Watch CBS News

New App Allows Users To View The Sea Floor

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – There's an app for that.

That phrase now holds true for 20,000 leagues under the sea.

The new EarthObserver app is finished and can help users learn about the ocean floor by providing digital images prepared by Columbia University scientist William Ryan.

Podcast

 LISTEN: WCBS 880's Sean Adams reports

"This will take people below the depths to see some areas in very high detail," said Ryan, who helped compile the mapping data of the ocean floor.

The app is available for the iPhone, iPod tough and iPad and allows users to explore the sea floor exactly how it is. The researchers used mud samples from around the globe to recreate the colors for the app and after 20,000 samples they finished the app.

"You'll be able to explore the rift valleys of the mid-ocean ridges, submarine canyons of the continental margins, off-shore Cape Cod, the fabulous Monterrey canyon off of California," Ryan said.

In addition to going underwater, users will be able to observe land forms as well. Users can learn about the planet's terrestrial landscapes, oceans and seas, frozen ice caps, atmosphere and clouds, geologic terrains, topography, nautical charts, natural hazards, human impacts, and many other earth and environmental science topics as you travel and explore with your finger.

"You with your eyes can be among the first to see two-thirds of the earth that nobody has ever seen before," Ryan said.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.