Google Earth helps researchers monitor the volcanoes' activity

Jan 17, 2007 11:04 GMT  ·  By

Google Earth is probably one of the most popular applications in the last month because all the internet users are continuously talking about it. The solution is a downloadable program that allows you to view maps and other imagery captured directly from the satellites fast and easy. Because it can provide you pictures from any location in the entire world, the application is now used in multiple domains, no matter its final goal. Recently, many internet publications said that terrorists are using the Google Earth solution to attack UK troops, Google's service helping them to locate and organize attacks.

Today, Google Earth helps researches to monitor Alaska volcanoes activity because it provides a better perspective over the entire territory where active volcanoes are located. Wired News reported that project leader John Bailey presented an application that implemented some Google Earth features to improve the monitoring process of the Alaska volcanoes.

"Last month, at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco, Bailey showed off a mini-program he wrote using Google-developed KML, or keyhole markup language, an XML grammar and file format that allows Google Earth to display custom images. The program analyzes the data, assesses a threat level and displays the result as a triangular icon. An orange triangle, for instance, indicates an elevated threat level, while a red triangle means a greater threat, namely a current or upcoming eruption or other activity," the publication said.

"Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder have written their own KML program to track glaciers and sea ice, and another team at the U.S. Geological Survey is using the Google Earth map to display data on the relative probability of a future tsunami in various coastal zones. The USGS will soon launch a Google Maps-based public version of Bailey's monitoring program. It will be a boon for geologists, who won't have to download software or buy equipment, said Dina Venezky, a member of the USGS volcano hazards team," Wired News added.

Even if many companies are currently having a product with features similar to the ones implemented in Google Earth, it seems like Google's solution is the leader of its category and is going to be a must have solution for every user.