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Google have released a new version of their mapping software package, Google Earth, and this time it makes inroads into tackling the 70% of the Earth’s surface that previous versions have neglected – the bits covered in water.

Granted, you can’t really blame them for leaving it out, given that the average punter isn’t going to be interested in looking at mile after mile of water (although some people have devoted significant time to spotting boats in the midst of all that nothing).

It is only really in the past 40 years that we have begun to map the undersea surface, through the use of satellite and thermal/sonar imaging, and this understanding has allowed us to solve the problem that vexed the Victorian geologists and evolutionists – why are some species spread across the continents, and others not? The answer, the undersea mapping told us, is that the Earth’s crust is constantly moving and being replaced, and the continents, far from being static, were once clumped together and are still moving around on the surface of the molten interior.

Only 5% of the Earth’s ocean floor has been explored (by humans at least), and so scientists and technologists alike have welcomed the development of this side to Google Earth. Instead of spotting sunbathers on ocean-going yachts, perhaps those with a few spare hours could put their minds and eyes to something a bit more important, and not even get wet in the process.