Environment Archives

July 1, 2009

NASA/Japan Release Terrain Data - Google Earth's is Better

One of the top stories yesterday was how NASA and Japan have released the data from their ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) satellite on the Internet - for free. What is significant about this is that the data covers 99% of the entire Earth's landmass terrain - verses 80% from the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) - which was the best previously available free public terrain data. ASTER's data is also higher resolution than SRTM which had a base resolution of 90m and at best 30m. ASTER's resolution has a base resolution of 30m, and can be higher under certain conditions (up to 7-10m - see documentation). The data released comes from over 1.3 million photos taken by the Aster satellite.

So, will Google Earth make use of this new ASTER data? The answer is: only a portion of the data. Google Earth already has terrain data in many areas that has higher resolution than the data provided by Aster (see below). However, ASTER provides data for remote locations (particularly high latitude regions) which previously wasn't readily available in these resolutions. And, Google Earth still has regions (such as remote pacific islands) which are using SRTM data (90m resolution). So, I'm sure Google will consider using the new data to improve the resolution in some regions. IF, they don't already have another source with better resolution. By the way, I asked Google about ASTER, and got the standard reply that they don't have anything to announce at this time (i.e. "no comment").

As far back as the February 2007, Google started introducing significantly higher resolution terrain. At that time they introduced 10m resolution terrain for the Swiss Alps, followed a few months later by 10m resolution terrain for the US and Canary Islands (read GEB review). In the more than two years since, Google has added millions of square kilometers of higher resolution terrain. Some of the terrain is much higher resolution. For example, the state of West Virginia has 3m resolution. Back in April of 2008, the city of Bergen, Norway got very high resolution data - which appeared to be based on LiDAR. Recently, Oslo, Norway also got very high resolution terrain data (also seemingly LiDAR) as well as 3D Buildings.

In recent months, Google has been regularly adding cities and countries with higher resolution terrain with nearly every imagery update (see for example the May 2009 update - new terrain is listed at the bottom). Google is no longer releasing details on the resolution of the data. Probably because the terrain resolution varies for each city. One drawback to higher resolution terrain is the data starts capturing things like buildings - not just the land - and it gets to be harder to tell the difference between good data and noise. But, the ability to see the terrain more accurately is well worth this risk in my opinion.

An important tip if you're interested in Google Earth's terrain data: Under the Google Earth Options is a slider called "Terrain Quality". If you push that slider to the right, you can see higher resolution terrain. A word of caution: higher quality terrain means more 3D data - which can slow down your update speeds in Google Earth. After viewing higher resolution terrain, I recommend putting the slider back to closer to the middle for every day use. If you have a faster computer with a powerful video card, you might be able to get away with a higher setting. (Read more tips about optimizing GE performance).

Posted by FrankTaylor at 7:55 AM | Comments (6)

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June 24, 2009

Links: Muggers Caught, Tehran Imagery, Ocean Celebration, UNHCR Donation

As mentioned, I've been sailing this week, so posts have been slow coming (see first part of trip at the Tahina Expedition blog). I would have written last night, but the only WIFI near our anchorage went dead after dinner. Then today we sailed 70 miles back to our home base. Don't worrry, we'll be getting some onboard (yes, satellite, but also some other less-expensive options) Internet connectivity in a few weeks.

  • Muggers Caught by Street View - Many GEB readers forwarded me this story about two muggers (who happen to be twin brothers) having been caught thanks to Google's Street View imagery. A 14-year old Dutch boy was mugged just moments after a Street View car imaged the two muggers walking close behind him. The boy noticed the image in Street View 6 months after it happened and called police. Police requested and got the original image without face-blurring from Google and they recognized the assailants and arrested them. The AP story has the blurred version of the photo.

  • Tehran Imagery - Google released recent imagery of Tehran, Iran for Google Earth after a GeoSat satellite took the picture. This release was made quickly in response to the developing news there last week. You can view the photo here in Google Earth.

  • Ocean GE Celebration - Google took an opportunity to celebrate the new wealth of information available about the oceans, since Google Earth 5 was released last February, with a number of their partners recently. Watch this video of awards for the new ocean content. I just had to mention this because I just spent several days sailing on the ocean!

