Google Earth is Becoming Google Water!

Google Earth’s gotten even cooler now, and “just got an upgrade to include oceans. Previously, the space between Earth’s recognizable landmasses had flat blue and, well, not all that educational.”

That’s all good for marine life enthusiasts. Being more of a land girl, I wish Google Earth did not stop there. How about adding yet another upgrade that would allow us to “see” water underneath the Earth’s surface. Can you imagine being able to have a peak into water tables, and water delivery networks, and moisture levels at various depths?  And being able to track changes over time. How amazing would that be?

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Google Earth View of Climate Change For Next Hundred Years

Google answered my wishes for an animated 3D-Map of climate change scenarios. From Reuters:

The project, Climate Change in Our World, is the result of cooperation between web search engine Google, Britain’s environment ministry and the country’s Met Office. Based on Google Earth which uses NASA satellite images, viewers can run a time lapse series to watch the earth warm under medium case scenarios up to 2100 either from a planetary perspective or zeroing in on countries and even cities. “This project shows people the reality of climate change using estimates of both the change in the average temperature where they live, and the impact it will have on people’s lives all over the world,” said environment secretary Hilary Benn.

I tried it. It is still very basic, and needs more local data, to be truly relevant. Nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction, and could be used, not just to show catastrophic scenarios, but also to visualize hopeful possibilities of a sustainable planet.

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