My Google Map Blog

Link

The post Google cameras record snowfall in Grand Rapids, MI

Thank you to GEB reader Jonah for letting us know that Google appears to have quietly dropped the ‘radar’ layer from the weather layers. This is in addition to the “Conditions and Forecast” and “Ocean Observations” layers which were dropped last October, having been broken for quite some time.

Google has added a short comment to the announcement page for the previous layers on the Google Maps help forum:

Update (2017-01-18): We’ve also removed the “Radar” layer as our third-party data feed has broken as well.”

So all that is left in the weather layers now is the ‘Clouds’ layer.

We noticed this interesting triangle-shaped storm in the South Atlantic

The post Radar layer dropped from Google Earth appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

The Google Earth weather layers “Conditions and Forecast” and “Ocean Observations” have been broken for some time. We did a post on it in July this year, but at that time it had already been broken for several months. Google has now announced that it will be dropping the layers from Google Earth on October 10th, 2016.

Dropping the layers is certainly better than leaving them broken in Google Earth, as there is currently no indication that they are not displaying the correct information. What do our readers think of this move? Was the layer useful to you? Would a KML file with similar functionality be useful? Let us know what you think in the comments.

The Google Earth “Conditions and Forecast” and “Ocean Observations” weather layers.

The post Google Earth weather layers being dropped appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

Over the last few weeks we have had several emails from GEB readers saying that the weather information in Google Earth is not accurate. We have compared the temperatures shown in Google Earth with those shown on weather.com, which is listed as the source of the information in the Google Earth popups, and we have found that the figures do not match and in some cases there are significant differences. Last year the weather layers had a similar problem, with the weather data simply not being updated. In that case it was obvious that the issue was a communication problem between Google Earth and the source of the information, as the dates shown in the popups were not being updated, indicating that the data was old. This time, however, the dates shown in the popups are current, but the actual figures are not changing. We checked some locations and although the date shown changes quite regularly the figures displayed in the popups do not. Only the ‘conditions and forecast’ layer is affected as far as we can tell. We verified by comparisons to various websites that the cloud and radar maps are reasonably current.

Despite the name, Snowville, Utah, is actually quite hot this time of year, yet Google Earth gives it 37°F / 3°C.

Weather.com gives its temperatures in the 55°F – 90°F range, so the issue is not one of time of day.

We checked locations on several different continents and the issue seems to be universal.

The post Google Earth weather layer broken again appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

A GEB reader recently remarked that the Google Earth Clouds layer (a sub layer of the Weather layer) appears to have fewer clouds than it should when compared to the ‘Radar’ layer that often shows rain and storms in apparently cloud free areas.

The first thing to know about the Clouds layer is that it is not an optical photo of the clouds as they are seen from space. If we look at the images from a weather satellite such as Himawari 8, that we have looked at in the past, we can immediately see one of the problems that would arise from purely optical images. Approximately half the Earth is in darkness at any given time.

Left: Google Earth Cloud layer. Right: Image from Himawari weather satellite.

Weather satellites have a range of sensors that can detect clouds even in darkness. They make a map of the clouds that is then converted into an image with white where the clouds are that is then used in Google Earth. However, they appear to focus only on thick clouds, which results in an image showing a lot less clouds than can be seen in an typical photo from a weather satellite.

The Weather layer has an Information layer that includes the option to download animations of the Clouds and Radar layers. It also tells us that the data for the Clouds layer comes from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Marine Meteorology Division. We had a look around their website but were unable to determine exactly which satellites are used for the Google Earth Cloud layer or anything about the process used. We think the data may come from MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) an instrument found on the Terra and Aqua NASA satellites. Learn more about them here. We also found this highly technical article about the algorithms used to collect cloud data and it is clearly a complicated process.

If any of our readers knows more about where the Google Earth Cloud layer comes from and how it is processed please let us know in the comments.

The post The ‘Clouds’ layer in Google Earth appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

As a number of GEB readers have noted, some of Google Earth’s weather layers have not been working correctly and as of this writing the data is out of date. The ‘Conditions and Forecasts’ layer has not been updated since May 28th, 2015. The ‘Oceans Observations’ layer has even older data, mostly from 2013. The ‘Clouds’ and ‘Radar’ layers are up to date – see the ‘Information’ layer for exact date and time for each and for animated versions of both layers.

We believe Google is aware of the problem with the ‘Conditions and Forecasts’ layer and is working to resolve it. Because weather information is really only useful when it is current, Google should consider modifying the layer to either give a clear warning message when weather information is out of date, or to replace the old data altogether with a ‘data unavailable’ message.

It is, of course, possible to get weather information from many other sources including weather.com the source Google Earth uses. We have not been able to find any site that gives similar weather information in KML format, but there are a number of different weather resources that are available in that format. A while back Frank made a collection of weather resources and it was updated by Mickey. We have also found that NOAA and NASA provide a variety of weather datasets as KMLs, although they are mostly focused on North America.