  • UNHCR Dontation - Just a follow-up to the post I made last week about the UNHCR and World Refugee Day. As promised, GEB has made a donation (via Frank Taylor) on Monday of over $100 to the UNHCR. If other bloggers accepted my Twitter challenge to do the same, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 9:24 PM | Comments (2)

June 18, 2009

Gimme Shelter Campaign via Google Earth

Google has announced a very powerful Google Earth file for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR organization provides shelter and assistance to millions of people forced from their homes - mostly by political circumnstances. With a staff of only 6500, the organization is helping millions of desperate people. The evidence of just how bad the plight is for refugees can be seen right in Google Earth. The file will fly you to many refugee camps so you can see what is happening, and learn about the challenges people are facing in remote places around the world (it used to be "out of sight, out of mind", but times are changing).

June 20th is World Refugee Day, and to help send out word about the plight of refugees to the world, Google has added recent imagery of refugee camps - and created a very dramatic tour of just a few refugee camps. The UNHCR got permission to play the Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" song to help their campaign starting last December. So, the Tour has the song playing in the background. You can watch the Google Earth Gimme Shelter Tour in the full desktop app (free GE 5 required), or you can watch it right here (via the embed a tour tool). Note, you can pause the tour at any point and zoom in to see more details - or read the placemarks. And, more importantly, you can click at the end to the "Donate" button. Watch and listen to it below - it only takes about 4 minutes:

In honor of World Refugee Day, all proceeds from Google Earth Blog from June 20th will be donated to the UNHCR. $100 can buy a survival kit for a refugee family. I hope other blogs will both embed this tour and donate their proceeds as well.

In 2007, Google did something similar by creating a layer highlighting what was happening to refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan through Google Earth. But, the technology of Google Earth has greatly improved since then. The tour above is broadening the scope of the message to include refugees around the world.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 7:52 AM | Comments (1)

June 8, 2009

World Oceans Day, 3D Design Competition, Britain Archeological Site, New Imagery Tour Idea

  • World Oceans Day - This is a good thing - the UN has declared today World Oceans Day. I like the idea of "Wear Blue Tell Two" - wear something blue and tell two people something about the oceans they don't know. Google is doing their part at least by releasing a cool collection of Google Earth files telling people about the ocean. I like the one that shows you where plastic trash would end up if you dropped it somewhere in the ocean (based on currents/winds). And, if you haven't loaded Google Earth in a while, Google Earth 5 came out in February with a wealth of information about the oceans and lets you see the oceans like never before.

    Did you know the world's coral reefs are dying? Read more from NASA here.

  • 3D Design Competition - Today is also Frank Lloyd Wright's 142nd birthday. In honor of this, Google and the Guggenheim have announced a new 3D competition called Design It: Shelter Competition. According to Google's announcement: "...the competition is inspired by Wright's assignment for his apprentices at Taliesin: If you wanted to study to be an architect with Wright, you had to design and build a shelter in the desert outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Then you had to live and study in it." Deadline is August 23rd. Watch the video for an overview. Speaking of 3D - Google also featured another modeler who has contributed to the 3D Warehouse.

    By the way, it would be cool if someone created a collection of placemarks of locations where you can see 3D models of Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Google Earth. Here's a thread of placemarks showing locations.

  • Britain Archeological Site - Stefan read about a new archeological find near Stonehenge, and set out to do some sleuthing to discover the location. He found it and explains how at his OgleEarth post.

  • New Imagery Tour Idea - Last week Microsoft came out with a slick tour of some of their latest new imagery for Virtual Earth ... err I mean Live Local Maps... err I mean Bing Maps (the latest name). As soon as I saw it, I realized Google should be doing tours of their new imagery (like the one that came out Saturday). Using the new Tour mode in Google Earth, you could really show off new imagery (and 3D Terrain) in a snazzy way - you could even add some nice background music while you watch GE fly from place to place. It could be even cooler than Microsoft's! :-) Google recently started doing 3D tours for 3D models - so why not the imagery and terrain?

