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What's New in Google Earth 
 Last month, we released two significant updates to the Google Earth content. First, we updated some of the imagery to include new high resolution coverage for the entire countries of Denmark and Switzerland, and the entire states of Utah and Wyoming. More importantly for Switzerland, we also added new high resolution 3D terrain for the Swiss Alps at 10 meter resolution. We think the new imagery and terrain for the Swiss Alps are beautiful to behold. But, don't take our word for it, check out a review from blogger Stefan Geens of OgleEarth.com, and a YouTube video flying tour of the Swiss Alps by blogger Frank Taylor of Gearthblog.com. Or, better yet, go visit the area yourself with Google Earth 4 - starting with the Matterhorn  (make sure the Terrain layer is turned on). More details on the imagery update here.
Also updated last month were several data layers including all new detailed roads (and directions) for Australia, more 3D buildings, new icon designs for the layers, over 300,000 new photos in the Geographic Web->Panoramio layer, and all new data for the Parks and Recreation layer for the country of Brazil. In addition, there were updates to the Google Earth Community layers, Turn Here, Tracks4Africa, and the Digital Globe coverage layer.
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National Geographic "Ivory Wars"
 The March issue of National Geographic has a cover story entitled: "Ivory Wars - Last stand in Zakouma" by Michael Fay. The article tells the story of the world's largest concentration of elephants protected at the Zakouma National Park in southeastern Chad. There is a continuing battle to prevent poachers from killing these magnificent intelligent creatures for a few pounds of ivory. One elephant they called "Annie" was tracked by GPS for 3 months, but sadly ended up a victim of this gruesome crime. National Geographic has also published a comprehensive collection of information for Google Earth tied to this story. The areas of the park, roads, and streams are all highlighted along with photos and links to more information. Also included is a layer called Annie's Journey which shows the GPS track of the elephant Annie which covered 1500 miles before the abrupt ending. Using the time feature in Google Earth you can even watch an animation of Annie's track as she wandered in and out of the park.
By the way, Michael Fay is the same journalist who took 92,000 photos from an airplane over Africa. Over 500 of these photos are shown in Google Earth and found under under the layer: Featured Content->National Geographic Magazine->Africa Megaflyover. See this collection of categorized African animals from the photos. |
NASA Releases Environmental Satellite Data
Last month, we mentioned the new NASA Satellite Photos for Google Earth which you can check each day. Now NASA has released more data for Google Earth from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellites. This time they have full-globe image overlays which show the following:
 MODIS Sea Surface Temperature
MODIS Chlorophyll Concentration
MODIS Cloud Fraction
MODIS Snow Cover
You should delete, or turn off, each image overlay from "Temporary Places" before loading the next one so they don't interefere with each other. The data is the most current data provided by NASA's environmental satellites. |
Latest Tips from Using Google Earth Blog
John Gardiner, of Using Google Earth blog, has published a number of useful tips in recent weeks. Here's a summary of a few:
Unclutter your view - How to keep your Google Earth interface clean and simple.
New Movie Making Tutorial - Tips on using GE Pro's Movie Maker.
Quick 3D Objects - How to make a simple 3D object or building inside Google Earth.
GPS and Photos - A tip on a good article for how to take photos with your digital camera and located them in Google Earth with a GPS. |
3D Models in Google Earth - You can participate!
 If you have 3D models you would like to see viewed in Google Earth, try adding them to the Google 3DWarehouse. Anyone can download your models from 3DWarehouse for viewing in GE. Some 3D building models eventually can become a part of the new "Best of 3DWarehouse" layer. If you are a college student, we have a competition right now for the teams which build the best college campus in 3D.
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