THE National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration in the us is elated atunveiling the first scientifically satisfying map of the ocean floor. The mapunveils 71 per cent of the earth that liesbeneath the oceans, but was until nownot as well mapped as the surface ofVenus. Among those rushing for aglimpse of the map are fishermen whowant to zero in on undersea mountainsthat produce upwellings of deep, nutrient-rich water that feed swarms of fish,industry too hopes to get a bird's-eyeview of rocks that Overlay oil fields andthe kinds of volcanic eruptions thatform undersea deposits of copper, iron,silver and gold. "It's like being able todrain the oceans and look at the earthfrom space," says David T Sandwell, ageophysicist at the Scripps Institution ofOceanography in La Jolla, California,who helped make the map. "We're having a data feast. It really is a time forcelebration," he adds.