Google Earth overview

G o o g l e Earth: Poor Man’s GIS, Fabulous Tool!

Where to Get Help and Info
Google Earth User Guide: http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/
Google Earth Help Group: http://groups.google.com/group/earth-help/
Google Earth blog: http://www.gearthblog.com/

The Basics
Finding locations
Using layers
Adding locations and layers
Navigating
Getting coordinates

Opening View Searching for locations

Search for Location
Works like in Google Maps:
Named location or
Address or
Latitude and longitude
Zoom or “fly” to location by double-clicking
Save desired locations to “My Places”

Opening View Saved locations

Saved Locations
Same as any other file management:
Drag-and-drop
Create folders to organize site information
Give meaningful names
Anything under “My Places” will be saved
Anything under “Temporary Places” is gone after you shut Google Earth

Opening View Ready-Made Layers

Ready-Made Layers
Lots of pre-compiled information
Can make it really slow to load
Can make it confusing to navigate
Unselect most or all to navigate
Select only the ones you need, once you’re close to your location

Some Useful Layers
Geographic Web:
Roads
Borders and Labels
Terrain (3D effect)
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Parks
Hospitals
Schools
And as usual: Garbage in, garbage out (i.e., the databases are not 100% accurate)

Getting More Layers
National Wetlands Inventory: http:// www.fws.gov/nwi/WetlandsData/GoogleEarth.htm
USGS Earthquake Hazard Program: http:// earthquake.usgs.gov/research/data/google_earth.php
Humboldt Bay Trail network: http://www.green-wheels.org/node/313
Google Earth Gallery: http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=earth

Navigation - 1
Mouse left-click lets you pan: drag or spin the globe while your point-of-view remains fixed
Mouse right-click lets you fly: move your point-of-view up, down, and around a fixed location target
Scroll wheel lets you zoom straight in and out vertically

Navigating - 2
Sliders let you pan and fly as well
Double-click “North” to reset orientation
Vertical slider tilts the point-of-view
Arrows pan north, south, east, west
Numbers pad: + and – let you zoom straight in and out vertically

Getting Coordinates
For the new project initiation procedure, we’ll need project coordinates.
Navigate to the project site
Place your mouse cursor over the location
Read the latitude and longitude off the bottom status bar

Mouse cursor Coordinates

Fun Stuff
Inserting placemarks
Inserting polygons and paths
Measuring distances

Placing and Moving Points
Use different markers
Add labels and colours
Right-click to edit
Possible project uses:
Points of interest (e.g., water tank, hospital)
Sampling locations

Add Placemark tool button Marker style Add label and description

Proposed monitoring wells

Creating Polygons and Paths
Polygon: Closed shape, filled or outlined
e.g., Site boundary, building footprint
Path: Curved line, open shape
e.g., Road, trail, fault line, groundwater levels
Both can be drawn point-to-point or freehand (create lots of points)
Can edit, delete, add or move points

Measuring Distances
Line (btwn two points) or Path (multipoint)
Choose units: feet, yards, miles, etc.
Move the nodes to desired locations
Follows surface (“walked” distance)
Check “Mouse Navigation” to move around, then uncheck to continue measuring

The Really Cool Stuff
Importing maps, site plans, and aerial photos
Sharing files and collaborating
Saving images

Overlays 1: Inserting a Map
This is what you use when your map has latitude and longitude
Map needs to be in a recognized format, such as PNG , GIF , JPEG, BMP, or TIFF
Map needs to be in cylindrical projection (or small enough to be close)
Memory hog: keep your images small (<2000 x 2000 pixels)

Inserting a Map (Cont.) Find the map then convert it to the right format

Navigate to known latitude and longitude

Importing a Map (Cont.)
Show grid (under View drop-down menu)
Google Earth automatically re-projects cylindrical projection
Line up the map’s longitude and latitude using the handles
Slide image transparency to make it easier to align

Overlays 2: Inserting a Site Plan
More fiddly, inexact, but useful!
Same file formats
May need to capture a PDF or ACAD file and save it to a usable format
Include some reference points to line up with the terrain

Site layout from ACAD file

Inserting an Air Photo
Patching up the record with better or more recent air photos
Photos need to be ortho-rectified
Works the same as inserting a site plan

Air photo to fill obscured area

Google Earth jazz
Adding it all together, e.g.:
Draped maps over contours
Site map plus sampling locations plus wetland polygons
Project footprint plus fault lines
Support project decisions

Geology draped over terrain

Wetlands and wells

Sharing Google Earth Files
Keep your files organized
Save the folder containing files to share:
Points, polygons, paths, map overlays, photos
Saved as a single .KMZ file, can be kept in the project folder
Saves small, easy to e-mail
Other people can edit and re-save

Saving as JPEG
Allows you to save screen content as just an image (can’t edit points in Google Earth)

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Google Earth overview

by Sophie Lagacé on Nov 18, 2008

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Google Earth overview — Presentation Transcript