Discovering Earth's Climate Changes Through Google Earth Timelapse
Written on
Chapter 1: Introduction to Google Earth's New Feature
Google Earth has launched a groundbreaking Timelapse feature that enables users to rewind time to 1984, showcasing the evolution of the Earth’s climate over the past four decades.
What Is Google Earth and Its Purpose?
Google Earth is a complimentary application that provides a virtual exploration of the world's most secluded areas. Accessible via both computers and smartphones, it offers satellite imagery, maps, topographical data, and 3D representations of buildings. Until now, users could observe Earth's surface in three dimensions, but this latest update introduces a fourth dimension—time.
Section 1.1: Understanding the Timelapse Feature
With an impressive claim of billions of users over the last 15 years, Google has announced its most significant update since 2017. While the Street View feature allowed users to see yearly changes in specific streets, the new Timelapse feature presents a broader perspective, capturing transformations across entire cities and geographical features such as rivers and glaciers.
According to Google’s blog, “We’ve amassed 24 million satellite images from the last 37 years to create an interactive experience in four dimensions. Now, everyone can observe the changes that have occurred on our planet over the last four decades.”
The first video explores the historical shifts visible through Google Earth Timelapse, allowing viewers to witness firsthand the transformations of our planet.
Section 1.2: Exploring Themes and Locations
At goo.gle/timelapse, users can navigate the globe by selecting themes like changing forests, fragile ecosystems, energy resources, a warming planet, and urban sprawl, or by pinpointing specific sites related to agriculture, deforestation, glaciers, urban infrastructure, megacities, or mining activities. Google Earth also invites users to experience pre-compiled animations that highlight significant changes, particularly in glaciers affected by climate shifts.
This second video illustrates how Earth has transformed over the last 37 years, providing a visual context to the data.
Chapter 2: Observing Climate Change in Real-Time
Google Earth’s Timelapse feature allows for a simple yet profound observation of the rapid changes our planet has experienced in the last fifty years. “The speed of these changes is unprecedented in history. Many have witnessed these transformations in their daily lives, while for others, impacts like melting glaciers may feel abstract. Google Earth’s Timelapse makes it remarkably straightforward to view these developments,” explains Rebecca Moore, the head of Earth Engine & Outreach at Google Earth.
This video delves deeper into the implications of climate change, showcasing how the environment has been affected.
Here, viewers can see the urban expansion and its correlation with population growth in various cities.
This video emphasizes the rapid urbanization that accompanies rising populations.
Conclusion: The Impact of Google Earth
For those intrigued by conspiracy theories, the idea of hidden doors on Mars may disappoint—this feature is about observing our own planet's changes.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article! I would be grateful if you appreciated the effort by leaving some applause or even following me. Your support means a lot!