This past week Google introduced the latest iteration of their popular earth visualization program – Google Earth Version 5.0
In it was something I had been hoping for for months: a way to display historical aerial imagery and thus land use change around a climate monitoring station in an interactive timeline.
The best part: it is easy, and it is free.
for example, here is my first effort, a simple two frame blink comparator showing changes around the USHCN station MMTS sensor at the water treatment plant in Aurora, IL, a suburb of Chicago:
The yellow dot is the location of the USHCN MMTS thermometer, and the white arrows arrows in the more recent view point to some things that have changed around the sensor over a six year period from 1999 to 2005. You can view the individual larger images also: Aurora in 1999 and Aurora in 2005
Here is a ground level view of the MMTS at the water plant, looking north:
I spotted three things:
- Two large storage tanks were added due west of the sensor
- A new addition was put on to the north end of the building nearest the sensor
- A roof on a building to the NW across the road was changed
There may be more. Now with the help of the KML put together by surfacestations.org volunteers Gary Boden and Barry Wise, we can not only pinpoint the locations of the USHCN stations, we can watch what has changed around them from localized scales of a few hundred feet to citywide scales depicting urban growth. From Google Earth’s feature page, here is how it works:
Viewing Historical Imagery
By default, Google Earth displays most up-to-date imagery available. You can view historical imagery so that you can see how places have changed over time.
San Francisco in 1946
To access historical imagery, do one of the following:
- Click View > Historical Imagery
- Click the Clock icon
in the toolbar above the 3D viewer.
Features of the time slider include:
- Click this to play an animation of a sequence. This works best if you move the range marker to define a time range smaller than the whole set. Click the adjacent buttons to step forward or back.
- Drag the range marker to the right or left to re-define the time range of data displayed.
- Click this to set options for the time slider.
- Zoom in or out to shorten or lengthen the date range covered by your timeline. This allows you to more easily see the different imagery that’s available within a shorter or longer period of time. Notice that, as you zoom in or out, the Start and End dates on the timeline change.
- Drag this to move the time range earlier or later.
The small vertical lines on the timeline indicate the dates of different imagery available for your location. Notice that the slider is automatically positioned at the far right of the timeline, showing that you are viewing more recent satellite imagery. Move back or forward in time by doing the following:
- Click the Forward or Back buttons above the slider.
- Drag the slider along the timeline. Note that regardless of where you release your mouse on the timeline, the slider automatically moves to the closest date for which imagery is available.
To try out his new feature with USHCN stations you’ll need two things:
Google Earth 5.0 which you can download here: http://earth.google.com/
I welcome any submissions of interesting discoveries by WUWT readers.
Google Earth really is an all round wonderful tool.
Great stuff.
Off topic, but a few people are a wee bit upset in N. Ireland because our Environment Minister won’t allow UK government adverts that are ‘climate change propaganda’ to be aired here – he doesn’t believe CO2 is the cause of climate change.
The BBC is going mad over this – and showing as much of the adver as they can as part of the news item.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7879963.stm
” Northern Ireland minister’s decision to block a government advertisement campaign on climate change has led to a call for his removal from office. ”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7879963.stm
The Fox River in the aerial photos is littered with low head dams that alter the air temperature for several hundred yards downstream.
The good news is that they seem to have placed this station a couple of miles either way from two of these dams. The bad news is that the dams might have offset the heat bubble produced by the water plant.
The lat/long given me by the met office is 54.77 -1.58 which is woodland. 🙁
I’ve asked for a more accurate lat/long but been looking in the nearby cathedral grounds. (54.772494,-1.576581) that’s roughly the centre of the cathedral grounds.
DaveE.
Oh, and by the way, good work Anthony. Wayne and Garth would be proud.
Cool tool. On topic this time it shouldn’t be hard to find information on the history of sites such as water works and wastewater works. This one (water works) has a history page on the public works page of the city website:
http://www.aurora-il.org/publicworks/waterproduction/history.php
Much of a waterworks’ operation will be covered to protect the quality of the water etc, so sensor proximity to buildings, parking lots and air vents are an obvious concern. For wastewater sites proximity to large volumes of above or below ambient temperature water could be a problem.
As well as photos, site history could be looked up in registers of the population served by the works and there is a formula for the wastewater per head of population (the population equivalent). For wastewater the rule of thumb is (UK at least) is 200 litres per person per day. It could make quite a difference to a sensor located near (downwind of) a tank treating 40,000 gallons a day, through with air is being pumped to aerate the tank. Actual effect could also depend on treatment processes on the site.
Happy to try to find and interpret data on individual works if this would help.
Jan 09 US temps are out.
The average temperature in January 2009 was 31.2 F. This was 0.4 F warmer than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the 59th warmest January in 115 years.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/cag3/na.html
US Map
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/cag3/cag3.html
It confirms what we have known for a while:
WAS REALLY COLD here in Michigan!
I know it’s carrying on being off topic and I apologise but my eye was drawn to these paragraphs:-
‘Friends of the Earth NI director John Woods said: “It’s bad enough that we have an environment minister who doesn’t accept that human activity is driving climate change, but trying to block advice to people on how they can help tackle it is completely irresponsible.
