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August 12, 2010

Google Earth For Sailors and Travelers

A big part of the experience of sailing around the world is meeting up with other sailors doing similar routes. In French Polynesia, we have had numerous opportunities to meet up with the crews of boats we have met along the way, and many new boats as well. As a big fan of Google Earth, I have been making sure to share tips on some of the ways I am making use of Google Earth as we sail. Many of these tips apply equally to many other forms of travel. One thing is apparent, few people realize some of the less-known, but best features of Google Earth for travel.

Here are some important tips on Google Earth's lesser-known features that every sailor (and many other travelers) should know:

1) Google Earth can be used without an Internet connection - As we are traveling, I actually use Google Earth more without an Internet connection than with. Many people aren't aware that Google caches the last 2 GBytes (if your cache is set to the maximum) of imagery/layers you last loaded. What I do is visit the places I'm about to travel to (in particular the anchorages) and make sure to load the imagery of those places most important to me. It's important not to load too large an area or the cache will start forgetting the older stuff. Once we are on a passage (with no easy way to be on the Internet) we can still load Google Earth and view those last places loaded. I can view what the appraoch to an anchorage is like, and the places we plan to visit while reading other guide materials or charts we have. Read more about using Google Earth off the Internet.

2) The Ruler - I frequently make use of the Google Earth ruler to measure distances between places we are going, or the places we have already traveled. You can change the units (I frequently use the "nautical miles" units) to help convert to local measures. Also, you can trace out paths, not just single measurements (look for the tabs at the top of the window that pops up to find the "Paths" tab). This is very handy for measuring routes. As a sailor, I often use this feature to check distances on passages, determine the best places to anchor, estimate dinghy runs, and distances we'll have to walk to grocery stores and customs offices.

3) GPS Tracks - if you have a GPS, you can take your saved GPS tracks and use many free programs to convert your track to GPX. Some GPS programs will even output your GPS tracks directly to Google Earth's KML. But, Google Earth will read GPX files as well. Simply open your KML or GPX file of your track. The new Google Earth 5.2 presents you with a new option to save your file as a "track". This lets you play back the track with some new features like the time slider. I also recommend a free online program called "GPSVisualizer" to generate highly customized GPS tracks for use with Google Earth.

4) GPS in Real-time - Google Earth can connect directly to many GPSes. Look for the option under "Tools->GPS". If you have a Garmin with a USB connection, it is very simple. You can also use the NMEA option to connect. Read more about that in the Google Earth user guide. Once you have your GPS connected, Google Earth can show your position in real-time. It makes Google Earth into something like a 3D "chart plotter". Google Earth is not to be used for navigation purposes. The data is not intended for that, so it is not guaranteed to be accurate enough to sail by. However, using it as an additional reference has proven to be very effective. The satellite is often (but, not always) good enough to see underwater obstructions (such as coral heads, rocks, and even sunken ships). It has also been handy for seeing the best route through passes. In fact, I have often found GE imagery is more accurately placed than my electronic charts. You need to remember some of the imagery can be several years old though. The imagery is definitely not real-time (read about Google Earth imagery).

5) Many other uses - I also share our position reports, GPS tracks, and photography using Google Earth. You can share your photos for free with Google's Panoramio - which lets you map the positions of each photo when you upload them (or you can do the geotagging with another program). The photos will later appear on Google Earth and Google Maps for everyone to see as icons when the Panoramio/Photos layer is turned on. I also take 360 Panoramas and upload them to 360cities.net, which are also viewable on Google Earth, or you can put them on your web site (see example). Most importantly, I often use Google Earth while on the Internet to do research on the places we are going to find information and pictures about popular places to visit. Turning on the Panoramio layer is a fast way to find popular places (more photos in the most interesting spots). I also showed a bunch of sailors how to use Google Earth to show the best place to watch the solar eclipse that occurred over the central Pacific waters on July 11th.

These are just a few of the many ways I use Google Earth while sailing/traveling. They are all free, and easily available to anyone. All you have to know is that they exist, and how to use them.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 9:16 AM | Comments (2)

August 10, 2010

New Google Earth Imagery - August 10

Google Earth has just rolled out some fresh imagery for us! Thanks to GEB reader 'Cristobal' for being the first to let us know about it.

