Google finds Atlantis?

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

[story]

Aeronautical engineer Bernie Bamford was browsing Google Earth, and came across this on the floor of the Madiera Abyssal Plain, 620 miles off the coast of West Africa.

Is it Atlantis? Is it another lost civilization?  What do you think, STers?

[s.i.X 13]

It's part of a series of hidden features in the data used to map the bottom of the ocean, which were added by the compan that created the data to track where it is being used. Cartographers frequently do this to prevent copyright infringement. Those features don't actually exist.

[JakeMD 107]

I read this a while ago, I believe it regardless of what everyone else says

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

Originally posted by: s.i.X It's part of a series of hidden features in the data used to map the bottom of the ocean, which were added by the compan that created the data to track where it is being used. Cartographers frequently do this to prevent copyright infringement. Those features don't actually exist.quote>

I wasn't able to find a citation for this specific item. Not dismissing you, but are there any sources where this 'find' is debunked?

[belfastuniguy 18]

Actually...

Google dismisses 'Atlantis find'

However closely you look, this is not the Lost City of Atlantis

The Lost City of Atlantis is still lost - despite hopes that Google Earth had located the fabled city on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

Observers noted what seemed to be a grid of streets and the outlines of a big city on the sea floor about 960km (600 miles) off the African coast.

Experts had said this was one of the possible sites of the city described by Plato, the Greek philosopher.

But Google said the lines represented sonar data collected from boats.

"It's true that many amazing discoveries have been made in Google Earth including a pristine forest in Mozambique that is home to previously unknown species and the remains of an Ancient Roman villa," a Google statement said.

The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data Google statement

"In this case, however, what users are seeing is an artefact of the data collection process. Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor," she added.

"The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world's oceans."

The story of Atlantis, a fabled utopia destroyed in ancient times, has captured the imagination of scholars ever since it was first described by the philosopher Plato more than 2,000 years ago.

He wrote of a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and natural beauty. Debate rages over where it might lie, if it existed at all: some say it is near Cuba, off the coast of Cornwall, near Gibraltar or in the middle of the Atlantic.quote>

[Explodingsims 3]

Well, that settles that. It would be cool if it was Atlantis though.

[830point35 8]

I wish they'd find my keys.

[Follarch 326]

A roman villa in mozambique? Wow, that's cool. I have doubts about atlantis. I mean who knows, everyone thought atlantis was somewhere in the ocean between europe and africa. That could be possible since way back when the strait of Gibraltar was a land barrier and the entire ocean used to be a huge valley. Who knows how many ancient settlements could be down there.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Originally posted by: Archean A roman villa in mozambique? Wow, that's cool. I have doubts about atlantis. I mean who knows, everyone thought atlantis was somewhere in the ocean between europe and africa. That could be possible since way back when the strait of Gibraltar was a land barrier and the entire ocean used to be a huge valley. Who knows how many ancient settlements could be down there.quote>

No...not in Mozambique, the forest is there. The Romans never got that far south.

[Cockatoo 2,256]

I had a look at this on Google Earth, hate to burst your bubble Swat, but those 'streets' are about 3km wide, the whole 'Atlantis' is the size of a small country, not just a few city blocks.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

I wondered about the whole thing, but that's why I haven't taken a side. Why are no other 'sonar data' lines on the map? And why would anyone have a reason to cover up this find, if they are? It's too deep for most archaelogical looting.

As a fan of Clive Cussler, I know that boats use a grid pattern when conducting sonar searches for shipwrecks and other underwater information collecting uses. But I've never heard of the path of the boat itself showing up on the data. And there aren't blank spots between the lines, it matches the surrounding topography pretty well.

[belfastuniguy 18]

How do you explain cockatoo's point? Streets and roads aren't even visible until you get rather close to the area that has been imaged.

I have absolutely no doubt that map does not show Atlantis, if indeed the place ever existed.

[fukuda 351]

wow, mountain-sized people lived there or what? That thing is way too big compared to the Canary Islands, and it's at 5400 below sea level, in the middle of an abyssal plain!

[JakeMD 107]

Originally posted by: Cockatoo-210893 I had a look at this on Google Earth, hate to burst your bubble Swat, but those 'streets' are about 3km wide, the whole 'Atlantis' is the size of a small country, not just a few city blocks. quote>

perhaps they are giant beings....  Made room for the dinosaurs?

[Duke87 1,070]

I'm thinking the watermark theory is the most likely one.

And I find it irksome that people would do that, seeing as it makes the map incorrect to stick little (or in this case, big) artifacts in there.

[panthersimcity4 162]

Well, now we know that morbid obesity was a big problem in Atlantis...

[s.i.X 13]

Toldja.

If you look around the entire ocean floor you will find more of this. The logo of the company that created this data is in the Pacific somewhere, near Indonesia I think?

[The_Hutt 11]

Yeah. This is similar to dictionaries listing words that literally don't exist in order to catch copyright infringers.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

Originally posted by: Duke87 I'm thinking the watermark theory is the most likely one.

And I find it irksome that people would do that, seeing as it makes the map incorrect to stick little (or in this case, big) artifacts in there.quote>

It is irritating, not like the microscopic pictures chip designers put on chips that no one ever sees, to one-up each other. I'm glad to have let STers sort this one out. It is a letdown that it's not for real, but at least we know now.

If it's to prevent copyright infringement, it seems to me then that someone with sufficient image manipulation skills could just remove it anyways.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: manticorefan If it's to prevent copyright infringement, it seems to me then that someone with sufficient image manipulation skills could just remove it anyways.quote>

The idea is that someone simply copying the data likely isn't going to comb through it for things like that, they'll just blindly copy it. They can't remove it if they don't notice that it's there. It's a trap for the stupid, with the assumption that the intelligent A) are few and far between and B) will have more integrity than the common idiot and be above copying other people's work without permission.

[ironicepitome 0]

awwwwww