Yesterday, Google unveiled its newest version of Google Earth at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.  Google Earth 5.0 introduces a number of new features, but most notably Ocean in Google Earth.  Finally, you to explore what makes up two thirds of our planet – the ocean.  Google tells us what you can do with ocean in Google Earth:

• Dive beneath the surface and visit the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench

• Explore the ocean with top marine experts including National Geographic and BBC

• Learn about ocean observations, climate change, and endangered species

• Discover new places including surf, dive, and travel hot spots and shipwrecks

To help make this project possible, Google teamed with a number of scientists and organizations including NOAA, NASA, National Geographic Society, BBC, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Scripps Oceanography and many more.  [Continue Reading →]

Okeanos Explorer, the first federal ship dedicated solely to ocean exploration, was commissioned on Saturday in Seattle, WA.

A former U.S. Navy surveillance vessel, the ship was transferred to NOAA in 2004 and converted to perform ocean exploration. The Okeanos Explorer will use telepresence – satellite and high-speed Internet-based technology – to enable scientists on shore at any of five Exploration Command Centers to participate in and direct real-time exploration while viewing live images and other ocean data. (source: NOAA)

The Okeanos Explorer is in direct support of President Bush’s Ocean Action Plan, developed to promote an ethic of responsible use and stewardship for our oceans and coastal resources.  The ship will serve three primary purposes:

1. deep water (to 6,000 m) mapping,
2. science class ROV operations, and
3. real-time broadband satellite transmission of data.

It is said that 95 percent of the world’s ocean is unseen by humans, and what is yet to be uncovered could hold clues to the origins of life on Earth, cures for human diseases, answers to how to achieve sustainable use of our oceans, links to our maritime history, and information to protect the endangered species of the sea.  The Okeanos Explorer aims to not only test scientists hypotheses about the ocean, but generate new ones as well.