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August 6, 2010
The Decade Volcanoes
Inspired by some recent Volcano-related posts over at Google Sightseeing, I thought it'd be neat to look at the 16 "Decade" Volcanoes around the world. Decade Volcanoes, according to Wikipedia are "the 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas."
Like most mountains (as we saw earlier this year), these volcanoes look stunning in Google Earth. They're listed below in alphabetical order. Click the "KML" link for each one to view it for yourself in Google Earth.
Avachinsky-Koryaksky - Kamchatka, Russia - KML
Colima - Jalisco and Colima, Mexico - KML
Mount Etna - Sicily, Italy - KML
Galeras - Nariño, Colombia - KML
Mauna Loa - Hawaii, USA - KML
Mount Merapi - Central Java, Indonesia - KML
Mount Nyiragongo - Democratic Republic of Congo - KML
Mount Rainier - Washington, USA - KML
Sakurajima - Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan - KML
Santa Maria/Santiaguito - Guatemala - KML
Santorini - Cyclades, Greece - KML
Taal Volcano - Luzon, Philippines - KML
Teide - Canary Islands, Spain - KML
Ulawun - New Britain, Papua New Guinea - KML
Mount Unzen - Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan - KML
Vesuvius - Naples, Italy - KML
Are there are volcanoes that you find particularly interesting? Leave a comment and let us know!
Posted by mickmel at 8:47 AM | Comments (11)
August 5, 2010
86 3D buildings from Bowling Green State University
Yesterday, the Google 3D Warehouse Twitter account (@3DWH) mentioned that Bowling Green State University had 86 3D models from their campus in the 3D Warehouse, so we had to check it out. They've since added another one more building, bringing the total to 87. The buildings are remarkably detailed, and include things such as accurate steps and realistic fences, as seen below.
None of the buildings are in Google Earth yet, but I'd expect them to arrive in the next 3D model update; probably later this week. [UPDATE: Most of the buildings are now in Google Earth.] In the meantime, you can download this KML file to see the locations of the buildings, and then choose to load the full 3D model for any that interest you.
Universities seem to be adding buildings at an increasingly rapid rate. We've recently told you about Northeastern University and Boston University, and I expect we'll see more in the coming months.
Posted by mickmel at 9:01 AM | Comments (2)
August 4, 2010
The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Archive
It's been 65 years since the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and the number of survivors is continuing to dwindle. The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Archive is an attempt to capture first-hand stories to save for history.
From their site:
This project enables to access all of those resources from all over the world, which was formerly unable to do so. Moreover, by mapping the information with topographic data, the user can enhance the experience of what it was like when the A-bomb struck Nagasaki, in detail. "Nagasaki Archive" is an attempt to reorganize all of those information on a digital virtual globe (google earth). In order to make Nagasaki the last place on earth where the A-bomb struck, we hope that many people to interact with and learn from "Nagasaki Archive".
You can see photos from the same angle they were taken 65 years ago, and also you click the portrait of survivors to read their experiences and wishes assosiated with the actual location they were exposed to A - bomb.
It seems like an excellent use of Google Earth to try to preserve some history, and the implementation of it is quite solid. Much of the site is in Japanese, but they're translating as much as they can into English.
You can try it yourself on their site here.
Posted by mickmel at 7:29 AM | Comments (1)
August 3, 2010
Finding illegal pools with Google Earth
The town of Riverhead, NY, located on Long Island, has recently started using Google Earth to track down backyard pools that don't have the proper license.
So far they've found around 250 pools that hadn't applied for the necessary license. When contacted and given the choice between paying the fee or facing heavy fines, most owners have paid the fee. So far the city has collected around $75,000 in fees.
There are two ways to look at a situation like this. The first is that it's a great use of Google Earth; the other is that it feels like big brother is watching. Which side are you on?
This situation reminds me of a few other stories we've written about in the past. Nearly five years ago, Frank shared the story of a tax assessor using Google Earth to spot changes in house lots (new buildings, sheds, etc) and making sure the proper taxes were paid on them.
The other story is even closer to this one; a pool guy finding prospective customers by only sending his mailing to homes that have pools. It took quite a bit of work to develop the list (search in Google Earth, determine the address, build the list), but now he has an excellent list of targeted prospects for his business.
Have you heard of any other examples like this? Let us know!
Posted by mickmel at 7:13 AM | Comments (19)
August 2, 2010
EPA data now featured in Google Earth Outreach
Last month, we showed you the KMZ file that the EPA released that had a ton of data about the Gulf oil spill.
Google has now featured that data on their Google Earth Outreach site. The depth of information available in this file is quite remarkable, and it's a superb resource for those that need more information about the spill.
Information available in the KMZ includes:
- View EPA air, surface water, sediment and waste sampling locations in Google Earth, which are linked to explanations and information throughout this site.
