Google "Atlantis'in Sırrını Açıkladı - Google Explains Watery Mystery of Atlantis

Google ExplainsWateryMystery of 'Atlantis' - Google "Atlantis'in Sırrını Açıkladı

By Jenna Wortham

Thebizarremarkings spotted using Google Earth's new underwater search tool last weekunleasheda tsunami of theories and speculation across the Web about the origins of thegridlikepattern.

The most popular theory was that the markings were signs of the lost city of Atlantis. But Bits readers also wondered if the maze of lines could be anything from the mystical island featured on the television show "Lost' to an underwater lairinhabitedby former Vice President *** Cheney.

According to Google, it's time toshelvethosetinfoilhats.

In an interview, Steve Miller, product manager for Ocean in Google Earth, firmlydebunkedrumors that thecrisscrossmarkings were anything other thanartificialdataremnantsleft by sonar-equipped boats collecting data from the ocean floor.

While sound waves are considered to be more effective than satellites for mapping strips of the ocean floor, they're often more expensive and time-consuming to use. "The boats have to go slowly. Otherwise, they make a lot of noise and can wash out the readings,' said Mr. Miller. As a result, boats are used less frequently, leaving fewer gridlikesonarpatterns visible on Google Earth's map of the ocean.

For the patch of ocean that drew so much attention last week, there was adiscrepancyin the readings collected from satellites and the higher-resolutionecho soundingdata collected by boats at water level. That causedexaggeratedtraces to show up on the map. Typically, when data collected by satellites and sonar surveys are blended, the result is much smoother, Mr. Miller said. But here, the "batches of imagery didn't overlap properly.'

Mr. Miller compared it to the blurry stripes that are occasionally visible in Google Earth's land maps. "Those patches are from cameras and instruments using different resolutions,' he said. Over time, thoseunevenpatches smooth out as Google puts more images and data into the system.

As forthe speculation that the markings off the western coast of Africa were located near one of the possible sites of thefabledsunkencity of Atlantis, Mr. Miller said it was acoincidence. "To my knowledge, the researchers weren't looking for Atlantis. Theyconductedthis survey many years ago.' They very likely sent out a boat tocombfor additional readings in this particular area, he said.

Mr. Miller alsohighlightedseveral other findings in Google Earth's new Ocean feature, including a newly formed volcanic island close to Hawaii and an underwater mountain range in the Atlantic Ocean where twotectonic plateare visibly shifting away from one another.

Was the whole "Atlantis'uproarawell orchestratedpublicitystuntfor Google's new ocean maps, which were introduced earlier this month?

Mr. Miller said no. But the reports certainly drew a lot of armchair explorers eager to view thewaterloggedpattern. Searches for "Google ocean' and "Atlantis Google ocean'spikedover the last several days.