Google Earth adds 3D demonstrations of the impact of climate change over the past 36 years
Google Earth is launching a new feature that will allow users to see how our planet changed from 1984 to 2020. Users will observe how the devastating effects of climate change have affected the appearance and geography of the Earth.
Google representatives say that the new opportunity’s main goal is to demonstrate how humanity is destroying its only home. This feature, which Google calls Timelapse, will be available on Google Earth starting today. To access it, you need to select the Explorer item in the application window, marked with an icon that resembles a ship’s plumbing. The user will be able to find a place of interest or familiarize themselves with one of the five proposed excursions dedicated to the reduction of forests, urban growth, warming, mining, and renewable energy sources, as well as the “fragile beauty of the Earth.”
Google says more than 24 million satellite images taken from 1984 to 2020 were used to create videos for the new feature. Thus, a video mosaic with a resolution of 4.4 terapixels was created. For reference, one terapixel equals one million megapixels. The search giant has partnered with NASA, the US Geological Survey, the European Commission, and the European Space Agency to launch a new opportunity.
This is not the first such feature developed by the Google Earth team. In May 2013, the company released a feature to track changes from 1984 to 2012 in 2D. However, the new feature compares favorably because it offers users a three-dimensional survey of the planet’s geological changes. Google has also released 800 Earth Change videos for free download, which it recommends for educational use.