- See EPA air monitoring locations and results for total Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Particulate Matter (PM).
- Link to EPA data, aerial photography and other information collected by our air sampling plane, the ASPECT.
- Get National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency's (NGA) map of boom locations and daily tracking updates of the oil spill.
- See aerial photography and satellite images from NASA, NOAA and the European Space Agency's satellite ENVISAT.
To keep up with the latest items featured by Google Earth Outreach, you can check out their website or follow them on Twitter at @EarthOutreach.
Posted by mickmel at 8:12 AM | Comments (0)
July 30, 2010
New weather features in Google Earth 5.2
With all of the great features in Google Earth 5.2, one that often gets overlooked is the great weather enhancements.
The radar layers have been around since late 2007, and they haven't changed a whole lot since then. In March of 2008 they expanded to more countries, giving you satellite and radar imagery for any place that you want to see.
With this latest update, they've added a bit more eye candy. If you fly beneath a rainstorm, you'll actually see rain falling in Google Earth! This requires a fairly powerful graphics card, though I don't know the specifics on that.
Turn on the radar, find a green area and watch it rain! If you're not able to see it, here's a screenshot to show you what it's like:
For more about this, you can read the full entry on the Google Lat Long Blog.
Posted by mickmel at 9:22 AM | Comments (13)
July 29, 2010
New Google Earth Imagery - July 29
It appears that another Google Earth imagery update is underway -- thanks to GEB readers 'Eero' and 'cristi' for being the first to let us know about it.
[UPDATE: Google has updated the official KML update file, so you can see exactly which areas have been changed with this release.]
As is often the case, you can use Google Maps to determine for sure whether or not a specific area is fresh. This new imagery isn't in Google Maps yet, so you can compare Earth vs. Maps to see what's new; the fresh imagery is already in Google Earth, but the old imagery is still in Google Maps. If you compare the two side-by-side and they're not identical, that means that you've found a freshly updated area in Google Earth!
[UPDATED -- 29-July, 9:41pm EST]
- Finland: Southern areas -- thanks 'Eero' and 'cristi'
- Nepal: -- thanks 'Steven'
- Netherlands: Various areas -- thanks 'Maarten'
- United States: San Jose and Sacramento, CA (thanks 'Steven'), Des Moines, IA (thanks 'cristi), Boston, MA (thanks 'Kevin') and Las Vegas, NV (thanks 'cristi')
If you find any other updated areas, please leave a comment and let us know!
Posted by mickmel at 5:09 PM | Comments (30)
Biking across Poland
GEB reader 'fjk' has recently completed a bicycle trip across much of northern Poland, and he did a great job of tracking the journey and augmenting it with photos and other information.
A group of four of them completed to the trek to Swinoujscie, and they used a Garmin 60CSx to track their route.
To view the trip in Google Earth (as seen above), you can simply load this KMZ file. To see more of his adventures, check out his website.
It's great to see people sharing their journeys using Google Earth. If you missed it last month, a few GEB readers used the new "track" feature in 5.2 to show the progress of a 23km race that one of them participated in.
If you've created an interesting track in Google Earth recently, let us know about it and we may feature it in a future post.
Posted by mickmel at 7:49 AM | Comments (3)
July 28, 2010
More building maker cities added; Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile
It's been a while since Google has added any new cities to their Building Maker tool, but now two more have joined the mix - Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile.
These two cities bring the total available in Building Maker up 94. I'm always happy when they expand the coverage to more cities, and I look forward to seeing them expand the coverage area for existing cities a bit further.
Google has pointed out that a few users have been building a lot of models in the area over the last few years. In particular, 'gananunez' has created over 50 models in Valparaiso and users 'GecKo StuDio' and 'Sergio' have been creating various buildings in Santiago for the last few years. Having their buildings in the area will be a great start as other users start to fill in the cities with new Building Maker cities.
You can read more about the new cities in the Google Lat Long Blog. To try it yourself, simply visit the main Building Maker site.
Posted by mickmel at 8:01 AM | Comments (1)
July 27, 2010
The Geospatial Revolution Project
The folks at Penn State Public Broadcasting are in the middle of creating a series of videos showing how geo-spatial technology is changing the world we live in.
They've released a five-minute video showing some of the content that will be in the series, and it's a great little video. Check it out:
According to their website, they have a list of problems that are aided heavily by geospatial information, such as:
- fight climate change;
- map populations across continents, countries, and communities;
- track disease;
- strengthen bonds between cultures;
- defend the nation;
- assist first responders in protecting safety;
- enable democracy;
- navigate our personal lives.
They plan to release the first episode in mid-September of this year, and we'll certainly be keeping an eye out for it. In the meantime, check out their site or follow them on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on the status of the project.
Posted by mickmel at 8:30 AM | Comments (2)
Links marked with this icon are Google Earth files. You must have Google Earth installed to use these links.