[UPDATE 12-August: Google's blog post about the update has been released, and the KML file has been updated]

As is almost always the case, you can use Google Maps to determine for sure whether or not a specific area is fresh. This new imagery isn't in Google Maps yet, so you can compare Earth vs. Maps to see what's new; the fresh imagery is already in Google Earth, but the old imagery is still in Google Maps. If you compare the two side-by-side and they're not identical, that means that you've found a freshly updated area in Google Earth!

[UPDATED -- 11-August, 7:16am EST]

• Angola: Luanda and Cataumbela -- thanks 'Snakeye'
• Argentina: Buenos Aires -- thanks 'Cristobal'
• Australia: Various areas -- thanks 'Pete'
• Chile: Coquimbo and La Serena -- thanks 'Cristobal'
• China: Dalian, Nanning -- thanks 'Cristobal'
• Japan: Various cities -- thanks 'Munden'
• Poland: Dobrzyn and Wisla -- thanks 'Przekek'
• Thailand: Sattahip -- thanks 'Munden'
• United States: Chicago, IL -- thanks 'ChrisK'
• Uruguay: Various areas -- thanks 'Roberto'
• Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City -- thanks 'Cristobal'

If you find any other updated areas, please leave a comment and let us know!

Posted by mickmel at 2:57 PM | Comments (42)

Google still seeking map data for the Pakistan floods

As we've shown in the past, Google offers up fresh imagery as quickly as they can after a major disaster. The best recent example was the earthquake in Haiti, but other examples include the gulf oil spill and Chile earthquake.

Google is trying to update their imagery and maps in Pakistan in response to the recent floods, but they're having a hard time because it's too cloudy and satellites simply can't capture new imagery through the clouds.

As a result, Google needs your help. They are "looking to collect and aggregate imagery and user generated KML, or other map data, with the goal of making this content more accessible to both crisis responders and the general public."

If you have any data that may be of value to them as they work to capture it all, please send it in.

The weather forecast for the country is becoming a bit more favorable, but still not excellent in the short term. If you happen to have data you can send that could be helpful to them, please do.

Posted by mickmel at 7:20 AM | Comments (0)

August 9, 2010

The Tempe Town Lake Drain

The NASA Earth Observatory captures a lot of amazing images of our planet, and their Image of the Day highlights a particularly interesting image each day.

Their most recent imagery is of Tempe Town Lake in Tempe, Arizona. On July 20, the rubberized dam on the west end of the lake ruptured and sent 977 million gallons of water down the Salt River.

The imagery they released isn't quite as sharp as the default imagery in Google Earth, but it still shows the massive decrease in the size of Tempe Town Lake.

If you want to see it for yourself, you have a few options. First, you could simply view a jpg image of the July 28 imagery. You could also download that imagery as an image overlay (KMZ) that I created from the July 28 imagery.

If you don't follow it already, I highly recommend you follow NASA's Earth Observatory Image of the Day; they show off a lot of great stuff!

Posted by mickmel at 7:39 AM | Comments (4)

August 6, 2010

The Decade Volcanoes

Inspired by some recent Volcano-related posts over at Google Sightseeing, I thought it'd be neat to look at the 16 "Decade" Volcanoes around the world. Decade Volcanoes, according to Wikipedia are "the 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas."

Like most mountains (as we saw earlier this year), these volcanoes look stunning in Google Earth. They're listed below in alphabetical order. Click the "KML" link for each one to view it for yourself in Google Earth.

Avachinsky-Koryaksky - Kamchatka, Russia - KML

Colima - Jalisco and Colima, Mexico - KML

Mount Etna - Sicily, Italy - KML

Galeras - Nariño, Colombia - KML

Mauna Loa - Hawaii, USA - KML

Mount Merapi - Central Java, Indonesia - KML

Mount Nyiragongo - Democratic Republic of Congo - KML

Mount Rainier - Washington, USA - KML

Sakurajima - Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan - KML

Santa Maria/Santiaguito - Guatemala - KML

Santorini - Cyclades, Greece - KML

Taal Volcano - Luzon, Philippines - KML

Teide - Canary Islands, Spain - KML

Ulawun - New Britain, Papua New Guinea - KML

Mount Unzen - Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan - KML

Vesuvius - Naples, Italy - KML

Are there are volcanoes that you find particularly interesting? Leave a comment and let us know!

Posted by mickmel at 8:47 AM | Comments (9)

August 5, 2010

86 3D buildings from Bowling Green State University

Yesterday, the Google 3D Warehouse Twitter account (@3DWH) mentioned that Bowling Green State University had 86 3D models from their campus in the 3D Warehouse, so we had to check it out. They've since added another one more building, bringing the total to 87. The buildings are remarkably detailed, and include things such as accurate steps and realistic fences, as seen below.

