Communications of the ACM
Public Can Explore Time-Lapse Videos of Earth With New Tool From Carnegie Mellon and Google
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a tool for Google's Earth Engine that enables users to access 13 years of NASA Landsat images of the Earth's surface.
Users can zoom in or out on any spot on the globe and move back and forth in time. The researchers say the tool, when combined with Google Earth Engine's parallel computation power, is transformed into a set of seamless, zoomable videos accessible from a Web browser. "We can now offer an intuitive, effortless method to explore the planet in space and time," says Google Earth Engine's Rebecca Moore.
CMU's Randy Sargent says enhanced access to satellite imagery will help ground public discussions about land use, climate change, and environmental policy.
The Earth Engine tool is based on CMU's GigaPan Time Machine. The Earth Engine has already accrued more than 1.5 million Landsat images of Earth, and its image library is growing by thousands of images daily as new satellite data is compiled.
From Carnegie Mellon News (PA)
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