PHOTOS: Google Maps Brings Great Barrier Reef to the Surface

Image credit: Google Maps

Now, thanks to Google Maps, experiencing the Great Barrier Reef or any of the world’s coral reef creations will not require flying to Australia.

Google Maps has teamed up with the Catlin Seaview Survey to create an underwater tour of the natural phenomenon.

The high-resolution, 360-degree photographs number in the thousands and include shots of the coral reefs near Hawaii and the Philippines.

“Now, anyone can become the next virtual Jacques Cousteau and dive with sea turtles, fish and manta rays,” said a post on Google’s blog.

The images — which were reportedly taken with an SVII, the first tablet-operated underwater camera — are available using Google Street View technology.

They are part of an effort by survey researchers to study the effects of climate change on the world’s coral reefs  and raise public awareness of the reefs’ beauty and contributions to nature.

The underwater expeditions started this month and will conclude in December.

Image credit: Google Maps

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Google launches Maps Ocean, allows you to scuba dive into the Great Barrier Reef from your chair

Ever wanted to go scuba diving into the Great Barrier Reef, but never seem to have the money or time to undertake it? Don’t worry, Google has got you covered with its latest addition to the Google Maps service: underwater panorama and “Street View” of six of the world’s greatest underwater spots.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? That’s because it is and Google has gone into great depths (get it?) in making this possible. The places Google allows you to visit in its latest Maps feature include the Great Barrier Reef, and places in the Philippines and Hawaii.

Google has been partnering with The Catlin Seaview Survey, which is a major scientific study of the world’s reefs, and was using a specially designed underwater camera to capture the images you are about to see.

Here’s a promo video Google has made to celebrate the launch of the Google Maps Ocean.

Follow the source link below to experience the amazing footage yourself. Just take your oxygen tank with you, okay?

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Google Maps now lets armchair scuba divers explore the Great Barrier Reef and more

Google's mapping tool now takes you under the ocean waves, with stunning 360-degree panoramas of unique spots such as the Great Barrier Reef now part of its Street View service.

When we tell you that Google Street View now takes you into the sea, you may at first think the mapping service is suffering from similar glitches to Apple’s new Maps app, which appears to have been getting more things wrong than right since its launch last week.

But Google Maps’ new underwater feature is just as it should be. Indeed, armchair travelers, non-swimmers and marine enthusiasts will be delighted to learn that the Web giant has today unveiled some beautiful coral reef panoramas, allowing users to explore spectacular ocean scenery off the coast of Australia, the Philippines, and Hawaii.

Apple’s Maps developers, currently working on taking cities out of the water and placing them back on land, must surely be looking on with envy just now.

“Starting today, you can use Google Maps to find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset — just as I did on my first dive in the Great Barrier Reef last year,” Google Maps’ Brian McClendon wrote in a post on the company’s blog.

Collaboration

Google worked with the Catlin Sea Survey, the University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute and the Underwater Earth organization to collect the incredibly detailed, high definition images.

Traveling to a depth of up to 100 meters, a specially-designed camera snapped pictures of unique underwater locations such as Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay, with a team of experts later stitching them together to form the 360-degree panoramas.

Speaking about the sea mapping expedition earlier this year, project leader Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of the University of Queensland said, “The visual nature of the project will help bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public awareness. The Catlin Seaview Survey comprises a series of studies which will reveal to the public one of the last frontiers on Earth: the oceans.”

 The video below gives you some idea of what to expect when you dive in.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com