The virtual world gets bigger
15 February 2006
Scientists are already using globe-imaging software such as Google Earth and other virtual globes to do amazing things with data about our planet and the things living on it.
![BT tower BT tower](/news/sites/news/files/styles/large_image/public/bttower.jpg?itok=na93hPRl)
Arctic researchers can use live data about both sea ice and the positions of walruses
to answer questions about animal behaviour, for example, and to share that with the public. … Other scientists are using Google Earth to display images following natural disasters, including hurricanes and earthquakes, to aid humanitarian relief efforts. …
But away from the hard geographical realities of drifting icebergs and earthquake zones, scientists are planning to take global imaging software to new levels. …
Three-dimensional architectural models, for example, are already finding their way into Google Earth, courtesy of Dr Andrew Hudson-Smith [ÐÂÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûCentre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. Hudson-Smith is using the software to create a 'virtual London'. Google Earth is a "godsend", he says, arguing that virtual globes will change the way we plan cities.
Declan Butler, 'Nature Physics', 15 February 2006
Image: A Google Earth representation of a London landmark: the BT Tower. © Dr Andrew Hudson-Smith