Posted by FrankTaylor at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

June 5, 2009

US Drought Conditions in Google Earth by NOAA

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (better known as NOAA) has been producing a number of useful KML files which can be viewed in Google Earth. Today I'm highlighting a collection of updated drought maps which can be viewed with the time animation feature in Google Earth. NOAA has several collections at this web page which cover the year 2000 through to the present. The maps highlight the regions of drought conditions with colored contours which indicate the severity of drought (Dark red is the most severe). I recommend only loading a single year at a time unless you have a lot of memory. (The one covering the full ten year range is recommended to only be used with GE Pro because it only seems to work with Pro.) To illustrate (and save you the time to load), I've created a video showing the 2005 to present animation:

Other examples of NOAA data available in Google Earth:

Posted by FrankTaylor at 8:56 AM | Comments (5)

More entries for this category:

  1. Huge Waste of Energy Visible in Google Earth - June 2, 2009
  2. Links: Geography Bee, Developer Marketplace, Monetize your Maps - May 21, 2009
  3. Google Earth Outreach Upgrade - May 20, 2009
  4. Links: Non-Profit Resources, Featured Modelers, Poet Recognized, 3D/4D Quake Analysis - May 7, 2009
  5. Two Collections: US Coast Guard and Right Whales - April 28, 2009
  6. Largest Proposed Urban Solar Power Plant in the US - April 23, 2009
  7. Use Google Earth on Earth Day - April 22, 2009
  8. Links: Ocean Now, Michigan Earth Day, Goldman Prize, Convention Center, Queen Mary - April 21, 2009
  9. Wilkins Ice Shelf Collapse in Google Earth - April 17, 2009
  10. L'Aquila, Italy Earthquake in Google Earth - April 8, 2009
  11. Glacier Melt Survey in Google Earth - March 24, 2009
  12. Google Earth Layers - March 22, 2009
  13. Google Earth Historical Imagery Update - 16-March-2009 - March 16, 2009
  14. US Solar Jobs Map - March 11, 2009
  15. Upside Down Earthquakes - March 9, 2009
  16. Satellite Collision Debris Tracking in Google Earth - February 23, 2009
  17. Google Earth 5 Released - 3D Ocean and More! - February 2, 2009
  18. Big Google Earth Announcement with Al Gore and More - January 26, 2009
  19. New View of Ocean Floor in Google Earth - January 17, 2009
  20. Urban Tick - Research Results in Google Earth - January 8, 2009
  21. Ocean Biogeographic Maps in Google Earth - November 25, 2008
  22. Carolina Beach Inlet in Google Earth - November 4, 2008
  23. Links: Bioneers, Science Apps, Ogle Catchup, Google Ocean, GreenPeace, Geocoding - October 24, 2008
  24. Fires in California - 2008-October - Google Earth/Maps - October 14, 2008
  25. Worldwide Marine Protected Areas in Google Earth - October 7, 2008
  26. Modified Mars Add-on for Google Earth - September 22, 2008
  27. More Detailed Arctic Ice Melting Animation in Google Earth - September 19, 2008
  28. Google Earth News Roundup - September 5, 2008
  29. Links: Panoramio Contest, Lunar Challenge, Fire Detection - August 28, 2008
  30. Google.org Visualizes US Geothermal Data in Google Earth - August 21, 2008
  31. Watch Arctic Ice Melting in Google Earth - August 11, 2008
  32. Google Goes to the Amazon - July 27, 2008
  33. More Bad News on Coral Reefs - NOAA's Google Earth Data - July 10, 2008
  34. Nice Range Map for Important Animals in Google Earth - July 4, 2008
  35. Links: Outreach Birthday, Bullit Chase Scene, NIN Downloads, KMLWiki - June 30, 2008
  36. California Fires - June 2008 - June 29, 2008
  37. Popular Science Highlights Scientific Applications of Google Earth - June 20, 2008
  38. Disappearing Forests Google Earth Visualizations - June 12, 2008
  39. Climate Change Data for Google Earth - May 20, 2008
  40. Links: Science Uses, Compass, GM vs VE, Healthy Planet, and more - April 28, 2008
