http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2134
Hey guys!
While doing research for another paper, I stumbled across this article in the web. I think it’s an enlitening article that provides an inside to the two things we know but doesn’t always link together: environmental monitoring and conservation, as well as Google Earth.
When somebody mention Google Earth, the picture of our house from space comes to mind (Admit it, the first thing you usually look up is your house) or a map overlayed onto the satellite imagery. Now, instead of googling your house, why not look at the world instead. That was what this article was about.
But first, a bit of a crash course. Remote sensing is the observation of an object, surface or phenomenon from a distance without actually being in contact with it. It is based on the principle that objects reflect or emit radiations in different wavelengths and intensities depending on specific conditions. Devices that are sensitive to electromagnetic energy - such as light, heat and radio waves (from the target object) - capture the electromagnetic wave and information of the target can be obtained by studying energy interactions and providing information in the form of digital mapping (using imaging systems). Most scientists prefer to use this tool as it offers wide regional coverage, enables continuous acquisition of data as well as it helps to receive up-to-date information.
Although that is the fact, the data is difficult to get a hold of and it is difficult to process. Not to mentioned the initial price of the satellite imagery as well as the processing software. Because of this, it is beyond the reach of smaller, more independent monitoring and conservation organization.
Enter Google Earth.
Introduced in 2005, Google Earth — which can be downloaded for free — aggregates and organizes satellite imagery, aerial photography, and 3-D global information system data from a range of sources and presents it in a format that is easily accessible to the general public. Primarily used for vigilance, it is one of the key elements in aiding several monitoring of deforestation area in several locations such as Amazon, Congo and Indonesia. Especially in Brazil – which has one of the most sophisticated systems for tracing deforestation – it uses satellite monitoring to monitor forest fires in almost real time to protect the forest from further deforestation, which will ultimately lead to the climate change.
Another application that caught my eyes was the discovery of a rich pocket of biodiversity in a remote highland forest in Mozambique. The findings itself was monumental as it lead to the discovery of 200 types of butterfly, plant species and other animals and insects. What surprises me even more was the fact that the preliminary findings of the location was through an application I have installed in my own computer but never taken the time to explore – Google Earth.
Other than that, it can also track the clear water of the river and monitor it against negative impact of the hydroelectric projects; help indigenous people in the Amazon protect their land; and alert citizens and government officials that boats are illegally fishing off the Canary Islands.
So, thoughts anyone? Do you think this application has the potential in aiding the general monitoring and conservation of the environment?
Nini Sopian
Hi Nini,
ReplyDeleteHere’s an article that might answer your question. Google Earth and GIS has been used in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico for Dengue Decision Support System Framework. With these softwares, researchers were able to use satellite images to label health institutions and further mark critical areas with GIS. These softwares helps to safe time and resources.
In my opinion, since the softwares are already being used as a tool for health and environment, it is only a matter of time when it will be used for environmental conservation work. I believe that these tools are already assisting in weather and disaster forecast.
Reference: Research-Use of Google Earth™ to strengthen public health capacity by Saul Lozano-Fuentes et al. Bulletin of the World Health Organization | September 2008, 86 (9). http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/9/07-045880.pdf
Of course this application has potential for use in environmental monitoring and conservation.But certain technical drawbacks needs to be resolved before this application can be confidently used by professionals in the field of environmental management.Currently,these technical obstacles mainly has to do with the resolution,accuracy and how current the viewed data are.The current technical setbacks of google earth are summarised below.
ReplyDeleteThe images are not all taken at the same time, but are generally current to within three years. However with the release of Google Earth 5.0, it has historical images dating back to the 1940s in some spots. Image sets are sometimes not correctly stitched together. Updates to the photographic database can occasionally be noticed when drastic changes take place in the appearance of the landscape, for example Google Earth's incomplete updates of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, or when placemarks appear to shift unexpectedly across the Earth's surface. Though the placemarks have not in fact moved, the imagery is composed and stitched differently. Such an update to London's photography in early 2006 created shifts of 15–20 metres in many areas, noticeable because the resolution is so high.
Place name and road detail vary greatly from place to place. They are most accurate in North America, Europe and Australia, but regular mapping updates are improving coverage elsewhere.
Errors sometimes occur due to the technology used to measure the height of terrain; for example, tall buildings in Adelaide, Australia cause one part of the city to be rendered as a small mountain, when it is in fact flat. The height of the Eiffel Tower creates a similar effect in the rendering of Paris. Also, prior to the release of version 5.0 in February 2009, elevations below sea level were presented as sea level, for example: Salton City, California; Death Valley; and the Dead Sea were all listed as 0 m when Salton City is −38 m; Death Valley is −86 m; and the Dead Sea is −420 m.
.In some areas, local government jurisdictions have submitted more finely gridded terrain models through the Map Content Partners program. In March 2010, the County of Marin, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge by San Francisco, California, published a 40 cm gridded terrain surface of 1425 square km through the program.
The "Measure" function shows that the length of equator is about 40,030.24 km, giving an error of −0.112% compared with the actual value of 40,075.02 km Earth; for the meridional circumference, it shows a length of about 39,963.13 km, also giving an error of −0.112% compared with the actual value of 40,007.86 km.
On December 16, 2007, most of Antarctica was updated to a 15 m resolution using imagery from the Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica; (1m resolution images of some parts of Antarctica were added in June 2007); however, the Arctic polar ice cap is completely absent from the current version of Google Earth, as are waves in the oceans. The geographic North Pole is found hovering over the Arctic Ocean and the tiling system produces artifacts near the poles as the tiles become 'infinitely' small and rounding errors accumulate.
Cloud cover and shadows can make it difficult or impossible to see details in some land areas, including the shadow side of mountains
100% this apllication could help us to find problems,pollution area,...
ReplyDeleteBut because there is different ways for research in earth and cover all part of that with these abilities like GPS or the picture which has taken with satelite,so sceintists ignor exsiting of google earth.
But next paragraph will explain how use google earth in possetive way.
The U.K. government on Thursday launched a Google Earth layer that models what Earth might look like in the event of a significant worldwide rise in temperature.
Specifically, the interactive map visually demonstrates what could happen if carbon emissions are not curbed, and as a result, Earth's temperature rises four degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial worldwide climate average. As a plethora of scientists and politicians have repeatedly stated, an increase in things like drought and agricultural disruption as a result of drought, could lead to instability and violence in some parts of the world.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20010652-54.html