Google the ocean: thanks to the Cousteau Society and Google, you can now explore beneath the seas with a click of a mouse

Natural Health, June, 2009 by Francine Cousteau

iN 1960, two deep sea divers became the first people to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, some 36,000 feet below sea level. Unsurprisingly, they were also the last. How many of us have the nerve--and resources--to dive to the deepest point in the ocean? Today, you don't need either. You just need a computer and the Google Earth 5.0 program--its new virtual ocean is more vivid and interactive because of input from organizations like the Cousteau Society.

1. Set it up, Download Google Earth at earth.google .com. Install and open the program, then check off the Ocean layer; make sure the Terrain layer is selected. Under Tools, you can also click on Options to set Terrain Quality and Elevation Exaggeration to the highest setting.

2. Check out Cousteau expeditions. Click on an icon of my late husband Jacques with his signature red cap and you'll see footage from Cousteau Society missions, including a clip of our children diving through his undersea research station in the Red Sea; and the cleanup of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska.

3. Swim like fish, To see what the ocean looks like through the eyes of the creatures that inhabit it, click on any animal icon, play the simulation that pops up, and watch how it travels underwater. (It's based on real satellite tracking data.) Be sure to check out the Northern bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and the California sea lion in the Pacific--two species currently threatened by overfishing.--As told to Daniel Mazori

LEARN MORE: For info on the Cousteau Society or to donate to the Calypso's (Jacques' research boat) restoration, visit cousteau.org.