  41. Google Earth For Earth Day - April 22, 2008
  42. Links: GE Lesson, GETools, Microsoft KML, 3D Bridges, Royal Australian 3D, EPA Award - April 18, 2008
  43. Links: GE/SketchUp Classes, Sea Ice Update, Bergen Terrain, Waldo - April 11, 2008
  44. More Global Awareness Layers: ARKive and WaterAid - April 10, 2008
  45. New Greenpeace Layer in Google Earth - April 3, 2008
  46. Wilkins Ice Shelf, Sea Ice Extent Animation - March 28, 2008
  47. Global Temperature Trends for Google Earth - March 24, 2008
  48. Buy a Tree for the Rainforest - Get a KML - March 21, 2008
  49. Links: Outreach Showcase, Spreadsheet mapping, Geo Test, KML Lesson Talk - February 26, 2008
  50. Big Update to Google Earth Outreach - February 13, 2008
  51. Links: Star Viewer, Green Screen, World Hockey, European Pollution, Golden Shadow - January 29, 2008
  52. Water Bodies in Google Earth - See Australia's! - January 28, 2008
  53. Links: KML Wrap-up, New Orrery, Zip Scribble, South China Sea - January 23, 2008
  54. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
  55. Montserrat Volcanic Island in Google Earth - December 17, 2007
  56. Outreach Showcase - December 14, 2007
  57. Google Earth and Santa Claus - December 7, 2007
  58. Population Maps for Google Earth - December 5, 2007
  59. Links: EPA Air Quality, DigitalGlobe, Bolivia Protected Areas - November 27, 2007
  60. Arctic Ice Melting Animation in Google Earth - November 26, 2007
  61. Links: WSJ Article, Tornado History, Google Sky Exoplanets - November 15, 2007
  62. Links: Russian Oil Spill, KML Screen Overlay Maker, Android Demo - November 13, 2007
  63. San Francisco Oil Spill in Google Earth - November 12, 2007
  64. DOE Energy Efficient Buildings in 3D Google Earth - November 9, 2007
  65. Google California Fires Master Layer - October 26, 2007
  66. California Fires - Satellite photos, Fire Data in Google Earth - October 23, 2007
  67. San Diego, California Fires - See Smoke in Google Earth - October 22, 2007
  68. Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails in Google Earth - October 15, 2007
  69. Hurricane Followspot Animations in Google Earth - October 4, 2007
  70. Links: GE for scientists, Human body, Burma, Census Explorer, Virtual Earth, Cleanup Weekend - October 2, 2007
  71. Sierra Club Wants to Protect 52 Places in the US - See in Google Earth - September 28, 2007
  72. Google Earth Outreach Enhancements - September 16, 2007
  73. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
  74. News Roundup: Flight Sim Tips, Clouds and Weather, KML 2.2, Google Solar Panels, Pollution - September 10, 2007
  75. Greece Fires in Google Earth - August 28, 2007
  76. News Roundup: Peru Earthquake, Virtual Earth Update, Stefan's Alps Hike - August 16, 2007
  77. Scientific Ocean Drilling Database in Google Earth - August 14, 2007
  78. Virtual Globes at AGU 2007 - Call for Papers - August 8, 2007
  79. Rising Water Effects for Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro - July 31, 2007
  80. Energy Production Information for Western US - July 17, 2007
  81. Live Earth Concerts in Google Earth - July 6, 2007
  82. Quasi-global Near real-time Rainfall in Google Earth - July 3, 2007
  83. June Layers Additions/Updates for Google Earth - June 29, 2007
  84. Google Earth Outreach Announcement Video - June 28, 2007
  85. Notes from the Google Earth Outreach Announcement in NYC - June 27, 2007
  86. Introducing Google Earth Outreach - New Global Awareness Layers - June 26, 2007
  87. News Roundup: Google Earth Nonproifts Initiative, Giant Earth Screen, Pollmapr, Conferences, - June 22, 2007
  88. Google Earth Helping Amazon Indians - June 19, 2007
  89. ISDE Day 3 Summary - June 8, 2007
  90. Google Earth More Realistic with Better Terrain - June 6, 2007
  91. International Symposium on Digital Earth - Day 1, Part 1 - June 5, 2007
  92. Google Releases High Resolution Terrain - Western US and Canaries - June 2, 2007
