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Environment

Global Fire Data in Google Earth

January 26, 2006

Global Fire Data in Google EarthAnother interesting Google Earth network link from those guys in Russia (see credits below). This time they have collected data from NASA and other sources to share with you interesting environmental data showing the status of global-wide fires which rage in various parts of the world throughout the year. The data was collected by NASA’s MODIS environmental satellites Terra and Aqua and superimposed on the NASA Blue Marble satellite images of the earth (more credits below). Each sample of data is for a 10-day period, and the Google Earth file can show you any 10-day period since the middle of year 2000 to the present.
So, our friend Valery35 from the Google Earth Community posted this new network link for Global Fires. Operating this network link is a little tricky, so follow these instructions:

  1. Download the Global Fire network link
  2. Turn on “Global Fire Maps” in the “Temporary Places” folder. This will load the first “level” of folders
  3. Look for a folder labeled “600*300” (which is the resolution of the data I believe) – open the folder by clicking on the little triangle -> DO NOT turn on the folder though as you will load all the data at once
  4. You will see folders for each year since 2000. Click on a year to load it, then open the folder (again, DO NOT turn it on)
  5. You should see a reverse chronological list of images for ten day periods of the format ‘year”daynumber’. So, for example 2005001-2005010 is the first ten days of the year. You can turn and off these different images to see the fire data.

By the way, this is another case where a time-lapse animation of placemarks would be VERY valuable in Google Earth if it were available. But, you could make a movie of the various files, which is what Valery35 has done. He published a Global Fire Movie you can watch in Windows Media Player which shows the fires over time in Google Earth. Very cool!
The fire maps were created by…

[Read more…] about Global Fire Data in Google Earth

Filed Under: Applications, Environment, Science, Weather Tagged With: fire

Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth

January 25, 2006

Arctic Ice Floe satellite/aerial photos in Google EarthLast week I was contacted by some scientists (credited below) who had some interesting data for Google Earth showing the movement of ice floes in the northern Arctic region showing satellite photos, motion tracks and vectors, and more. They also informed me they were getting ready to release some data for the Antarctic region as well. Well, today they informed me both are now available and new web pages describing them as well. (By the way, OgleEarth reported on the Arctic data last week). Here’s the full story…
Near real-time data of ice floes in the Arctic region are being made available thanks to efforts by scientists at Ørsted DTU (Technical University of Denmark) which is participating in a project called DAMOCLES sponsored by a European Commission. Project DAMOCLES is an integrated ice-atmosphere-ocean monitoring and forecasting system designed for observing, understanding and quantifying climate changes in the Arctic. The team at DTU have had a Java application for viewing the ice floes for some time, but recently released a Google Earth network link for looking at the ice floes and the data showing their movement. The data comes in part from the European Space Agency’s environmental satellite called ENVISAT ASAR, and from devices attached to the ice which broadcast their position. Here is the web page describing the different data sets and the link to the Google Earth file. Very interesting data!
AntArctic Ice FloesSatellite Photos in Google EarthThe Antarctic Google Earth network link is even more interesting. Here they have included details on the overall development of ice in the Antarctic, details on the sea-ice conditions as well as iceberg locations, satellite photos of the ice, locations of drift buoys, locations of selected research vessels, and locations of a selection of more than 120 Antarctic research stations and bases. Full details are available from this web page, which is part of the International Polar View project.
I was first contacted by…

[Read more…] about Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth

Filed Under: Environment, Navigation, Network Links, Science, Weather

Environmental Groups Leveraging Google Earth

January 16, 2006

Sierra Club Artic Wildlife Refuge in Google EarthLast week the San Francisco Chronicle published an article – called “GREEN Eyes in the Sky ” about how Google Earth is leveling the playing field for environmentalists by providing a powerful visualization tool. First, GE provides them with a powerful way to look at high resolution satellite and aerial photography of pollution, waste, industrial growth, and encroachment to natural areas (see example here). Second, GE is also a powerful presentation tool allowing them to not only see the ground in close detail, but also allowing the presentation of pictures, data (for example, waste sites, oil wells, etc.), highlighting rivers and waterways, showing deforestation , and more.
The SF Chronicle story highlights some examples of environmentalists using Google Earth. For example, the Sierra Club have put together a GE presentation on the encroachment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska (here is the web site). Once you download it, make sure you look through the many options in the arctic.kmz folder you will find in your Temporary Places folder to see photos, movies, oil well placemarks, and other information they have provided.
Another excellent GE presentation was put together in response to some proposed logging in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. A concerned citizen put together a model showing where the logging would be done and the effects on the watershed. This presentation resulted in the proposed logging plan was withdrawn.

Filed Under: Environment, Google Earth News, Science, Sightseeing

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