April 30th, 2008
Google looking to map the abyss
Google has tackled visualization of Earth, and more recently the sky, by offering up free imagery to the public with Google Earth and Google Maps. The data Google is giving away for free is simply breathtaking — it’s hard to believe we never had access to it as recent as three years ago.
Now, Google has said it will try doing the same thing again by exposing the ocean floor. Even though the amount of imagery available isn’t even close to being complete, Google plans to give users access to as much as they can.
Google Ocean will feature a basic layer that shows the depth of the sea floor and will serve as a spatial framework for additional data, sources said, adding that Google plans to try to fill in some areas of the map with high-resolution images for more detail.
Additional data will be displayed as overlying layers that depict phenomena like weather patterns, currents, temperatures, shipwrecks, coral reefs, and algae blooms, much like the National Park Service and NASA provide additional data for Google Earth and Google Sky. — CNET News
It will be very interesting to see what Google can do with the ocean. Do you think this coming feature will be useful? What do you hope Google does with it?
Garett Rogers is employed as a programmer for iQmetrix, which specializes in retail management software for the wireless industry. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