Sea surface temperatures from NASA.

The post Google Earth weather information out of date appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

We recently got a query by a reader asking whether or not it is possible for a conman to put a fake address into Google Earth. The short answer is yes.

Google gets its information from a large number of sources. The Earth is a very big place, so the amount of data involved is simply staggering. Errors, of course, do exist. These come in many forms, such as an island that didn’t exist, or the time that Google lost a city in Florida. When Google once removed the name “Persian Gulf”, Iran threatened to sue because the name is a very sensitive issue in the region.

Borders are often a contentious issue. It may be simply a case of borders being in the wrong place due to errors in the data supplied to Google, or border disputes, where two countries disagree about where their shared border is. Google method for the latter is to share data based on international mapping standards data – which they illustrate by showing disputed borders in red, or showing different borders depending on which country you are using the product from. Also, when new countries are formed, it may take Google (and all other mapping companies) a little while to update their maps.

One of Google’s sources of information is the general public via three main routes: the ‘report a problem’ feature in Google maps, the more sophisticated Google Mapmaker that Google released in 2008, and Google My Business (formerly Google Places). The last one is primarily for business address listings, whereas the first two deal with more general mapping information.
The processes for changing mapping data have a number of verification systems in place. However, since it is often impossible to verify the validity of all updates. Google mapmaker works on a system of reputation whereby your edits require less verification as you gain reputation. Google My Business encourages you to verify your address or phone number. None of the systems are totally fool proof, but the same system can be used to correct inaccurate data that works its way into the system.

An example of information that really shouldn’t have been allowed into Google Maps.

This appears to be a genuine road.

So why would people want to put false information into Google Maps? Here is a story of a restaurant which closed down because, the owner claims, its listing on Google Maps showed that they were closed on what were formerly its most popular days. His lawyer thinks that a competing restaurant sabotaged the listing. Earlier this year Bryan Seely went public, saying that he used to do ‘map jacking’ for profit but decided to go public in the hopes of getting a job at Google. As a publicity stunt, he managed to intercept calls to the FBI and Secret service by placing false contact information for them on Google Maps.

It is important to keep in mind that, for example, in the vacation rentals business where scams are quite common, the information in Google Maps may be correct, but when you arrive at your destination and knock on the door, you could discover that the person you wired your down-payment to does not own the property. No one wants that kind of thing to happen.

Imaginary road really exists!

Google Maps and Google Earth mapping data should always be treated like Wikipedia: an extremely useful resource, but not guaranteed to be correct.

The post Could a conman get false information into Google Maps or Google Earth? appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

DigitalGlobe is one of the leading providers of satellite imagery for Google Earth, and now they’re teaming up with the World Resources Institute to track fires across southeast Asia via their new Global Forest Watch Fires system.

From an article by Yuchen Wu in the Boulder County Business Report:

Nigel Sizer, global director of the World Resource Institute’s Forests Program, said, “With DigitalGlobe’s imagery, you can see down to the individual tree level and even identify species. DigitalGlobe imagery is processed as color-infrared, enabling WRI to quickly distinguish between healthy and dead vegetation, draw burn area boundaries, and detect burn scars in order to assign accountability to the fires.”

It’s a great way to use DigitalGlobe’s impressive ability to capture imagery to make a difference in the world.

You can read more in that article in the Boulder County Business Report or visit fires.globalforestwatch.org.

The post DigitalGlobe helping to track forest fires appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

Hurricane season is here, and Google has recently put out a helpful blog posts with tips for staying safe. Specifically, they suggest three things:

Make sure your phone will receive Public Alerts

Google Public Alerts, launched two years ago, is a tool that sends people alerts from authoritative sources like the U.S. National Weather Service or the Japan Meteorological Agency during emergencies. They’re accessible through the Google search app on your mobile devices and Google Chrome on your computer, as well as in search results for related queries and on Google Maps when relevant.

Install emergency preparedness apps

There are a number of great apps which can help you prepare for or outlast an emergency. For example, a flashlight app can be useful if the power goes out and you don’t have access to a regular flashlight (use a regular flashlight if you can to conserve your phone’s battery). The first-aid and disaster preparedness apps from the Red Cross have a lot of valuable information. And the official FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) app has information on how to stay safe during a disaster, the locations of FEMA disaster recovery stations, and more.

Get helpful gadgets

A waterproof phone case can help protect your phone during floods or heavy rains and a portable solar-powered charger will help keep your phone’s battery alive. It may also be a good idea to invest in a cell phone signal booster which gives you a greater chance of connecting to an operational cell tower.

Beyond those tips, there are ways to watch and track severe weather using Google Earth. Hurricane data can be found in the main “places” layer of Google Earth, and there are many other great tools to help track the weather by using other layers and downloadable files.

Check out the full post on the Google Lat Long Blog and stay safe out there!

The post Hurricane season is upon us appeared first on Google Earth Blog.