"Oceanographer and explorer Robert Ballard takes us on a mindbending trip to hidden worlds underwater, where he and other researchers are finding unexpected life, resources, even new mountains. He makes a case for serious exploration and mapping. Google Ocean, anyone ? "
The image of the map seen here is referred to as a Characterisation of our planet ie a 2D map of the globe without the ocean. This characterisation enables us to view the 72% of the earth we know ever so little about. Robert Ballard in this talk (18 min) frequently points out that we have better detailed maps of the Moon, Mars and Venus then we do of much of our own ocean floor !
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