Ferris Jabr, reporter
Jules Verne, eat your heart out. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can now explore a portion of the seafloor larger than North America thanks to a collaboration between Google and oceanographers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
Scientists have mapped roughly 10 per cent of the ocean floor and half that data is now
publicly available via Google Earth. Scenic highlights include the Hudson Canyon off
New York City, the Pacific Ocean's Lamont seamounts - underwater mountains typically
formed by extinct volcanoes and the 3000-metre-high Mendocino Ridge off the US
Pacific Coast, which might harbor massive plumes of methane.
You can type in a well-known spot - like the Mariana trench - or dive beneath the waves by zooming into any part of the ocean. Look out for the red lines that trace the mapped parts of the seafloor and the dots that pinpoint specific scientific discoveries - such as vampire squid.
To get your bearings watch the 2011 Seafloor Tour and the Deep Sea Ridge 2000 Tour, which will show you hydrothermal vents and the deepest volcanic eruption ever captured on video at the West Mata volcano, near Fiji.
There's also Google Earth's Ocean showcase with plenty of videos and tutorials.