Catlin Seaview Survey

The Catlin Seaview Survey will attempt to document the Great Barrier Reef in  a similar way to Google's Street View project. The images of the reef will be available through Google Earth and Google maps and cover a depth range of 0 - 100 meters.

The Catlin Seaview Survey is first and foremost an important scientific expedition. It aims to carry out the first comprehensive study to document the composition and health of coral reefs on the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea across an unprecedented depth range (0-100m) – addressing a series of important questions regarding the changes associated with the rapidly warming and acidifying oceans.However this is not just another scientific survey.Usually scientific surveys don’t have the ability to really capture the public’s imagination and engage people in the science. Expeditions and their findings tend only to be fascinating to other scientists. This  project is very different. The images from the expedition, when stitched together, will allow scientists and the public at large to explore the reef remotely through any device connected to the Internet. It will allow them to choose a location, dip underwater, look around and go off on a virtual dive. It has the potential of engaging people with the life and science of our oceans in a way that’s not been possible until now. It is a very exciting time.