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April 29, 2006
Chernobyl Radiation Visualization in Google Earth
Last week, our friend Valery Hronusov from Russia's Academy of Science in Perm, Russia (aka Valery35 at the Google Earth Community) posted a series of Google Earth files to illustrate radiation quantities at the Chernobyl site. Chernobyl (located in Pripyat, Ukraine) was the site of the worst nuclear power disaster in history and occurred 20 years ago on April 26, 1986 (see Wikipedia story). It turns out Google Earth now has a high resolution photo for the Chernobyl disaster (not sure when that got added).
You can visit Chernobyl and see Valery's visualizations below. There are more examples in his post. Valery used a GIS tool he has helped develop called KMLer.
- Radiation quantities I
- 1st illustration - legend shows amount of radiation - Radiation quantities II - 2nd illustration with rectangular cubes
- New containment building - Wire frame model of new building
By the way, you would think the site of the worst nuclear disaster would be empty of life. But, in fact people work nearby there today. And animals have seen a startling comeback (in the absense of a lot of people living near the site). And trees have overtaken the nearby building northwest of the site. Read this BBC story about it.
Posted by FrankTaylor at April 29, 2006 8:14 AM
Comments
Posted by: Bill White at April 29, 2006 9:48 PM
Regarding the statement: "By the way, you would think the site of the worst nuclear disaster would be empty of life. But, in fact people work nearby there today"
This is true, but depends what is understood by 'nearby' - if you exclude workers still trying to make the site safe.
National Geographic did an interesting feature in their April 2006 issue, including a map of the exclusion zone - there's a gate and guard house house 18 miles from the reactor apparently!
Have a look at www.ngm.com/0604 for the story and pictures
Posted by: Roger Driver at April 30, 2006 6:08 AM
This is a devastating catastrophe...I must ask is the Russian government helping clean up efforts? And is their any fund raisers active to raise money for the re-encasement of the reactor?
Posted by: Ben at October 4, 2007 11:36 PM
execuse me, but what you'd like to tell us, by setting this picture next to the text? Do you mean that the Chernobyl 2, is the most radioactive (sorry, I dont know english very well) bulding in this city? I see on this picture, that the central part of the launcher of rockets (chernobyl 2) is more radioactive than outside parts. Is that possible?
Posted by: 4dr14n at December 2, 2008 5:41 PM
Ben wrote: "This is a devastating catastrophe...I must ask is the Russian government helping clean up efforts? And is their any fund raisers active to raise money for the re-encasement of the reactor?"
As I know, there is not any found risers to active to rise money for the re-encasement of the reactor. People who are ill cause of the disaster (e.g. they have radiation illnes) recive little money. More over russia (as the russia) don't want send any support. They cut away from this problem and don't do anything in this case. The Ukraine is too poor country for expense like that. Only what I know, is that the EU send some money for minimalize the radiation from Chernobyl, but now it's needed more money cause the sarcophagus arround the power plant is too old and is deteriorating (going to destruction).
Sorry for my english :)
Posted by: 4dr14n at December 2, 2008 5:57 PM
This is actually a question, dosn't radiation take about 20 to 30 years to return to backround level, and will Chernobyl ever be colonised (for lack of a better word)?
Posted by: Christopher James Bingham at June 9, 2009 12:53 AM
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Here's a website devoted to the author's motorcycle rides through and explorations of Chernobyl: http://www.kiddofspeed.com/