Google Earth screenshot of Great Barrier Reef with ‘ArKive’ layer. Image courtesy of Google.

The world’s largest habitat will be less of a mystery from this week, as version 5.0 of Google Earth is launched complete with a map of the ocean floor.

Google announced on Monday (2 February 2009) its new release of the global mapping software tool, complete with a feature that allows users to dive beneath the water surface, explore 3D underwater terrain and browse ocean-related content contributed by leaders in ocean science and advocacy.

The new version also introduces Historical Imagery, a feature that enables users to virtually travel back in time through archival satellite and aerial imagery, Touring, which makes it simple to create a narrated tour in Google Earth and share it with the world and Google Mars 3D, which features hi-res imagery and terrain of the red planet.

The ocean feature is on by default in the newest version of Google Earth. As users zoom in on the ocean they will see a dynamic water surface, and once they dive beneath the surface they can navigate 3D sea floor terrain.

It also has 20 content layers, containing information contributed by the world’s leading scientists, researchers, and ocean explorers. These include an “Explore the Ocean” layer containing photos and videos about ocean hot spots around the world contributed by over 80 individuals and organisations; a National Geographic Magazine geo-quiz and overlays from their new Atlas of the Ocean; and videos from the archives of Jacques Cousteau, featuring never-before-seen footage of historic ocean expeditions.

During the launch at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, said: “In discussions about climate change, the world’s oceans are often overlooked despite being an integral part of the issue.

“About one-third of the carbon dioxide that we emit into the atmosphere ends up in the oceans. Furthermore, biodiversity loss in our oceans in the next 20-30 years will be roughly equivalent to losing an entire Amazon rainforest, but this goes unnoticed because we can’t see it. This is why today’s launch of Google Earth 5.0 is so important - it gives us an opportunity to change everyone’s perspective.”

Visit: http://earth.google.com/