The coolest next best thing for marine aquarists with an interest in science, ocean ecosystems and technology just landed on the scene today, and you MUST go check it. Google Earth has now mapped the seas making it possible to tour underwater topography in the same way we have become accustomed to soaring over terrestrial landscapes. According to today’s New York Times, Google Ocean was born in March of 2006 when Sylvia Earle, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), commented to John Hanke (Hanke is the co-creator of Keyhole which was bought by Google in 2004 and became Google Earth), “You’ve done a great job with the dirt. But what about the water?”
Earle, who is also a friend to the marine aquarium industry and advisor to CORAL Magazine, is quoted in today Times as saying:
I’ve been struggling my whole life to figure out how to reach people and get them to understand they’re connected to the ocean, but I go to the supermarket and still see the United Nations of fish for sale. Marine sanctuaries are still not really protected. Google Earth gets all this information now and puts it in one place for the littlest kid and the stuffiest grownup to see in a way that hasn’t been possible in all preceding history.
What are you waiting for? Go check it out now!
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