None of the buildings are in Google Earth yet, but I'd expect them to arrive in the next 3D model update; probably later this week. [UPDATE: Most of the buildings are now in Google Earth.] In the meantime, you can download this KML file to see the locations of the buildings, and then choose to load the full 3D model for any that interest you.

Universities seem to be adding buildings at an increasingly rapid rate. We've recently told you about Northeastern University and Boston University, and I expect we'll see more in the coming months.

Posted by mickmel at 9:01 AM | Comments (2)

August 4, 2010

The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Archive

It's been 65 years since the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and the number of survivors is continuing to dwindle. The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Archive is an attempt to capture first-hand stories to save for history.

From their site:

This project enables to access all of those resources from all over the world, which was formerly unable to do so. Moreover, by mapping the information with topographic data, the user can enhance the experience of what it was like when the A-bomb struck Nagasaki, in detail. "Nagasaki Archive" is an attempt to reorganize all of those information on a digital virtual globe (google earth). In order to make Nagasaki the last place on earth where the A-bomb struck, we hope that many people to interact with and learn from "Nagasaki Archive".

You can see photos from the same angle they were taken 65 years ago, and also you click the portrait of survivors to read their experiences and wishes assosiated with the actual location they were exposed to A - bomb.

It seems like an excellent use of Google Earth to try to preserve some history, and the implementation of it is quite solid. Much of the site is in Japanese, but they're translating as much as they can into English.

You can try it yourself on their site here.

Posted by mickmel at 7:29 AM | Comments (1)

August 3, 2010

Finding illegal pools with Google Earth

The town of Riverhead, NY, located on Long Island, has recently started using Google Earth to track down backyard pools that don't have the proper license.

So far they've found around 250 pools that hadn't applied for the necessary license. When contacted and given the choice between paying the fee or facing heavy fines, most owners have paid the fee. So far the city has collected around $75,000 in fees.

There are two ways to look at a situation like this. The first is that it's a great use of Google Earth; the other is that it feels like big brother is watching. Which side are you on?

This situation reminds me of a few other stories we've written about in the past. Nearly five years ago, Frank shared the story of a tax assessor using Google Earth to spot changes in house lots (new buildings, sheds, etc) and making sure the proper taxes were paid on them.

The other story is even closer to this one; a pool guy finding prospective customers by only sending his mailing to homes that have pools. It took quite a bit of work to develop the list (search in Google Earth, determine the address, build the list), but now he has an excellent list of targeted prospects for his business.

Have you heard of any other examples like this? Let us know!

Posted by mickmel at 7:13 AM | Comments (19)

August 2, 2010

EPA data now featured in Google Earth Outreach

Last month, we showed you the KMZ file that the EPA released that had a ton of data about the Gulf oil spill.

Google has now featured that data on their Google Earth Outreach site. The depth of information available in this file is quite remarkable, and it's a superb resource for those that need more information about the spill.

Information available in the KMZ includes:

• View EPA air, surface water, sediment and waste sampling locations in Google Earth, which are linked to explanations and information throughout this site.
• See EPA air monitoring locations and results for total Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Particulate Matter (PM).
• Link to EPA data, aerial photography and other information collected by our air sampling plane, the ASPECT.
• Get National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency's (NGA) map of boom locations and daily tracking updates of the oil spill.
• See aerial photography and satellite images from NASA, NOAA and the European Space Agency's satellite ENVISAT.

To keep up with the latest items featured by Google Earth Outreach, you can check out their website or follow them on Twitter at @EarthOutreach.

Posted by mickmel at 8:12 AM | Comments (0)

July 30, 2010

New weather features in Google Earth 5.2

With all of the great features in Google Earth 5.2, one that often gets overlooked is the great weather enhancements.

The radar layers have been around since late 2007, and they haven't changed a whole lot since then. In March of 2008 they expanded to more countries, giving you satellite and radar imagery for any place that you want to see.

With this latest update, they've added a bit more eye candy. If you fly beneath a rainstorm, you'll actually see rain falling in Google Earth! This requires a fairly powerful graphics card, though I don't know the specifics on that.

Turn on the radar, find a green area and watch it rain! If you're not able to see it, here's a screenshot to show you what it's like:

For more about this, you can read the full entry on the Google Lat Long Blog.

Posted by mickmel at 9:22 AM | Comments (13)

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