Watch the last 37 years of Earth’s life in time-lapse on Google Earth: Video (shudder)

A new time lapse function available on Google Earth lets you discover the transformations our planet has undergone over the past 37 years

If actually moving from one end of the world to the other has been nonsense since 2001 Thanks to Google Earthno We have a new gadget that allows us to “travel through time.”. Google’s program, which collects satellite and aerial images of the Earth’s surface and makes them freely available, has actually developed a new function capable of creating… A time interval of the last 37 years for the location you want to monitor. Timelapse — a series of images that allow quick visualization of very slow changes over time — is now available on Google Software thanks to a collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab. The project will also see cooperation between NASA and the European Copernicus program regarding the annual update of the images.

How do we use Google Earth timelapse?

Action It’s really very simplejust contact the site Google Earth Timelapse And type the area of ​​interest in the search bar: The sequence of images will be generated automatically starting from the year 1984. In the time bar, it is also possible to change the speed parameter to display the images faster or slower. Furthermore, a section has been added to the site that brings together the most impressive timeline snapshots, with the possibility of viewing them in 3D.

What can we see specifically?

The photos collected from 1984 to today in different regions of the world are A testimony to the changes our planet has faced as a result of natural or human causes. This means that it is possible to achieve transformations due to weather phenomena, but also to make a comparison between before and after in terms of the urbanization of a place with its unforgiving overbuilding. In short, thanks to Google Earth timelapse, we can look at the surface of the Earth as if it were a human face bearing the marks of time and the scars of life experiences.

Cover image courtesy of Google Earth