Google Earth’s Timelapse Shows 3D Videos Of How Earth Has Changed

Timelapse in Google Earth uses 3D imagery to show us how the earth has changed over the course of nearly 4 decades. It’s the result of combining 24 million satellite photos from 1984 to 2020 into an interesting 4D experience. It provides an eye opening experience into the change caused by wildfires and climate change issues such as melting ice caps and receding glaciers.

Google earth’s 3D Map system provides extensive 3D imagery of the world around us. But with Timelapse we get to see how the landscape has changed over the years and how drastic the effects of climate change are. If you want to use this feature, go to Google Earth and click on the ship’s wheel to find Timelapse in the storytelling platform, Voyager.

The company has also uploaded more than 800 Tmelapse videos in 2D and 3D that are accessible to anyone at g.co/TimelapseVideos. You can select any video that you’d like to watch and either view it in the MP4 format or watch it on YouTube. It isn’t all “doom and gloom” though, Timelapse is also an entertaining way to see how your neighborhood developed over the years.

Google attributes its ability to create Timelapse to the relentless effort by various parties who have gathered and filed imagery of our planet. The company worked with Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab to create the technology behind Timelapse. There are 5 main ways to see changes on earth: forest change, urban growth, warming, sources of energy and fragile beauty.

All this has been possible because of the U.S. government and European Union’s commitments to open and accessible data. This is in addition to efforts by NASA and many other agencies that have provided imagery captured by rovers, satellites and astronauts. Take a look at Timeplase and witness the changes for yourself.