14.5 Google Earth™ in Geomorphology: Re-Enchanting, Revolutionizing, or Just another Resource?

Abstract

The recent launch of online 'virtual globes' has vastly increased access to digital imagery of the surfaces of the Earth and other planetary bodies, enabling their examination from various scales and perspectives. This chapter focuses on Google Earth™, one of the most popular virtual globes, and considers whether its growing use in geomorphological research, education, and outreach provides evidence for disciplinary re-enchantment or revolution, or whether the application is just another resource. Published case studies and anecdotal accounts highlight many advantages of the use of Google Earth™ in geomorphology (e.g., generating datasets that provide a firmer basis for hypothesizing about surface processes and landforms), but also some limitations (e.g., variable image quality, and limited mapping and analytical functions). Although Google Earth™ can provide an invaluable starting point for geomorphological analyses, its use typically needs to be combined with other datasets and analyses, including field measurements, laboratory experimentation, more sophisticated geographic information system (GIS) analyses, geochronology, and computational modeling. Nonetheless, future developments in the use of Google Earth™ in geomorphology (e.g., development of shared community datasets) will probably continue to increase its appeal and potential. On balance, Google Earth™ may be providing opportunities for re-enchantment of geomorphology, but when compared to other past and present developments in data acquisition and analysis, its use is probably not revolutionizing the discipline. Google Earth™ is just another resource in the geomorphological 'toolkit' but nonetheless is a remarkable one, having rapidly become an invaluable part of many research, education, and outreach projects.