Gizmos

Introducing Google Ocean

Users will be able to explore oceans and follow sea creatures.

Bored at work? Google Ocean, the latest addition to Google Earth, launches today. The updated Google Earth includes a 3-D map of the ocean floor, created with help from more than 25 leading marine scientists. Users can follow whales and sharks tagged with satellite tracking devices, hover above shipwrecks, navigate deep sea mountains and explore underwater volcanoes. Most of the images, made from tens of thousands of satellite maps stitched together, are low-resolution, but a few areas, including the Pacific Ocean around Hawaii are highly detailed. Sir David Attenborough, the father of nature documentaries, said the tool’s wildlife films included “some of the rarest and most amazing creatures you will ever see.”