Google Earth

With the release of Google Earth 5.0 in February 2009,  The Census of Marine Life now has a presence in  Google's 3-D modeling project. The new release upgrades many aspects of how the oceans are displayed. It is now possible to go below sea level, and there is bathymetric elevation. But we're most excited about the inclusion of Census of Marine Life content.

Currently (Google Earth ver. 5.0.11337), there are around 130 Census placemarks all over the globe, each of which is marked with the CoML logo . By clicking the mark, you'll see a balloon pop up, which contains a story of a Census project.

There's plenty of room for more Census placemarks in Google Earth. On this page you can contribute ideas for placemarks that we can incorporate into the next update of Google Earth.

Notes: Inclusion of your submitted story is not guaranteed at this moment. Census E&O Team and M&V Team work hard with Google to make this happen. Thank you for your understanding.

Getting an Account for Story Submission

An account to login to this web page is required for story submission. You can get one by contacting us.
Please include your full name, CoML affiliation (field project name) and email address. We'll send you an account name and temporary password.

Adding a Placemark

1. Log in to the site (if you don't have an account,  contact us).
   
2. Check to see if a similar placemark has been submitted: Submitted Placemarks (table at the bottom)
   
3. Choose "CoMLPlacemark" from the "Add new..." menu.
   
   
4. This brings up the  form where you input your information.
   
   • You can give exact long/lat coordinates, or use the Google map in the form to drag to a location. 
   • Be sure to include a Project PI, so we can confirm the story.
   • The following sample balloon shows which field on the form goes to where (the diagram also can be seen on the form and Online Help).
     
     
5. When you've saved your placemark, you'll see a mock-up balloon on the browser. You can also click "See the story on Google Earth" link to download the .kml file you've just created, which can be opened in the Google Earth application. 

What Happens Next?

Your submitted story is reviewed by the Census Education and Outreach team. Read more about the review process.

Once they approved it, it will be marked as ready for inclusion in Google Earth when you look at the list of Submitted Placemarks below.

Currently, approved stories are incorporated into Google Earth every week. Stories approved by Wednesday will appear later in the same week. If you don't see your stories on Google Earth, say, on Friday, let us know.

Questions?

Online Help

Workflow diagram and roles

About stories, submission processes, non-technical: Frank Baker (Census Education & Outreach Team)

About technical, problems/errors on the web pages: Ei Fujioka (Census Mapping & Visualization Team)

Submitted Placemarks