July 7, 2008
How Scientists Are Using Google Earth
More and more scientists are using Google Earth to visualize and share with the public the phenomena they study, according to an article in the July issue of Popular Science.
The magazine describes several projects that incorporate the free software. Among them: a scientist at the University of Alaska uses it with tools he developed to monitor ash plumes from volcanoes in the North Pacific so that planes can keep away from danger, NASA has been using Google Earth to follow research flights into storms and help direct them toward areas of interest, researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado have produced tools to illustrate their results from monitoring snow and ice in both poles, and a scientist at Ohio State University uses Google Earth to show the spread of the avian-flu virus. —Maria José Viñas
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How frequently is Google Earth updated? Can it be relied upon for current information?
— Ted Johnson Jul 8, 11:18 AM #
Ted,
I’m not sure how often it is updated. Most of the places that I’ve looked at seem to be taken within the last 4-8 months. It’s a little eerie to see a car that I sold a few months ago still in front of my house.
— Dr. J Jul 8, 01:56 PM #
Are the detailed local images found in Google Earth, such as the one of your (former but recent) car in the driveway, the same of those used for the Google Maps “Street-Level View?” Does anyone know? I think they are, but would like to hear from others who know the Google systems well. Many thanks.
— DDVA Jul 10, 12:06 PM #