Dreaming of diving the Great Barrier Reef ( GBR ) , but doubt you ’ll get there ? Google has the answer , with a version of their popular " Street View " boast more than 100,000 images of the enormous Witwatersrand organization .
cruise the reef like this is a beautiful way to spend your time and just as potential to stimulate an appetite for visiting . However , there is a serious intent behind the project , helping both scientist and the general public track damage to the reef from multiple root .
Catlin Seaview Survey . bluish coral before and after cyclone Ita .
The images were taken by theCatlin Seaview Survey , who also have some brilliant pictures of otherspecial subaqueous positioning . Information about specific reef is also provided .
The sheer scale of the GBR put the project in a different conference from anything Catlin have tackled before . Formed from almost 3000 individual reefs , the GBR stretches for 2300 km and hosts at least 1500 fish species , along with more than 30 marine mammals , dwarfing any other reef scheme in the worldly concern .
" The tv camera used for the view is something that was specifically project for this task , " say Catlin ’s Richard Vevers . " It allows us to take full 360 [ degree ] figure every three seconds as we ’re jaunt along Rand environments . " Vevers read that Catlin plans to trace their path regularly , tail both long full term changes from worldwide warming andocean acidification , and intermittent impression such as cyclones andcrown of pricker starfish .
The launching coincide with orbicular focus on the health of the Great Barrier Reef . During the G20 height in Brisbane , President Obamatold an audienceat the University of Brisbane , “ The incredible natural glory of the Great Barrier Reef is threatened …. I want to fare back , and I need my daughters to be able to come back , and I want them to be able-bodied to bring their daughters or Son to visit . And I want that there 50 years from now . ”
Local terror such as overfishing and pollution menace the reef , but there is considerable public debate about the arcdegree among coral reef scientists . However , withhalf the GBR ’s red coral cover lostin less than thirty years , andevidence ofdevastating coral loss during retiring periods of high carbon paper dioxide , Reef View may be the closest we can get to seeing the reef in the future .
Your own personal virtual tourstarts here .