“The reality is that the overwhelming majority of climate scientists believe that our activities are causing global warming and that urgent action is needed to tackle it.” ‘
You can only be a government minister if you agree with the new religion.
I’ve also looked for the AWS in HMP grounds on Green Street east of the Cathedral but frankly at 1″ to 50′ it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Given the age of the historic record, my money’s on the cathedral grounds.
I’ll try to visit on Wednesday & take photos if they’ll let me.
I have a feeling it will be either in the old gardens at the south end of the cathedral grounds or on the green to the west of the cathedral.
There never used to be any problems taking photos in the grounds, just hope the policy’s not changed.
DaveE.
This news item is completely OT (apologies!), but I didn’t know where else to put it. Moderator – obviously your choice. I always like to try to point out good news – like anyone substantive in a political position who says that AGW is nonsense. In this case Northern Ireland’s Environment Minister, Sammy Wilson, is making interesting noises.
From an AP article in which he is reported to refuse the British government to run ads on climate change, which Mr. Wilson describes as “…insideous propaganda.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=43255
Think I’ve found the Durham AWS at Belasis observatory here > 54.768156, -1.585709
Someone mind having a look? I think that will be the AWS in the centre of the map.
DaveE.
The lat/long I posted was pretty close.
This is the web site http://www.geography.dur.ac.uk/projects/weather/Home/tabid/666/Default.aspx
That’s the obersvatory building on the page there. no sign of the AWS yet.
Dave.
This is what I intend asking Durham University.
“If at all possible, I would like to look at & survey your AWS at the Bellasis Observatory for Surfacestations.org.
This would involve taking photographs of the AWS, & it’s surroundings & taking measurements from buildings, hedgerows, tarmac & other possible confounders.
From Google maps, it doesn’t look bad at all, but first hand observation is always best”
Any suggestions before I post?
DaveE.
Off topic: An island of sanity in a sea of stupidity http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7878399.stm
Mr Green Genes (12:42:08) : You can only be a government minister if you agree with the new religion.
From:
http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2006/arch06/061031venusatmosphere.htm
However, fervent belief fosters the habit of ignoring uncomfortable data and doubtful assumptions. It seems, as Bertrand Russell wrote, “What men want is not knowledge but certainty.” Because scientific knowledge is necessarily provisional, certainty can only be had through belief. While that remains so, discovery will continue to confound expectations.
Sammy Wilson will of course be asked to resign.
He may have the last laugh in 20 to 30 years, but his is a lone voice in politics.
DaveE.
DaveE
“That’s the obersvatory building on the page there. no sign of the AWS yet.”
What’s that pole above the main gable of the building, fitted with windvane, anemometer, temperature sensor etc?
The observatory location is about 200m NW of the pointer for the postcode DH1 3RR on google maps. 54°46’05.57″N 1°35’09.94″W 331ft
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=DH1+3RR&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=uk&ei=yx6RSaD2Ccml-gbpg42iCw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title
Anthony,
I could be wrong, but it appears to me that there is a blank area in the middle of New Hampshire, and that the weather records of Concord, New Hampshire were not used. Do you know why certain stations are chosen, and others excluded?
The weather records of Concord are of interest to me because they go all the way back to 1869, which makes it one of the earliest stations. Also, if you look at the record high temperatures for particular dates in January and February, a surprising number of the record highs date from the period between 1869 and 1885.
Of course, this may be due to the fact the Concord station was moved at some point in the late 1800’s, but I have always wondered if the record mid-winter highs from the 1870’s and 1880’s was evidence of an earlier warm cycle, much like the one in the 1930’s.
Record highs from the 1870’s and 1880’s does throw a wrench in the idea that recent warmth was “unprecedented.” I confess I am a suspicious fellow, and I also wondered if record highs from the 1870’s and 1880’s might be a reason why Concord, New Hampshire was not included.
Am I correct to assume Concord, New Hampshire is not one of the stations you are looking at?
REPLY: Stations with long uninterrupted records are the ones that were chosen to be in USHCN. Concord, NH didn’t qualify with record only for the airport back to 1933. It is now an ASOS station. The other concord station was Concord river bridge, now closed. The newspaper there probably has better weather records. – Anthony
Chris Knight (23:26:33) :
DaveE
“That’s the obersvatory building on the page there. no sign of the AWS yet.”
What’s that pole above the main gable of the building, fitted with windvane, anemometer, temperature sensor etc?
Windvane & anemometer I see fine but not the temp sensor.
The grounds are big enough for it to be well placed.
I thought I had it located in the grounds but I’m going over tomorrow to see if I can photograph the AWS which is probably pole mounted.
DaveE.
I was discussing Bellasis Observatory with a friend today & he tells me there’s a new housing estate in the area too.
I’ll check that out as well.
DaveE.
Question: How would that new roof aross the road impact the readings? It’s quite distance away.
OT but breaking news:
http://bangornews.com/detail/99207.html
Maine breaks State record low which had held since 1925.