As part of the global observance of World Oceans Day this coming June 8, Google's mapping platform Street View will allow users to explore and see the wonders of the deepest ocean of the earth. On Thursday, Google announced via its blog that it has explored 40 underwater spots across the globe.
Google's Street View underwater footages cover the American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean, the islands of Chagos in the Indian Ocean, and popular diving spots in Bahamas, Bali, and the Great Barrier Reef. All underwater images will allow users to see the various sea creatures, coral reefs and shipwrecks under the deep blue oceans. This noble endeavour was made possible after Google has sealed partnership with XL Catlin Seaview Survey, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Chagos Conservation Trust.
A Yahoo report pointed out that such partnership was meant to foster "awareness" on the conditions of our oceans. According to the same site, users can actually get a quick glimpse of the stunning underwater creatures such as the sea turtles in Solomon Islands, the humpback whale in Cook Islands, the white sharks in the Australia and other sea creatures in Bali.
Google explains that mapping the ocean is one of the key methods to preserve it, as the underwater footages will showcase the damages done to the ocean. The footages will also serve as basis to assess the impacts of the storms, temperature, and other factors that affect the oceanic conditions.
For Google, it is a daring step to have a comprehensive preservation effort of the ocean since the oceans are changing rapidly due to several factors, particularly climate change. In its blog, the search engine giant said, "Home to the majority of life on Earth, the ocean acts as its life support system, controlling everything from our weather and rainfall to the oxygen we breathe."
Google said that man-made activities, such as water pollution and overfishing, contribute to the change in oceans, which is among "the most serious environmental issues we face today." In addition, all photos, as claimed by Google, use a GPS-based technology that can track changes of the ocean on a certain time.
