Google Sets Sights On 3D Map of the Oceans 83
Several readers wrote to tell us about one of the next major projects to enter the Google-verse. We already have pretty views of the Earth and the Sky, the next target is apparently a 3D map of the oceans. "The tool — for now called Google Ocean, the sources say, though that name could change — is expected to be similar to other 3D online mapping applications. People will be able to see the underwater topography, called bathymetry; search for particular spots or attractions; and navigate through the digital environment by zooming and panning. (The tool, however, is not to be confused with the 'Google Ocean' project by France-based Magic Instinct Software that uses Google Earth as a visualization tool for marine data.)"
Science and Google tools (Score:3, Informative)
The thing is, neogeography *is* useful and efficient for many tasks. Not everybody needs "a real" powerful GIS to visualize and analyse geodata. That's why I can believe this rumored Google Ocean will be attractive to many oceanography scientists (as well to hobbyists, of course). See this recent article named "Google Earth, GIS, and the Great Divide: A new and simple method for sharing paleontological data [sciencedirect.com]"
I wonder what bathymetry they're using. (Score:3, Informative)
Anything better than 5 degree per pixel would be scientifically useful.. but I doubt that they'll have very high definition coverage... and I also doubt they'll be filling in the huge holes in the ship-track coverage.
The surface of Mars has been mapped in higher detail than the depths of the ocean and we are still guessing at the numbers of sea-mounts in the Pacific.