  93. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part III - May 25, 2007
  94. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part II - May 18, 2007
  95. New Google Earth Layers Update: Amsterdam 3D, Forest Service, Taiwan Roads - May 17, 2007
  96. News Roundup 1 - Education, Clean Cruising, Magnalox, NASA UAVSAR - May 6, 2007
  97. See the Googleplex Solar Panel Plan in 3D - May 1, 2007
  98. News Roundup - Chile Border Crisis, Caribou, Gumball Rally, Emotions - April 30, 2007
  99. Maverick Waves Explained - Illustration in Google Earth - April 23, 2007
  100. New California Marine Protected Areas in Google Earth - April 20, 2007
  101. New Google Earth Layers for April: Darfur, Trimble, and more - April 9, 2007
  102. Animation Roundup: Rising Sea Levels, Filling Grand Canyon, Global Clouds - April 6, 2007
  103. Utah Geo Sightseeing in Google Earth - April 4, 2007
  104. Historical Maps of Tornado Paths in the US - April 3, 2007
  105. The Awesome Victoria Falls in Google Earth - March 24, 2007
  106. Super High Resolution Photos in Google Earth - March 18, 2007
  107. Google Highlights New Layers - March 13, 2007
  108. Major Layer Update for Google Earth - March 10th - March 10, 2007
  109. New Snow and Ice Data for Google Earth - March 5, 2007
  110. Happy International Polar Year! Google Earth Presentation - March 2, 2007
  111. World Oil Consumption - 3D Charts in Google Earth - February 27, 2007
  112. NASA Releases More Earth Data for Google Earth - February 22, 2007
  113. National Geographic on Elephant Poaching - Google Earth Presentation - February 20, 2007
  114. News Roundup - FreeGeoTools, Sprol, Subsurface, conferences, Magnalox - February 12, 2007
  115. Google Earth Critical Tool in Fight Against Logging Plan - February 6, 2007
  116. Discovery Sunrise on Google Earth - January 29, 2007
  117. Daily NASA MODIS Satellite Imagery for Google Earth - January 20, 2007
  118. NOAA Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Weather Feed for Google Earth - January 13, 2007
  119. NOAA Releases Estuarine Bathymetric Data for Google Earth - January 12, 2007
  120. Upper Green Valley Environmental Issues Illustrated with Google Earth - January 10, 2007
  121. New Imagery Update for the Holidays - Awesome! - December 17, 2006
  122. Virtual Globes Sessions at AGU - Day 1 - December 13, 2006
  123. NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab Publishes Google Earth Content - December 8, 2006
  124. View Melting Glaciers in Google Earth - December 3, 2006
  125. Maplecroft Risk Analsysis Global Maps in Google Earth - November 22, 2006
  126. Protecting Rainforests in Victoria, Australia Using Google Earth - November 21, 2006
  127. Amazon Indians Using Google Earth to Protect Tropical Forests - November 15, 2006
  128. Earth on Fire - November 4, 2006
  129. End Mountain Top Removal Campaign with Google Earth - October 15, 2006
  130. UNEP's New Environment Layer in Google Earth - September 21, 2006
  131. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - August 29, 2006
  132. New Environment and Conservation Forum for Google Earth Community - July 17, 2006
  133. Map of Projected Sea Level Rise Effects on Vancouver - May 8, 2006
  134. USGS Releases Geologic Maps for Google Earth - April 25, 2006
  135. Earth Day - Google Earth Style - April 22, 2006
  136. NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Adds Google Earth Data - April 13, 2006
  137. State of Our Ecology in Google Earth - April 12, 2006
  138. Sierra Club Shows Public Land Sale Proposal in Google Earth - March 17, 2006
  139. More Satellite Environmental Data in Google Earth - January 31, 2006
  140. Global Fire Data in Google Earth - January 26, 2006
  141. Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth - January 25, 2006
  142. Environmental Groups Leveraging Google Earth - January 16, 2006
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