Virtual diving at your fingertips

Thanks to the latest technology, we will soon be able to visit the Great Barrier Reef in Australia without leaving home. All we need is our computer and an internet connection. Google and its partners are behind the project, the first stage of which was launched yesterday. They have decided to create the first 360º underwater panorama

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To be more precise, it is about creating tens of thousands of panoramas of underwater forests, meadows and all other nooks and crannies hidden in the reef. Thanks to special robo-cameras, it has become possible to reproduce and make available on the internet, one of the most wonderful places on Earth.

The scientists behind the project hope that it will contribute to raising the environmental awareness of people around the world. They particularly want to draw attention to the topic of climate warming and the associated fading of corals. They also want to introduce virtual divers to the ecology of the deep sea and the reproduction of invertebrates that only spawn on a full moon.

Sponsored by insurance company Catlin and supported by NGOs and the University of Queensland, the results of the project are likely to be available in late autumn. The effects of the work will be viewable on the official Youtube channel, Panoramio, as well as on Google Earth and Google Maps.

However, the first photos from the 6-day pilot mission are now available online. Interestingly, in these photos, a new species of dwarf seahorse and 4 corals, never before seen in the region, have been captured.

Many other mysteries and wonders await their discoverers, as 93% of the reef is still unexplored because it is too deep for divers. Guiding the research for this project, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg said

“The latest equipment and our research will help us to cross and make public one of the last remaining frontiers on Earth. Millions of people around the world will be able to experience, thanks to science, the magic of the depths of the oceans.

Google has tried to incorporate as much information about the oceans as possible into Google Earth, doing so with field studies, simulations and photographs uploaded by users. The new research will take a giant step forward.

The cost of the project has not been disclosed, but it is hoped that in the future, it can be extended to other locations.

Source: uq.edu.au
Photo: wikipedia.org