Google Earth has launched a time-lapse feature that lets users wind back the clock and see how the world has changed over several decades. The feature uses millions of satellite images from the past 37 years to let people scroll through time. It allows people to see, for example, the retreat of glaciers alongside global warming, or the deforestation of the Amazon over time. The company says it is the biggest update to Google Earth in four years. Google Earth uses similar technology to the widely used Maps product, but is more focused on geology and exploration than public transport and directions. Users can access the tool in a web browser, and the feature comes with some pre-packaged virtual tours of an Alaskan glacier melting over the years or forest protection efforts in Brazil. But the time-lapse feature is global - meaning users can just type in any location and experiment with whatever images are available. Google is heavily marketing the tool as a way to raise awareness of climate change and other environmental issues. It pointed to the shifting sands of Cape Cod and the drying of Kazakhstan's Aral Sea as striking examples of how the landscape is changing. But it also documents the boom in towns and cities across the world - from the rapid expansion of Las Vegas to the building of artificial islands in Dubai. "We have a clearer picture of our changing planet right at our fingertips - one that shows not just problems but also solutions, as well as mesmerisingly beautiful natural phenomena that unfold over decades," Google said. An Earth-sized video Under the hood, the new version of Google Earth is powered by 24 million different satellite photos, from Nasa, the US Geological Survey's Landsat project, and the EU's Copernicus project. Google said the new features "simply wouldn't have been possible" without the "commitments to open and accessible data" from... |