Super Eco

Photo credit: jon hanson, flickr

The Wizard of Oz, also known as Google, is reportedly taking us one step closer to completely mapping out the Earth. We've previously reported how Google wants you to help it save the world, and now, according to some well-founded rumors, it's giving us a little treat in the meantime. PC Pro reports that Google will unveil the next chapter in the progression of Google Earth at the California Academy of Sciences next week, titled "Google Ocean."

The article suggests that Google Ocean will display underwater topography and depth in the most intricate exploration of the underwater universe available online. Apparently, users will be able to explore specific points of interest, including reefs and shipwrecks. Just as Google Earth and Google Maps provide satellite imagery and street views, Google plans to add underwater photographs to the Google Ocean service, though oceanographers doubt that even a fleet of ships could photograph the entire ocean floor in under a few hundred centuries.

Adding clean, renewable fuel to this latest rumor is the news that former Vice President Al Gore will be speaking at the event, along with Google CEO Eric Schmidt and executive Marissa Mayer. Oceanographer Sylvia Earle will also be present.

The Google project will likely be a great help to oceanographers studying underwater life or mapping out lesser understood regions. According to Stephen P. Miller of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, more is known about the surface of Mars through radar imagery than the bottom of Earths' oceans. Analyzing the ocean and its current will also help scientists understand more about weather patterns and the movement of marine life.