Google Earth – The Good, The Bad and The Unusual
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How Google Earth has changed our world.
Google Earth is a pretty amazing tool, but two stories this week have highlighted just how varied the uses are for the satellite imaging service.
On the one hand, an amazing archaeological discovery was made using Google Earth when scientists saw a huge V shape clearly visible in the Welsh river of Teifi, near Cardigan.
The unusual anomaly in the water was explored by divers who found that it was a fish trapping device installed in the river over 1,000 years ago. The 853 foot (260m) trap was artificially created using quarried rock.
Dr Ziggy Otto, a marine expert said: “It’s age is unknown but because of its now entirely sub-tidal position this fish trap is very old, possible dating back more than 1,000 years, when the sea level was lower,” according to The Daily Telegraph.
On the other hand, Google Earth can be used for entirely mischievous purposes. Tom Berge used the detailed satellite images to identify historic London lead roofs which were worth on average £700 ($978) per tonne.
Mr Burge then went around London stealing the expensive roofing and earning himself £100,000 ($139,800) in the process. Google Earth’s imaging picked out the distinct darker colour of the highly prized lead roofing which made Mr Burge’s thieving all the easier.
Google Earth was launched four years ago in 2005, and since its inception has made some pretty amazing discoveries.
In 2007, Google Earth discovered this rather unfortunate building design which has since become known as the Secret Swastika. The Coronado Naval Amphibious Base in San Diego was built unwittingly in 1967 in the iconic shape which symbolised the Nazi regime.
The American Navy said it was spending approximately $600,000 to rectify the shape of the building with extensions that would hide the architect’s obvious oversights. A spokesman was reported by Time saying: “We don’t want to be associated with something as symbolic and hateful as a swastika”.
Some of the “discoveries” on Google Earth have later proven to be false however. The whole world jumped on the story that Google Earth had randomly discovered a “lost tribe” in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon when these photos were sent all over the internet apparently depicting tribe men shooting bow and arrows.
The untouched tribe was later unveiled to be well known and had been documented since 1910, according to news.com.au. Jose Carlos Meirelles admitted that the surprise discovery was engineered as part of a publicity stunt.
Similarly, last month history buffs thought they had discovered the Lost City of Atlantis off the coast of Africa. The regimented lines that can be seen in the picture had the distinct possibility of being the missing foundations of the fabled city.
Google later revealed that the pattern in the water was actually the residual image created by sonar pulses mapping the area.
Crop circle theories of potential alien life forms sending us messages from far far away are always amusing. Google Earth has brought out some stunning images of the crop circles, including this one, created by Oregan State University three years ago to mark the 50 billionth download on the web browser Firefox.
Thanks to Chris Thompson for this unsettling image of a Swastika in New Mexico.
Luvin’ the Firefox crop circle, lol.
I like
Take a look at Sowa Botswana on Google Earth.
The tribe story is really jumbled in here. They were an actual lost tribe, Google Earth has NOTHING to do with it and the publicity stunt was taking a picture of them, which was forbidden.
The swastika building looks freakin’ hilarious.
Really? Does no one actually research where swastikas came from and their original religious meaning? They were and are a symbol of peace, simply misappropriated by the Nazis. Personally I don’t give them enough credit to keep using the symbol. Get educated, the building design has no meaning anyway, but if it was meant to be a symbol, I’ll take it as a symbol of peace.