Google Street View Goes Underwater at the Great Barrier Reef

I have become convinced that there really isn't anywhere that the Google Street View team won't take their cameras.  They have not only covered the actual streets around the world, but have even hit the trails in National Parks in the U.S. and combed through several of the biggest museums around the world.  Now the team has gone into the deep blue, diving under the waves at the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of northern Australia.

For most of the world, the land Down Under is a remote location that we can only dream of someday visiting, but thanks to Street View we can all get a first hand look at what it's like to scuba dive in clear waters at the world's most prominent coral reef.  This is a first for the Google team, who have never previously gone into the oceans.  "Today we’re adding the very first underwater panoramic images to Google Maps, the next step in our quest to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate and usable map of the world."

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the last great ecosystems on our planet and diving there will open up a world of tropical fish, sea turtles, manta rays and more .  To do all of this, Google has partnered with The Catlin Seaview Survey, who are conducting a major scientific study of the world's coral reefs.  The team used special cameras, called the SVII, to capture the images seen in the new underwater street view.

You can find out more information by reading the official Google announcement and you can also watch the video posted below.  We can only wonder where the Google Street View team plans to head next, but we can be pretty sure it will be fascinating.

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