National Geographic TV has a really good special running that is entitled “Drain The Ocean” where they are using the latest mapping technology and CGI to drain away the ocean and show features that are hidden under miles of Ocean water.

This is a world you have never seen before – a world normally hidden under miles of water, the ocean floor. We’ll remove the water using CGI animation, revealing a landscape of unimaginable scale with features more dramatic than anything on dry land.

These are two screen shots from the show, and the video is even more amazing.

If you have looked at the Ocean’s features with World Wind or Google Earth, then this is really a special worth watching.

Virtual Ocean is a WWJava application that was developed by Columbia University.  Virtual Ocean integrates the GeoMapApp tool suite with the NASA World Wind 3-D earth browser to create a powerful new platform for interdisciplinary research and education.  To launch the application, click here.

For help on using Virtual Ocean, check the Help Page.  You can also see how to view data and add data to Virtual Oceans.

To get the best affect, set the vertical exageration to a high ammount.   Here is just a small sampling of the maps you can see in Virtual Ocean: