Google Earth Applications
High-resolution, geo-rectified imagery in digitized format is often difficult to visualize without the expertise and availability of sophisticated GIS software. Google Earth is a new interactive 3D visualization tool for personal computers that combines satellite imagery and maps from Google's database. Google Earth software can also be used to visualize raster imagery and GIS data from other sources. Formatted data, hosted on a web server, can be shared with a network of end users running the Google Earth client software. Google Earth's intuitive interface allows everyone in the organization to interact meaningfully with technical datasets without any expensive, time-consuming formal training. We present methods to ingest layers of GIS data products, such as lidar DEM imagery and airborne photography, into Google Earth.
Snapshot showing the Google Earth interface with custom image layers at the Dry Tortugas National Park. The data layers include: lidar DEM (submerged-topography) tiles, an IKONOS image, the park boundary for Loggerhead Key, and ground control data at Temptation Rocks. [larger version]
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Sample Google Earth Applications:
In a collaborative effort between NASA, USGS, and NPS, the EAARL system acquired lidar topographic data in Fall 2004/Spring 2005 over many National Parks within the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN), the South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN) and the Gulf Coast Network (GUCN). The lidar data were processed to geotiff DEM images at 1m x 1m spatial resolution. The data are organized as grid of 2 km x 2 km tiles. A Google Earth interface to the color-coded elevation images has been developed for bare-earth topography, first-surface topography, and submerged topography.
Click on the links below to view EAARL Lidar DEM overlays for the following National Parks:
Colonial National Park (COLO)
Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS)
Gateway National Recreation Area - Sandy Hook (GATE)
George Washington Birthplace National Monument (GEWA)
Thomas Stone National Historic Monument (THST)
Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO)
You will need to download Google Earth to view these images.
Note to Safari web browser users: If using the Safari browser on a Mac,
clicking the above links may display random text instead of loading the
kml/kmz file in Google Earth. Ctrl-click the link and choose 'Save Linked
File to Desktop'. The Safari browser may add a .txt to the end of the kmz or
kml file. Rename the file so that it ends in .kmz or .kml. The icon then
changes to Google Earth's icon, and double-clicking it will load the file in
Google Earth.
Note to Internet Explorer browser users: Clicking the above links in an
Internet Explorer browser may result in a window asking if the file needs to
be opened or saved. Click 'Open' to unzip the kmz file. Double-click the
kml icon to load the file in Google Earth.
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