Remember when those gnarly scientists used Google Earth to locate the underwater city of Atlantis off the coast of Greece? Although Google decided to pop everybody’s excitement balloon and tell us that those freaky images rendered by Google Earth weren’t actually Atlantis after all (their explanation was rather disappointing), it was still a thrilling moment made possible with the mapping technology of Google Earth.
That exciting non-discovery illustrates how much fun you can have (and how famous you can almost be) exploring the underwater parts of our world, and after today we might be in for more potentially amazing oceanic discoveries. In a post on their Lat Long blog, Google announced that, to mark the third anniversary of Google Earth implementing a fully navigable map of the ocean floor, they have released a “major update” that promises to give users a “clearer view” of Earth’s subterranean landscape.
The new update, which they’re calling bathymetry, is the product of Google’s collaboration with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA, the US Navy, NGA and GEBCO (along with contributions from a few other organization) that promises Google’s “most accurate view of the seafloor to date.” To get the clearer imagery, though, Google had to get away from Earth-based technology and rely on “spacecraft measurements of bumps and dips in the ocean surface.”
But let’s get back to what we really care about: Atlantis. Given the story I mentioned above, for any of you persistent believers who aren’t buying Google’s explanation, take a look at the before and after of that same area near Greece’s coast where Atlantis was “found.” The image on the left was captured using Google Earth’s earlier technology and the image on the right was captured using the updated technology. Brace your tinfoil hats, readers:
Yikes. No more “Atlantis.” You can still see faint lines that were once more pronounced before Google Earth’s update, but a few odd lines does not a city of legend make.
Here’s a few more before-and-afters to give you a sample of the improved quality to Google Earth’s map of the ocean floor so you naysayers out there will hopefully not dismiss the disappearance of “Atlantis” as a conspiracy.
The Mediterranean Sea (before is left, after is right):
The Mariana Trench (before is left, after is right):
But some of you just aren’t going to be convinced by this evidence, are you? Incorrigible, you lot are.