she said. “Oceans add much more content to Google Earth for consumers to explore. Ocean in Google Earth is sticky and will keep consumers on the service longer, exploring places only a few scientists have been.”
For example, the application now has historical imagery, showing users images of a place years or even decades in the past. It is designed as such that when someone uses the new time slider — by clicking on the clock icon in the toolbar — they can see how an area has changed over time.
Google also cooperated with NASA to add a 3-D map of Mars. The map includes the latest high-resolution imagery from the space agency and is accessed via a new Mars icon on the Google Earth toolbar.
For Schmidt and the rest of the morning’s speakers, the renewed Google Earth is not just about correcting the omission of water, upon which all life depends. It is about allowing more-informed communication about the planet and climate change. “It is not just a fun demo, it is not just a narrative “ said Schmidt. “What it really is, is a platform for science and research and literally understanding the future of the world.”
In a separate statement, Hanke added, “What this project helped me begin to realize 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 have been able to address that. We now have a good substrate for publishing and exploring data about the ‘other’ two-thirds of the planet.”
Gore praised Google Earth as an organizational metaphor. Just as the desktop metaphor has informed how we interact with computers through a graphic interface, Gore sees Google Earth informing our relationship with our planet.
Google Earth’s function as a catalyst for social change and political action is not new. The program has already played an important part in helping people understand the extent of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Cyclone Nargis and the Sichuan earthquake last year. And it continues to be used to focus attention on human rights problems in places like Darfur.
And that is a role Google hopes will continue. Hanke, quoting media scholar Marshall McLuhan, put it thus: “First we shape our tools, then our tools shape us.”
Google Earth is available in 41 languages and has been downloaded more than 500 million times since its launch in June 2005.