For example, viewers can observe how the largest glacier in Glacier National Park has melted over the past decade. The Historical Imagery feature lets users see archive satellite images of individual locations to see how the region has evolved over time as a result of climate change and other forces. Google Earth users can now plunge beneath the ocean’s surface, explore three-dimensional images of the underwater terrain and view articles and videos about marine science contributed by scientists and organizations such as the National Geographic Society. John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Maps, said the idea of adding oceans came three years ago when a scientist pointed out that the software was missing the water that covers almost three-quarters of the Earth’s surface.

Researchers and organizations can purchase a more powerful version for $400. The software is available for free on Google’s Web site.

Google Earth has been downloaded more than 500 million times since it was launched in 2005.

Explore mars in google earth 5.0