Google Earth Gets Wayback Machine

17 Years Ago slfisher 0 838 Views

Google Earth now supports the use of historical imagery -- back to 1945 in some areas -- that lets users see how certain areas have changed over time.

As described by Wikipedia, Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographic information program that was originally called Earth Viewer, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a company acquired by Google in 2004. It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe.

To , do one of the following within the Google Earth application:

Click View > Historical Imagery
or
Click the Clock icon in the toolbar above the 3D viewer.

The small vertical lines on the timeline indicate the dates of different imagery available for your location.

Looking at my neighborhood let me realize the truly horrendous amount of development that occurred between 1991 and 1992, as agricultural fields suddenly became covered with houses.

displayed a number of interesting shifts, such as Nevada before and after the development of Las Vegas, New Orleans before and after Katrina, and glacial melting.

google-api

Dani AI

Generated 10 Months Ago

Google Earth’s “historical” layer is a stitched archive, not a single continuous dataset: commercial high‑resolution satellites, public programs (Landsat/Sentinel), local aerial surveys and even declassified reconnaissance photos are combined into mosaics whose coverage and date-depth vary by place. For research or careful comparison, treat each frame as a sourced mosaic (different sensors, resolutions and capture seasons). MDPI review and the USGS declassified‑imagery summary explain how those different archives are used. (mdpi.com)

For practical comparisons (the kind noticed in his neighborhood): pick several clear capture dates bracketing the event, digitize the feature(s) you want to measure as polygons, and export those KML/KMZ files so you can compute area or count features in QGIS or Excel. Capture presentation frames with Google Earth Pro’s high‑resolution export and keep the on‑image attribution. Guides aimed at journalists and mapmakers walk through these steps and georeferencing tips. Google News Initiative tutorial and a practical “Save Image” walkthrough are useful references. (newsinitiative.withgoogle.com)

If the goal is systematic time‑series analysis (rather than visual before/after), use Google Earth Engine’s Timelapse (annual cloud‑free mosaics built from Landsat/Sentinel) or download raw scenes from USGS EarthExplorer for your own mosaicking and accuracy control. Timelapse is great for exploration and quick visuals; EarthExplorer / raw scenes are better for measurement and reproducible science. Google’s Timelapse writeup and USGS resources explain the tradeoffs. (blog.google)

Quick cautions: the visible date is the imagery capture or composite date (not necessarily the date a change happened), mosaics can hide seasonal/illumination differences, and geometric distortions or differing resolutions can bias area estimates. Do not remove Google/provider attribution when publishing. The platform is powerful, but verifying with source metadata and, when possible, with original archived images or local records is essential. See Google usage/attribution rules and imaging caveats before publishing. (developers.google.com)

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